PCUSA council is considering relations with Muslims, Jews
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, January 31, 2002
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The General Assembly Council has begun wading through a theological minefield by considering a number of reports about relations between Presbyterians and Muslims and Presbyterians and Judaism.
The reports emerged during deliberations by the council’s committee on Worldwide Ministries and will later come before the full council before it concludes its meeting in Louisville on Feb. 2.
Two sets of reports – one on Judaism and the other on Islam – raised warning flags over taking sides in centuries-old disputes among the three religions that claim to be spiritual descendants of Abraham.
The reports were laden with the language of “dialogue” and “solidarity” – “This is about conversation, not about conversion,” said one council member. But committee members seemed to recognize that dialogue and solidarity, as benign as they may seem, carry the risk of alienating one side or the other.
For example, the General Assembly Council has been asked to welcome a statement titled Dabru Emet – Hebrew for “to speak the truth” – which says in part: “As members of a biblically based religion, Christians appreciate that Israel [the land also known as Palestine] was promised – and given – to Jews as the physical covenant between them and God.”
That statement conflicts with widespread Islamic opposition to Israel’s claim on Palestine, a contention that has been at the heart of ongoing violence between Jews and Palestinians. The ecumenical partnership subcommittee of the Worldwide Ministries Division recommended the Jewish statement, but added that the “rights of Palestinians” will be among the issues raised during dialogue with Jews.
In a preamble to Dabru Emet, which was written by a group of Jewish scholars, the staff of the Worldwide Ministries Division included what it described as affirmations by the General Assembly, the governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA). One of those affirmations said, “We are willing to investigate the continuing significance of the promise of ‘land,’ with its associated obligations, and to share the implications for Christian theology.”
The affirmations declare that there is compatibility between Christians and Jews: “As Christians we acknowledge that Jews are in covenant relationship with God, and we consider the implications of this reality for evangelism and witness.”
Another report by the Worldwise Ministries staff called for an “Interfaith Listening Pilot Program” in which Christian-Islamic teams from the Mideast would make presentations in the United States around the first anniversary date of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
The report proposed that the pilot program be supported by a special fundraiser, called Extra Commitment Opportunity.
Already, the denomination has invested heavily in compiling resources for Presbyterians to meet with Muslims in prayer, worship and discussions. Generally, the material highlights “common ground” between Christianity and Islam – but does not offer much understanding of how Islamic terrorists justify attacks against Christians in several global hotspots, ranging from Pakistan to the Sudan.
The staff wants the 2002 General Assembly to encourage Presbyterians to study a document titled Issues in Christian-Muslim Relationships, which has been widely promoted by the National Council of Churches.
The staff report noted that “the September 11 events reveal the incalculable need for reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in the face of centuries of mutual historical wrongs.”
“Viewed from the long sweep of history, American Christians can begin to see Muslims and Christians caught in cyclical images of domination and humiliation, each being affected by the status of the other, the humiliation of one being identified as the success of the other,” the report said.