A deal breaker

I was shocked to read in the July-August issue that at the 133th General Assembly our denomination was encouraged to engage in interfaith dialogue with the Muslim Society in Canada. Are we serious? Where do we meet? Muslims believe that only they will make it to heaven, providing they have earned their way and Allah's approval of their good deeds. To the Muslims, women have no voice; they are merely subjects and must be available for their husband at any time. Worst of all, Muslims believe they can work their way to heaven, totally rejecting that salvation is a gift through God's grace in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. You have no idea how sad I feel when I read this as part of the report. To see the picture of the Muslim leader, who according to the report “charmed the Commisioners,” is almost unbelievable. How do we take a stand for Christ? No, I am not the person who will turn his back on people of a different religion. But interfaith dialogue with the Muslim society? What are we trying to prove? Does it surprise us that our denomination is steadily declining? Are we not closing more churches than starting new ones? Are many small congregations not waiting long vacancies going without a minister? I know some readers will not agree with me, claiming we should be more flexible since this is 2007. Really? Cal Brown hits the nail right on the head in his article We've Got To Stop Meeting Like This. No doubt this issue will be a deal-breaker, as stated. Do I want to support our church when it encourages that kind of dialogue? Absolutely not! However, this may well be a way to speed up the decline of our denomination, and that's sad news, don't you think? We need to pray that God's Holy Spirit will call us to faithfulness in His service. “As believers we have communion with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.” [Question 85, A Catechism For Today.]