OVERVIEW
Those who base their lives around the Bible and Qur’ān, commonly called the Holy Books, make up over half of the world’s population. In addition, both groups consider themselves monotheistic, believing that there is one God who is the Creator, Ruler, and Redeemer of the Cosmos.
Between these two groups, there is a wide array of understanding about the sacred text they grew up reading and usually almost no understanding about the sacred text they didn’t grow up reading. Because of this misunderstanding, Think Say Go has come into existence.
THE PROBLEM
There are 3 key blockades faced by those who see either the Bible or Qur’ān as sacred. First, what do I believe is true? Second, what does others believe is true? And third, what does The Satan have to say about these truths? All three of these constantly affect one another, and the majority of the problem lies herein.
What one believes about God is paramount. Truth must be our highest pursuit. God and His Kingdom are the truth. For Bible and Qur’ān readers, the value of these sacred books respectively is unquestionable. While each group places the importance of varying degrees on other source documents and traditions, most agree these two documents are at or near the foundation of discovering the truth. Ironically, even among these two groups, opinions of truth range quite broadly. Here, in any group of two or more people, unity and diversity will be present in both ideas and practice.
It is essential to make space for individuals to answer the question of what they want to place their trust in. Personal belief is foundational.
Secondly, what does others believe is true? What appears most common among groups is the readiness and ease of discussion around diversity, particularly regarding how their ideas are correct. While we don’t escape a search for objective truth, it seems all too often unity is really seen as a moot point at best. How can we learn to focus on commonality to have a stronger basis to understand our differences and possibly even have new faith? Here, a huge blockade of misunderstanding between Bible and Qur’ān readers seems to be prevailing. This is often a breeding ground for distrust and hatred. It leads many to division, loneliness, oppression, and even violence. What will happen if this misunderstanding continues? Will distrust and hatred lead to murder? This cannot go unchecked.
One notable example is Mark D Siljander, a Bible reader and former US Congressman and Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations. He wrote The Deadly Misunderstanding in 2008, describing his discovery of what he called “a rich common ground… between these faiths and cultures.” After taking the posture of a learner of the less familiar Qur’ān, he said, “common ground is not some far-fetched ideal but textually sound and eminently practicable.”
Many people today are like Mark, not knowing how much both Holy Books have in common. This commonality makes space for the remaining diversity of belief. Unfortunately, only some people can discover this on their own. They need knowledgeable people to help them. This knowledge must come from a group of leaders who deeply understand the Book they grew up reading AND the Book they have not grown up reading.
Thirdly, both groups have a common enemy (and it is NOT one another). Instead, both Holy Books record that a being, most commonly called (The) Satan, Devil, and or Iblis, is a rebel of the one God. This adversary is in direct contention with God and other free agents. He is our chief adversary. He uses any and every means he can to undermine God’s hope for humanity.
So, herein lies the challenge we face. How can we enter more meaningfully into what is true? How can we understand others who are different from us? How shall we join together to fight against this common enemy, Satan? What is at stake for us if we neglect this problem?
THE SOLUTION
Loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself is the foundation of making sense of the challenge. This is at the heart of Biblical and Qur’anic commonality. We see this first in Torah, which says,
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 6.4-6
In the Gospel, Jesus the Messiah combines this with a partial quotation from Leviticus 19.18, which says,
“ … love your neighbor as yourself.”
Leviticus 19.18
Also, in the New Testament, Jesus the Messiah is asked what the greatest commandment is, and his response is both of these. Interestingly at the end of Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount, we find him abbreviating this “greatest commandment” by saying,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7.12
Qur’ān second Sura says,
“Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.”
The Cow 2.177
This passage seems to contrast the technical aspect of turning east or west in prayer against the fundamental practice of sacrificial love to God and to humanity. These acts are supreme over the technical aspects of facing the correct direction in prayer.
Questions like, “What is love?” “What does it mean to love God, self, and others?” now become more relevant. Each of these questions involves active participation and cannot be discovered fully without practicing sacrificial love.
Here we must acknowledge that there are known AND unknown things. To have new knowledge, an effort must be made. This new knowledge is experienced in thought, words, and deeds with others. We need the help of God and the apprenticeship of others. Think Say Go exists to facilitate this purpose.