Core Issue (5) - Lingering Concerns with Fundamentalism

The last post being stated, there still remains some lingering concerns with fundamentalism.  Ultimately, we may not be able to do anything about radicalism, despite great attitudes and Christ like love.  Change normally takes place in the context of relationships, one on one.  However, religious freedom remains a grave concern, especially in nations where Islam is the dominant official religion.  We must as a church speak out in support of our brothers and sisters in persecuted lands, pray, and get involved with organizations like Closed Door Ministries and others working to address the root issues behind these symptoms.  In so doing however, we must be careful to maintain a posture of grace.

The lingering concerns as I see them are:

1. Violence/toleration of violence
2. Forced imposition of external measures of faith and religiosity
3. censorship and intolerance of anything different   
4. Lack of Religious freedom

In our age, these issues compromise the log in Islam's eye.  However, as history has shown Christians are just as capable of violence and state sponsored religiosity (Crusades).  Christians unfortunately are also known as quite intolerant and judgmental.  In relating with Muslims regarding religious freedom, we must first remove the speck in our own eye.  Learning from and remorse over our own history can pave a way for reconciliation.  We only perpetuate violence and intolerance when we respond in kind.

The above issues are unresolvable in my estimation, unless both individual Muslims and individual Christians can give each other  freedom of choice.  Mosque and church as institutions also need to decide together to coexist.  In relating with us, God does not force his agenda, rather he shows us the truth, and allows us to choose.  Tolerance is often touted as a measure of a society's maturity, yet does not have to mean the erosion of distinctives of faith.   Christians can turn the tide in this struggle by choosing to respond like Jesus, instead of reciprocating with anger.  This video on religious freedom and tolerance makes a good point: