July 13, 2009 issue
Guidelines for proselytizing
By Kathleen Kern Christian Peacemaker TeamsPage:
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I know when I am about to be proselytized by Muslims. I see the light in their eyes, the smile of anticipation.
Kathleen Kern, of Rochester, N.Y., serves with Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Sometimes, they start by correcting misconceptions non-Muslims have of Islam — misconceptions they assume I share.
Often, they go straight to, “You know, if you were to die tonight I would be very sad, because you would not go to Paradise.”
These encounters give me an opportunity to talk about my own faith, and they help me understand what non-Christians may feel when Christians try to convert them.
However, I usually feel a little melancholy at the end, particularly when the Muslims involved are friends, because I don’t want them to worry about my eternal fate, and because they can’t see how deeply Christianity fulfills me.
I was intrigued, therefore, by a set of guidelines for proselytizing put out by the Christian Muslim Forum, an organization of British Christian and Muslim leaders.
Their “Ethical Guidelines for Christian and Muslim Witness in Britain” were announced June 24 in London. The document reads:
“As members of the Christian Muslim Forum, we are deeply committed to our own faiths. We recognize that both communities actively invite others to share their faith and acknowledge that all faiths have the same right to share their faith with others.
“This paper is not a theology of Christian evangelism or mission or Da’wah (invitation to Islam), rather it offers guidelines for good practice.
“1) We bear witness to, and proclaim our faith not only through words, but through our attitudes, actions and lifestyles.
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