- Friends Jailed for Sharing Christ in Michigan
- “Obviously intending to make a scene”
- The Dearborn Four and the Rule of Law
- Dearborn and the Love of Christ Under Pressure
For those who have been watching the “Dearborn Four,” arrested in a Detroit suburb last month for sharing their faith during Arabfest, the story took a new turn when an Internet commenter called for Nabeel Qureshi’s execution. Nabeel is a former Muslim who gave his life over to Jesus Christ. His conversion is a remarkable story of faithful Gospel witness, apologetic reasoning, and God’s direct intervention. He and his roommate from college days, David Wood, now spend much of their time sharing Christ with Muslims and engaging them in debate. It was this—and some provocativeness on their part—that led to their arrest in Dearborn. (See the last their blog for their story on this.)
I met Nabeel for the first time last November. Part of our conversation that day was about whether it was safe or prudent to blog about Islam. By his answer that day I knew that he knew he was taking significant personal risks. This threat came to him as no surprise, I’m sure; as David Wood wrote, “In case anyone didn’t notice, we’re not scared of dying.”
For this I commend Nabeel and David. They are persuaded that the Lord Jesus Christ is watching over them in life and in death. I pray for their continued perseverance and trust.
Let us now suppose the worst happened, that one or both of them were to die at the hands of some Muslim. It could happen; it would not be uncharacteristic of some segments of Islam. How would the church respond?
Here is what I see in the Bible and in church history: Christians facing persecution with trust in Christ and love for their persecutors—not a mushy kind of love, but one that confronted error while speaking truth and life. See for example Stephen in Acts 7:51-60. He spoke boldly; he was stoned. His dying prayer was “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” In this he was echoing his Savior on the cross, who prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Throughout the latter half of Acts, Paul defended his innocence and his message boldly, yet he showed constant love toward the authorities. See for example his regard for the soldiers and sailors escorting him as a prisoner to Rome, and his witness to his jailers as recorded in the first chapter of Philippians.
To be persecuted is to be blessed (Matthew 5:11-12):
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
And it is to share in the sufferings of Christ (Philippians 3:7-14, John 15:18-24).
These things we know, if we have studied our Scriptures. But are we ready for it? Most urgently, are we ready to obey Jesus’ command in Matthew 5:44-45?
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
As I have observed the Internet response to the arrests in Dearborn, I’ve seen distressingly little of that. I am not at all confident we in the church are prepared to love our enemies.
I have given David and Nabeel the opportunity to preview the following message, which I wrote as a sort of open letter to them. Nabeel responded appreciatively and expressed no objection to my posting it publicly. Though it is addressed to them, it is the kind of message that could be of value to all of us.
My friends, you are strong. You show great confidence in the Lord and in the truth of his gospel. Christians and Muslims are paying close attention to you; you are thus gaining prominence at the troubled interface between Christianity and Islam in America. Consider well where you are leading us. You have said you are willing to die gladly for your faith. Are you as willing to be arrested and go to court, gladly and with great joy and trust? That would be an important message for you to emphasize from the platform God has granted you.
If you were to die—and we know it is not just an academic question—you would become leaders in death more than in life. What would your legacy be? I believe you would want it to be a message of the absolute, resounding truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and of his love for all, including Muslims, who need to experience his truth, his grace, and his life.
Based on what I read in various blogs, though, that’s not the message others are hearing. I am concerned for you about this, because I think you want love to live alongside truth at the center of your message. But what people are hearing instead is, “Dearborn is wrong and we’re going to prove it.” Now, it may well be true that you were arrested improperly. Your video messages certainly support that opinion. But in the long run, that is much too small a matter for you to make it your primary message. Consider your position of leadership. Consider your opportunity. You could be showing both Christians and Muslims what the love of Christ looks like under pressure: visibly praying for your enemies, openly doing good to those who persecute you.
David and Nabeel, we need that kind of Christlike example, because a lot more of us are going to be experiencing that pressure in years to come. You may see Dearborn as crucial to the battle for religious freedom. Perhaps so, but only in a small way; for consider this: If you lose there, pressure on Christians will increase. If you win, it will increase anyway. Our future as Christians in America does not depend on Dearborn. Our future does depend on how we follow Christ.
So I encourage you to stand firm with the truth of your message as you have been doing. I affirm you for your strength in that. I urge you also to strengthen significantly your visible demonstration of love for Muslims—not for Islam, which is a false and oppressive way, but for fellow human beings, loved by God and for whom our Savior died, who are walking the Islamic road toward spiritual death.
I am praying for you, with love, with respect, with concern, and with hope.
To all of us I close with this, written by one who was “not ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1:16), who argued for its truth and ultimately gave his life for it. While living for that gospel in Christ, he wrote this reminder (from Romans 12:14-21):
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them…. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all….“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I expect we’ll all have more opportunity to practice that in years to come.
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Possibly related posts (automatically generated):
Rather than this quite indirect criticism, it would be simpler to just ask them to retract inflammatory, unfair statements like accusing Dearborn of implementing “Sharia law in the U.S.”
You want inflammatory? How about “arrested *for* sharing their faith” or “*for* sharing the gospel”.
Seriously? Is that the charge? Because boy howdy, here’s a secular liberal willing to donate to their defense fund.
But it’s at least good to know the appropriate theists are beginning to get a hint of what it *might* be like if a particular rival theist faction gained control of the apparatus of the state. Keep demanding that wall of separation!
Nick, rather than that quite indirect criticism (calling on me to voice your criticisms for you), it would have been simpler for you to express your own opinions for yourself—since being simple holds such apparently high value for you.
This is a multi-layered situation. Simplicity was not my chief objective. I encourage you to re-read the piece with your eyes open to other values I was expressing.
antiplastic, you wouldn’t be the first liberal to come to their defense.
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You want inflammatory? How about “arrested *for* sharing their faith” or “*for* sharing the gospel”.
Seriously? Is that the charge? Because boy howdy, here’s a secular liberal willing to donate to their defense fund.
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That’s only what Acts17 says. Other missionaries who were there, and the police/prosecuter, say they were violating religiously neutral, court-approved crowd control policies. It will come down to the trial and we’ll see who is right and who is engaging in demagoguery.