Here’s something that’s been rolling around in my mind recently: Muslims don’t believe in the doctrine of original sin. That is, that we’re all born sinners because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Turns out Jews don’t believe this either and a good portion of Christians, including most who followed Jesus in the days before Augustine.
I don’t have the space here to fully deal with this doctrine (I sometimes say that when I actually just don’t know how!). But I’d like to point out three things:
It’s interesting that Muslims believe people are basically able to follow God’s purposes if they only will. If you want to look into this, here’s a Muslim talking about “Original Mercy.”
I think most Muslims would say, as would most Christians, that they all too often, even regularly, sin. This reality makes John’s words in his second letter so deeply good and helpful: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
This could be a good thing to kick around with your Muslim friends. Are people born sinful? What do you think sin is? Would you say you’re a good Muslim? What hope do we have against sin?
This line of conversation leads pretty directly to talking about Jesus. What did he say about sin? What does he do about it? Even this: “You know what his best friend said?” Then quote John from the passage above.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please comment here. If you enjoy Muslim Connect, please share it with a friend.
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from Shane's Muslim Connect
Here’s something that’s been rolling around in my mind recently: Muslims don’t believe in the doctrine of original sin. That is, that we’re all born sinners because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Turns out Jews don’t believe this either and a good portion of Christians, including most who followed Jesus in the days before Augustine.
I don’t have the space here to fully deal with this doctrine (I sometimes say that when I actually just don’t know how!). But I’d like to point out three things:
This line of conversation leads pretty directly to talking about Jesus. What did he say about sin? What does he do about it? Even this: “You know what his best friend said?” Then quote John from the passage above.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please comment here. If you enjoy Muslim Connect, please share it with a friend.