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Technorati"If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace,” stated the letter. “With the terrible weaponry of the modern world, with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the worlds inhabitants.”
In response, over 100 theologians, ministry leaders, and prominent pastors signed a response letter issued by the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.
The Christian signatories said they “share the sentiments” of the Muslim leaders who pointed out that Muslims and Christians make up over half of the world’ population and therefore true peace cannot occur as long as conflict persists between the two religious communities.
“Peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians stand as one of the central challenges of this century, and perhaps of the whole present epoch,” wrote the Christian leaders.
“If we can achieve religious peace between these two religious communities, peace in the world will clearly be easier to attain.”
While many Christians praised the call for peace and understanding, many also acknowledged the differences between the two faith groups.
“As the letter also acknowledges, genuine and important differences between the two faiths remain,” the U.K.-based Evangelical Alliance noted.
“Neither Christianity, nor Islam, is built on an abstract notion of love or faith. Rather, Christianity is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the God who became flesh and lived among us.”
Still, EA General Director Joel Edwards said he welcomed any movement from the Islamic world that is directed at peaceful engagement between faiths.
Another historic event that took place this year was the Global Christian Forum, the four-day meeting that broke new ground by bringing together the leader of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia; the international director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe; and chair of the Pentecostal World Fellowship, Dr. James Legget; as well as leaders from other traditions including Anglican, Catholic, Baptist and Reformed.
Christian leaders from across denominations and inter-church organizations had concluded the historic meeting in November with a renewed sense of hope in achieving unity within the worldwide body of Christ.
On the final day of the meeting, leaders agreed on a joint message to all Christians around the world in which they welcomed the “unprecedented opportunity” afforded by the forum to share reflections on the theme “Our Journey with Jesus Christ, the Reconciler.” They also reiterated the GCF’s mission to “create an open space” where Christians from across a wide range of Christian communities and inter-church organizations could reflect together on issues of common concern.
“Recognizing that unity is first and foremost God’s gift through the work of the Holy Spirit, our intent is to go forward together promoting greater understanding and cooperation among Christians, while respecting and upholding the diversity of our identities, traditions and individual gifts (cf 1 Cor 12),” the letter stated. Continue »
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