Christians must 'let go' some beliefs for sake of peace, theologian says

Tennessean.com reported To live peacefully with Muslims and Jews, Christians must put aside the notion that their faith requires the creation of a Christian kingdom on Earth, a Lipscomb University theologian told an interfaith gathering at the university.

I am not aware of an expectation that Christians are to create a Christian kingdom on Earth; we are merely to spread the news of Christ. Now what Christ chooses to do when He returns is His business, but I think He will be able to take care of any opposition

"We are not going to get very far in our relationship with Jews or Muslims if we do not let go of this idea," Lipscomb professor Lee Camp said at Tuesday's conference. The unusual gathering of several dozen clergy and lay people was devoted to resolving religious conflict in Nashville and around the world. "We need to forsake the Christendom model," Camp said. "The most basic Christian commitment … is that we say we believe in the Lordship of Jesus. But, if we claim that, how can a Muslim or Jew trust us, if we say Jesus is the Lord of all Lords?"

They can choose to accept Christ as their personal saviour, and thereby assure themselves of eternal life, or the Jew can rely on the compact they established with God. The Muslim is free to think that he can get to Heaven by blowing himself up and killing innocents, but the Quran says just the opposite.

Co-sponsored by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, the daylong conference was prompted by a desire to begin a dialogue about global religious conflict. After five years of rising gas prices, disturbing privacy issues that followed the Sept. 11 attacks and the fear of terrorism, it became apparent that everyday life in Nashville is directly affected by religious conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, conference organizers said.

Bryan blogged Camp is unspeakably ill-informed and naive. He’ll welcome his new Islamist overlords with open arms.