{"id":37378,"date":"2024-04-11T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T14:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37378"},"modified":"2024-04-11T12:04:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T19:04:36","slug":"iwillarguebutiwontfight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/iwillarguebutiwontfight\/","title":{"rendered":"I will argue, but I won’t fight."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI will dialogue but I won\u2019t fight.\u201d This has been my motto for the past 11 years living as a Christian in a Muslim-majority country. Statistics say my country is 99.9% Muslim. The 0.1% is admittedly expatriates living in the country. To be a citizen of my host country is to be a Muslim. To acquire citizenship, one is required to state the Shahadah, the Muslim statement of faith,[1]<\/a> thus proclaiming to be a follower of Islam. Many of my Muslim acquaintances will tell me that our two faiths are \u201cthe same.\u201d I appreciate this comment because it allows me to share how our faiths are very different, specifically in belief of the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This may lead to my Muslim acquaintance telling me that my beliefs are not true because the Bible has been corrupted. I rarely go further in dialogue at this point. It is not out of fear or lack of courage, but because the conversation is becoming unproductive. Thus, I was intrigued by chapter two of Matthew Petrusek\u2019s book, Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture. <\/em>The title of the chapter is \u201cStop Fighting\u2014and Start Arguing.\u201d Before I go there, I will try to give a brief synopsis of the book from my perspective.<\/p>\n

The book Evangelization and Ideology <\/em>addresses the issue of modern-day secular politics and worldviews that do not allow space for the divine. He specifically addresses the worldviews of utilitarianism, classical liberalism, \u201cWoke-ism,\u201d and non-theistic conservatism. Petrusek gives his readers ways to respectfully respond to these ideologies and the errors and addresses them from his Catholic perspective. The book is in-depth, heavy, and overall was a challenge to read. It seems to be written for an audience in the Western world, so I struggled to relate the book to my context. I am from a Western culture and can apply the points to my passport country. But what about now? How is this relevant to my current world in North Africa? How can I respectfully and effectively address the errors of the religious politics where I live? What does one do when politics, society, and religion are all inter-meshed into one specific worldview: Islam? Thus, my interest with chapter two. Perhaps this chapter could give insight me how to argue well in my context.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop Fighting\u2014and Start Arguing\u201d starts with philosophical reasoning addressing the issues of scientific knowledge and voluntarism, the idea that there is no universal truth. In my context, these issues are not relevant. Those around me are inundated and embrace religion at all levels of society. In general, they do not feel the need to prove scientifically that there is a God. Muslims believe that Islam is the true religion. One applicable point Petrusek makes is the importance of understanding the opponent\u2019s side. He shares, \u201c[Understanding the opponent\u2019s side] enables you to comprehend the other\u2019s point of view on its own terms while, in the process, spurring you to refine your position in response.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In the second half of the chapter, Petrusek sets up the \u201canatomy of an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cIsolate the argument being made, break it up into its parts, and then critically evaluate each component both individually and in relation to the other components.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0Look at the individual components for clarity.[4]<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. \u201cFinally, the criterion for assessing argument is validity\u2014that is, determining whether the conclusion resulting from the propositions necessarily follows.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These components of an argument reminded me of the arguments posed in the book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus<\/em> by Nabeel Qureshi. Nabeel Qureshi was a Pakistani-American born into a religious Muslim family. Qureshi\u2019s book walks the reader through his journey of first defending, then questioning his faith, and finally, his choice to follow Jesus. When he was in college, Qureshi met a friend who was a Christian, David. As their relationship grew, they began debating their different faith beliefs including the isolated arguments of Islam and Christianity<\/strong> such as the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the deity of Christ.[6]<\/a> Throughout the book, the reader can see Qureshi seeking clarity in the arguments<\/strong> of his friend. \u201cI was still fully convinced that the Bible was corrupt, but I had to deal with more advanced arguments than I had previously heard.\u201d[7]<\/a> Here is where Qureshi\u2019s friend brings clarity on the issue of translating the Bible,<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe words do matter, but they matter because they constitute a message. The message is paramount. That\u2019s why the Bible can be translated. If the inspiration were tied to words themselves as opposed to their message, then we could never translate the Bible, and if we could never translate it, how could it be a book for all people?\u201d I didn\u2019t know if David was challenging my view of Quranic inspiration, but what he said made sense.[8] <\/a><\/p>\n

    In the end, Qureshi did come to the belief that David\u2019s arguments for Christianity were valid<\/strong>. Because of their relationship and the integrity of the arguments, Qureshi\u2019s worldview began to change. He found Jesus and became a renowned Muslim-background Christian apologist.<\/p>\n

    Quereshi\u2019s story, particularly his friend David\u2019s use of solid arguments, prompts me to trust the Holy Spirit to guide and direct my arguments and their hearts. Petrusek\u2019s book, Evangelization and Ideology, <\/em>reminded me of the importance of having a sound argument. May God be glorified in how we build relationships and present His Truth to those around us with different worldviews.<\/p>\n

    ________________<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> This statement of faith is recited in Arabic. The English translation is roughly, \u201cI bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Matthew R. Petrusek, Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture<\/em>, Kindle Ed. (Park Ridge, IL: Word on Fire, 2023), 33.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Petrusek, 36.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Ibid, 37.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Nabeel Qureshi, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity<\/em>, Kindle Ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014).<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> Qureshi, 125.<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> Ibid, 129.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cI will dialogue but I won\u2019t fight.\u201d This has been my motto for the past 11 years living as a Christian in a Muslim-majority country. Statistics say my country is 99.9% Muslim. The 0.1% is admittedly expatriates living in the country. To be a citizen of my host country is to be a Muslim. To […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2997,2967],"class_list":["post-37378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-petrusek","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37378"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37381,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37378\/revisions\/37381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}