the deepest resistance to the Gospel.
Peace all,
Here is a short story of a former Islamic theologian and scholar.
Lamin Sanneh was a leading theolgian and scholar of Islam.Originally from Gambia, he was brought up in a devout Muslim home and participated in all the religious disciplines, including reading the Qu'ran.Struck by the Quran's testimony about Jesus as a prophet and an apostle of God, Sanneh was puzzled by the verse that said "somebody else" was crucified in the place of Jesus:
(Here's Lamin Sanneh's words)
I was interested in the teaching of life after death, and it struck me that if God was indeed personally involved in rescuing Jesus from the cross by taking someone else-- whoever it was--and exchanging him for Jesus, as the Quran says, then God bore responsibility for the death of this nameless victim....
But suppose Jesus did die on the cross, and suppose God intended it to be so; how would that change our knowledge of God? I reflected on the suffering and the heart break which are part of life, hopes that are often dashed to pieces......It seemed to me that deep down at the center and core of life, the cross and it's anonymous burden was declaring something about the inner integrity and mystery of life which rang true to all authentic experience.....
In such a case, it would follow that God actually did demonstrate His solidarity with humanity by visibly entering our world and defeating death itself, allowing us to understand life in a wholly new way, with redemtive love able to overcome human wickedness and reveal the true face of God.Seen in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ, all of human nature, indeed all of history, appears to gather at one sharp poignant place.It all began to make sense to me.The need for the cross seemed so compelling and true to the way life is.....
As might be expected, it was difficult to find a Christian community, and Muslim friends who felt scandalized by my conversion abused me harshly.In these situations God showed me that the cross of Calvary is a constant, unchangeable fact which can transform our lives at every moment, whatever the situation.
See Lamin Sanneh's, "Jesus More than a Prophet," in Kelly Monroe, ed., Finding God at Harvard (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 192-94.
What an amazing eloquent way of reasoning this brother has.
Peace to all, and God bless you and yours
ILJ/Y