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AR 26:18 - Facing challenges to biblical sexual ethics
In this issue:
ISLAM - social justice thinking meets "reason, freedom and tolerance"
+ Nigerian jihadists kill more Christians for their faith "than in any other country"
SEX - "Why does God care who I sleep with?"
Apologia Report 26:18 (1,523)
May 6, 2021
ISLAM
What follows is an ironic contrast of appealing to debate and reason in theaters of divergent context and motive. UK columnist Kenan Malik begins: "To live in a diverse society means to live with debate. Bring it on." (The Guardian, Mar 28 '21), and elaborates: "No one has a right not to be offended. All of us have a duty to challenge bigotry. These two claims are not just compatible, they are often interconnected. ...
"It is inevitable in plural societies that we offend the sensibilities of others. Where different beliefs are deeply held, disagreement is unavoidable. Almost by definition, that's what it means to live in a plural society. If we cherish diversity, we should establish ways of having such debates and conversations in a civil manner, not try to suppress them. ...
"It is inevitable, too, that in pursuing social change, we often offend deeply held sensibilities. Many groups struggling for justice and equality - women, gays, non-believers - within religious communities cannot but be blasphemous. ... Fighting for social justice, in other words, often requires us to offend others. ...
"Given that, in Paris, Samuel Paty, a teacher, was beheaded after a schoolgirl's false claim, we should be wary of jumping to conclusions before knowing all the facts. ...
"To simply insist that showing offensive material in the classroom is to exacerbate racism is a disingenuous means of manipulating 'safeguarding' to limit what can be discussed. ...
"One of the ironies of [related] controversies is that they serve to silence many Muslim voices and traditions. ...
"To claim that 'Islam prohibits depictions of Muhammad' is to take the most conservative views and present them as representative of Islam." <www.bit.ly/3nG7Ord>
For another take, here is "Where Islam and Reason Meet" according to Mustafa Akyol <mustafaakyol.org> (senior fellow on Islam and modernity, Cato Institute). He opens: "The Western public has become accustomed to hearing certain kinds of unsettling news from parts of the Muslim world. ...
"[Islamist] laws look oppressive to most non-Muslims. Many Muslims feel the same way, which is why many prefer secular governments, keeping their faith personal and communal. ...
"As a Muslim who has been engaging with these issues for more than two decades, I have sadly observed the growing ethical gap between rigid, Sharia-minded conservatives and the modern world."
He goes on to ponder if determinations of good and bad are inherent or something decreed by God. "Students of Western philosophy may find the question familiar, because the first person to pose it was the Greek philosopher Socrates, in his famous dialogue with Euthyphro. The question became known as the Euthyphro dilemma, and it presented two options to any theology.
"The first is 'ethical objectivism,' meaning that God's commandments are based on objective ethical principles that we humans can understand. The second is 'divine command theory,' meaning that God commands whatever He wills and ethical principles follow His will, not the other way around.
"In early Islam, ethical objectivism was championed first by [believing] the Sharia indicated ethical values that could be known by humans through reason and conscience. When there was a conflict between ethical values and the Sharia, the latter could be reinterpreted.
"In contrast, divine command theory was championed by the theological school called the Ash'arites. They believed that acts are good or bad simply because God says so. ... In this view, the Sharia constituted ethical values, which otherwise would not even exist. There was not much room to reinterpret the Sharia, because there was no measure of good and bad outside of it.
"The war of ideas between these two camps went on for a few centuries. Ash'arism acquired some refinements and was also joined by a more nuanced Sunni theology called Maturidism, which remained peripheral. By the 12th century, Ash'arism had won the day in Sunni Islam, and its divine command theory became the dominant religious mind-set.
"Was this victory because Ash'arism was more true to the heart of Islam, the Qur'an? Not really, because the Qur'an offers a stronger basis for ethical objectivism. ...
"The real advantage of Ash'arism was in something else: Its usefulness to the despotic rulers who dominated medieval Islam. [R]ulers upheld them, forming an alliance between the state and religious scholars....
"Ash'arism's grip on Islam was criticized decades ago by the prominent Pakistani scholar Fazlur Rahman Malik, whose liberal reformist views were condemned by militants in his country."
Akyol proposes his solution: "The way forward for Islamic thought lies in revisiting the Islamic Euthyphro dilemma and correcting a wrong theological turn taken almost a millennium ago." Only two more lines follow to explain this. However, you'll no doubt find more about it in his new book, Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom and Tolerance [1]. Wall Street Journal, Apr 15 '21, <www.on.wsj.com/3gQI1v3> (paywall awaits)
"Christian clergy are being kidnapped and killed in Nigeria: From farms to churches, no place feels safe" by Patrick Egwu -- "Nigeria, a nation of more than 200 million people, is deeply divided along ethnic and religious lines. Islamic extremists have specifically targeted Christian communities as a way of pushing a Shari'a law agenda."
Things used to be different. "It used to be unheard of for a member of the clergy to be attacked - in Nigeria, the office of a pastor is regarded as sacred, and even a minor verbal attack is seen as instigating God's wrath. But in recent years, this has changed. About 20 priests and other clergy members have been killed or attacked by members of the terrorist organization Boko Haram alone."
The piece opens with the example of "St. Ignatius Catholic Church in a village in north central Nigeria. ... [G]unmen suspected to be from the largely Muslim Fulani ethnic group, stormed the parish and opened fire on the congregation. Nineteen people were killed, including both priests. ...
"[P]rotesters called on the Nigerian government to arrest and prosecute the killers.
"Three years later, no one has been arrested or prosecuted. ...
"The current surge of attacks on priests has reportedly been carried out by Muslim Fulani herders, bandits, Boko Haram insurgents, and the Islamic State's West African Province [ISWAP]. (Since its split from Boko Haram in 2016, ISWAP has become a dominant jihadist group in the region.)"
Martin Anusi, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Awka, "said that abduction for ransom has become a growing business for kidnappers, and it may be that they target priests because they think they can demand and receive a ransom from the priest's parish or family."
Evaristus Bassey, former director of Caritas Nigeria, the relief and development arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, said "The government is weak, and [extremists in northern Nigeria] know this. That is why they use every opportunity to push their agenda of attacking Christians." Egwu adds that "Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani Muslim from the north, has been accused of protecting his kinsmen and not doing enough to condemn their crimes."
"Since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 with a bloody campaign to impose Islamic law on the country, more than 30,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced from their homes, according to the Institute for Security Studies.
"In recent years, there has been growing insecurity in Nigeria, and the government has been unable to provide adequate protection for priests or other citizens. ...
"According to Open Doors' 2021 World Watch List, more Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country in 2020 - 3,530, up from 1,350 in 2019. In overall violence, Nigeria was second only to Pakistan, while it trailed only China in the number of churches attacked or closed at 270, according to the report. ...
"Despite the attacks, Christians there are optimistic. They say they will continue to profess their faith despite the challenges that come with it." Christian Century, Apr 7 '21, <www.bit.ly/3uT8BY3>
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SEX
Over the years many of us have moved from incredulous surprise to resignation when someone we hope to disciple doesn't see why a man and a woman should be married before they have sex. Consequently, a good resource on the subject gets our attention. So here ya go:
Sean McDowell (Christian apologetics, Biola University / Talbot School of Theology) writes "I have read dozens of books on a biblical view of sexuality, and this one [Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With?] is excellent for a few reasons. First, it is honest. Sam Allberry [UK Editor for The Gospel Coalition] <samallberry.com> shares his personal struggles with sexuality in an authentic fashion, and he doesn't hide the challenges Christians face in making a biblical sexual ethic compelling today. Second, besides offering biblical answers, he explains the reasons why God gives particular commands. And third, he recognizes that the subject of sexual ethics touches on our ultimate desires, which can only be fulfilled through healthy relationships with God and other people. This is a relatively short book, but it is packed with insight." [2] Christianity Today (2021 Book Awards), Jan/Feb '21, <www.bit.ly/2PZQmks>
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom and Tolerance, by Mustafa Akyol (St. Martin's, 2021, hardcover, 336 pages) <www.bit.ly/3tgVMG4>
2 - Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? by Sam Allberry (Good Book, 2020, paperback, 128 pages) <www./bit.ly/3toNVH7>
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