Florida churches open doors to allow Muslim worship

This was an article on Fox News last Friday. It's excerpted, the rest can be read by clicking on the headline. Discussion below.

Churches Open Doors to Muslim Worship
"They see it as their Christian duty. But others disagree, saying it extends the hand of fellowship where it was never intended to go. Two Protestant churches are taking some heat from critics for opening their church buildings to Muslims needing places to worship because their own facilities were either too small, or under construction. Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenn., let members of the Memphis Islamic Center hold Ramadan prayers there last September. And Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Va., allows the Islamic Circle of North America to hold regular Friday prayers in their building while their new mosque is being built. Diane Bechtol of Aldersgate says this is something Christians are called to do: Be neighborly and develop relationships - even those who don't share your beliefs.

"I think it's a tenet of our Christian faith, and that is that we extend hospitality to the stranger,” said Bechtol. “We are a congregation that wants to be helpful to people and if we are asked to help a neighbor in need, that's what we do." The U.S. Christian community is divided over whether or not to allow Muslims to use their churches as prayer space -- something that two Protestant churches have already done. The U.S. Christian community is divided over whether or not to allow Muslims to use their churches as prayer space -- something that two Protestant churches have already done. But Dr. Alex McFarland, a Christian theologian and radio talk show host, charged these churches “have crossed the line from respect and tolerance, to ... affirmation and endorsement. "We as the church are called to show love, we're called to help. But to let a building simultaneously be used for the activities of a mosque and also the activities of Jesus Christ, it's just incompatible. And I think it's one more example of political correctness and hyper-tolerance gone awry."

What do you think? Do you think, say, if a hurricane decimated the Church, that the Muslims who are the beneficiaries of this hospitality would return the favor and allow the Christians to hold services in their mosque? What is church for, anyway? Got Questions has an answer: here-

"Acts 2:42 could be considered a purpose statement for the church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” According to this verse, the purposes/activities of the church should be 1) teaching biblical doctrine, 2) providing a place of fellowship for believers, 3) observing the Lord’s supper, and 4) praying."

To that end, the church is the Body, not a building. It is the local place where believers in a certain area congregate to accomplish worship, prayer, breaking of bread, and teaching, but the church itself are the people who make up the Body.

However, though non-believers are welcome to come in and worship alongside believers, I do not believe it is appropriate for non-believers to come in and actively worship another god. If the Lord's Supper is too holy for non-believers to participate in then I have to believe the church grounds are ordained holy unto the Lord too. As He told Moses at the burning bush, (Exodus 3:5), "take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

1 Corinthians 3:17 says: "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." The Greek word used here (phtheiró) for destroy also means 'corrupt.' The idea is, "If any man by his doctrines or precepts shall pursue such a course as tends to destroy the church, God shall severely punish him" says Barnes' notes on the bible. If the church place of worship and congregation (the building) is established under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit and its purpose is dedicated to promote the Gospel, then allowing people to worship their god and to promote their false doctrines which, by the way, say that all non-Muslims should be killed for being an infidel, then that use is inconsistent with the purposes of the church building. Otherwise the building is just a building. And if the building is just a building, where does it stop? As Mike Huckabee says in this interview, then why not open it up to be rented as an adult movie theatre on weekends?


Tweet