Loving with our Brains

I lead an adult Bible Study on Wednesday nights for the members of the congregation I serve. We have about 20 members in full strength. In the past, the unintentional learning plan has been of the "sit and soak" variety. The content mostly comes from one talking head or another. It is usually me who walks through a passage of scripture, the content of a DVD presentation, or a study guide. While a few will make comments or ask questions, most sit and soak. I comfort myself in the hope that good content is reaching their senses. I trust that their understanding has deepened and their knowledge has increased. There are certainly indications that my hopes are fulfilled.

Last night we finished a six week study on the religion of Islam. I was forced to learn a lot. It is amazing how  confusion about a given subject increases as one learns more about it. Any tradition that is 1,400 years old will have developed many many curves and wrinkles. After exploring some of the myriad of qualifications, we discovered that Islam, at its core, is a form of works righteousness. Allah is a ruthless god who demands total submission. The energy for that submission lies totally within the believer. Allah is just. If your good out weighs your bad, and you make a good confession of the oneness of God and trust the final word of God that comes from his prophet (peace be upon him) then you are qualified to participate in the contest. The wrinkle is that Allah is also merciful.

I visited a local mosque twice for Friday prayers. I was received with great warmth. There I met sincere and descent men and women.   Really, good  people. Thoughtful and kind people. On each occasion I had a long conversation with the Imam and his assistant. I liked him and he seemed to enjoy my company. I invited the Imam to visit our study and he came to share his faith with us.

Our regular students and some visitors found the study of Islam gratifying. It forced us to consider our own presuppositions about Christianity and the nature of the Gospel.

Next we will begin our most ambitious study of all. We tackle the great CS Lewis. I considered four of his books. Mere Christianity (too long), The Great Divorce (too abstract), the Abolition of Man (short but very deep), and, finally, my choice, "The Problem of Pain." I have agreed to write and present a detailed outline and study guide for each of its 10 chapters. They have agree to keep up on the reading.

We are to return God's love with our own. We are to love God  with our whole person - this includes our brains.