How Should Orthodox Christians Relate to Muslim Friends?
Note: This article is an automatically generated transcript of an audio lecture. It was transcribed and lightly reworded for readability using automated tools, so it does not reproduce the speaker’s exact words. For the original, listen to the recording linked below.
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Key takeaways:
- God desires the salvation of every people; Christians are instruments of his love
- Do not cut off relationships; separation hinders the commission to make disciples
- Affirm what is beautiful in others, but never concede doctrinal truth about Christ
- Be ready to defend the faith charitably, heeding St. Peter’s call
- Learn more, love more, and serve more while keeping Christ as first principle
A student's question about Muslim friends
A Catholic currently exploring Orthodoxy and studying at a university in Europe has many Muslim friends. Some of these friends disrespect Christianity and frequently speak about Islamophobia. The student loves and cares for these friends and wants to love others as Christ commands, but does not and cannot respect Islam, knowing that it's a demonic religion, and does not wish to deny or blaspheme Christ by saying otherwise. The student is unsure how to respond—whether to be more direct or to wait until asked—and wonders whether to stop being friends with them, especially with Scripture saying not to cast your pearls before swine. How, in fact, should a Christian relate to Muslim friends?
God's love and the commission
The bottom line is that God loves everyone and God is seeking everyone, and he has chosen to use his people, to use Christians, to reach the whole world. The Lord wants every Muslim person and every Hindu person and every Jewish person and every person who is an atheist. The Lord wants them all. He is expecting us, believers, to be the eyes and the mouth and the hands of his own love.
How to relate without compromise
If we cut ourselves off from people, I don't see how we're going to be able to fulfill the commission to make disciples of all the nations. Now, that doesn't mean that we have to compromise in any way. There are many things about Islam that are beautiful, and the things that are beautiful, we should affirm. The things that are not beautiful, such as suggesting that Jesus is simply a human being and not the divine co-eternal Son of God—that's a hideous, hideous thing to affirm. And we would never tolerate such blasphemy against the Lord Jesus Christ.
But we don't attack people. We don't attack people or disregard people because they think wrong or they believe wrong. Instead, we light them up as much as we can. We defend the faith. We heed St. Peter's call to do everything you can to "give an answer, a defense for the faith that you have within you." This is what the Lord expects us to do. So learn, love them more, serve them more, keep your integrity in the process. Always serve Christ and never compromise him, ever, as your first principle. And who knows what good you can do.
