Speaking of Jesus

Some of us fear moments when we need to defend our theology. Some of us seek them out. In reality, the majority of the witnessing encounters we’ll ever be involved in will be involuntary. They will involve less-than-optimal conditions, unexpected questions, and the split-second decision of how to represent our faith. So how do we draw others to God in the midst of these ordinary conversations?

Mark Siljander is the guest speaker at Fellowship of Christ in Cary at the 11 am service.

Mark Siljander presents his A DEADLY MISUNDERSTANDING: A CONGRESSMAN’S QUEST TO BRIDGE THE MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DIVIDE.  Mark Siljander is a former Congressman and UN Ambassador.

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Students will hear from expert speaker Cong. Mark Siljander about Christianity and Islam. They will learn where these two world religions (or “civilizations”) have similarities and differences, where paths to peace could be situated, and they will have the opportunity to engage the speaker through their questions. This event is also planned to be part of Furman’s Year of Global Citizenship.

A team of friends have paused to take inventory of the remarkable success in a peacekeeping model we call “Trac5.” Along with the other traditional tracks of engagement it contributed to the rapprochement with Libya, deployment of UN Peacekeeping Forces in Darfur, release of 20 Korean Christian missionaries taken hostage by the Taliban, and recently the release of two girls charged with apostasy for “converting to Christianity” in Iran.

Our model is spiritually and relationally focused, grounded in the example of Jesus and fueled by stunning linguistic breakthroughs in the Semitic Holy Books. It is designed to mobilize and organically network emerging, spiritually-grounded “people movements” in over 100 countries, enabling them to support their leaders in incorporating Trac5 peacemaking values, and empowering the peaceful majority to undermine radicals bent on destruction.

Most constituents of the Abrahamic faiths believe that there is little hope of forging peace between Muslims, Christians and Jews. Many see fundamental common ground as a fantasy, with any apparent progress being at best temporary and historically unsustainable.

In this context, Trac5 stands out as a unique, tested approach to conflict resolution, particularly in the religious context. Traditional politicals strategies have failed to sufficiently address the root causes of human conflict, centered in enmity and alienation in the human heart. If and when such factors are considered, these approaches rarely incorporate a spiritual solution such as forgiveness. Trac5 utilizes education, engagement and resources to bring people together — not just conceptually but relationally — to pursue peace, keying on breakthrough insights from the Semitic holy books.

Trac5 can significantly reduce the negative impact of conflict on a region or people, beginning by personally engaging key leaders. Trac5 then assists in further bridge-building, development, and education after the relationship begins. One critical outcome of this process is the systematic undermining of militant ideologies, which threaten both East and West.

Finding faith-based common ground raises the level of understanding and gives people a place to breathe, and to respect each other. People weary of fear tactics and hate-mongering yearn for viable alternatives and spiritually-grounded solutions. Propaganda and zealotry are undermined when people experience authentic, faith-based bridging relationships and gather around creative, proactive solutions to shared challenges.

To learn more about Trac5, please visit us at www.Trac5.org.

This connection is a critical bridge builder: sister languages, Arabic, and Aramaic, the written language which was once the global language, stretching from the Near East to Malabar in India and East China.

Dr. Sidney Griffith, a Catholic priest and noted Syriac scholar, states that, “neither Qur’anic nor Aramaic scholars have seen fit to make the linguistic connection and it is about time that connection was made.”

Western academia has been primarily concentrated on Biblical Greek. What we need to now consider is the Aramaic/Syriac New Testament, written in the language Jesus actually spoke, as an additional tool for comparative analysis. I have found this an invaluable tool working with the Islamic world in seeking bridges to the common ground.

Muslims respect the similarity of words, meanings, and relate to the Eastern traditions and idiomatic nuances of the Aramaic. They are very similar to the Arabic of the Qur’an and the Hebrew of the Torah; and can help unlock useful mysteries within the Eastern Holy Books.

The Prophet Muhammad and Aramaic

Some Islamic historians tell us that trusted Assyrian and Syriac speaking believers in Jesus interacted with the Prophet Muhammad and likely read to him from the Aramaic Eastern Text. The very word Qur’an, which means “The Recital,” is derived from an Aramaic/Syriac word qiriana.

Original Revelation of the Holy Books: Why the Aramaic has special meaning for Muslims

The most compelling logic for use of the Aramaic New Testament in building bridges to the Common Ground deals with the Muslim view of “original revelation.”

Islam holds that God, through the angel Gabriel, spoke the revelation to the Prophet Mohammed in Arabic and is considered the official language of “The Recital.” Thus, the only accepted written version is Arabic.

Since Jesus spoke Aramaic, Muslims believe (consistent with Islamic logic) the “Holy” written version of the Gospel would be in Aramaic.

It is helpful to note that Aramaic was the first written Semitic script of the three, followed by Hebrew and finally, Arabic. The ever widening “gulf” separating us is unfortunate, but it is my hope that studying the related Semitic languages of the East will serve as a key foundation, providing evidence that our faiths have more in common than we have believed in the past.