I must say I am relieved to see the end of September. 

It was a sad and bloody month. 

The month began with the 12th Anniversary of the Sep11th attacks in US. On the same day, a Florida pastor was arrested 

before he could set on fire several thousand copies of the Qu’ran. 

The month really went off the rails when 

a pair of suicide bombers in Pakistan killed close to 80 Christians 

as they were leaving their Anglican Church after the Sunday service. 

The month took a turn for the worse when a group of Muslim extremists attacked a shopping mall in Kenya, killing over 120 people. 

The terrorists targeted Christians in their attacks. 

September came to a bloody end when the ongoing violence 

between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria 

resulted in Muslim gunmen killing 50 students at an agricultural college. September was not a good month.

 

Adnan Oktar is a Muslim from Turkey. 

Oktar has written a number of books 

and is considered one of the most influential Muslims in the world. 

In a recent article, Oktar said 

 

Islam is a religion of love and peace 

-- and quite clearly states that everyone must be treated 

as first-class citizen regardless of faith, race, language and thought 

--  so how come there is so much violence and pain in the Muslim world?

No religion commands violence. 

No religion encourages ruthlessness, selfishness, 

lovelessness and massacre. 

 

 

Violence and the conditions that pave the way for violence 

develops when ideologies that promote conflict, 

replace the moral values of religion 

that sees people as equal servants created by God. 

 

Oktar says religion has as its purpose promoting 

“modesty, patience, compassion and unrequited love.”

 

But when politics and religion intermingle, 

religion often ends up serving the political agenda. 

And when the politics turns nasty or violent, 

it is usually the religion which gets the blame. 

The world’s religions have not done a good job 

of distancing ourselves from the violence done in our name. 

 

Now Christians are very fond of criticizing Muslims 

for their aggression and violence.  

What most Christians fail to realize is that the Muslims 

learned it all from us. 

For Christians, we call a holy war a Crusade. 

We have had crusades against Islam, 

we have had crusades against other Christian nations. 

We have also had moral crusades against things 

like alcohol and child labour. 

The Muslims  call such struggles a a Jihad. 

Both religions have used the sword as a way of spreading our influence. We have both used force to protect our understanding of the truth.

 

 

 

 

In Adnan Oktar’s article, he says 

The only way to solve these problems 

created by the mistakes of the last century is to build a new civilization. Gunrunning, supporting dictatorial regimes, overt and covert pressure 

and oppression cannot build civilizations. 

That can only be achieved by changing people's minds. 

For this, we need to start a new education campaign together 

both in the West and the East. 

Let's teach this peace-loving, forgiving, moderate, compassionate, understanding, mature spirit that God wants from us, 

to all people again. Let's be the teachers of love.

 

He recognizes it will take a change in attitude 

in both the leaders of the west and in the Muslim world 

for such peace to be possible. It will not be easy. 

It is hard to let go of the old ways of thinking. 

 

We in the West were all raised in the concept 

that the truth of our faith must be protected 

from those who do not believe the same things as us. 

We have to conquer the unbelievers for Christ. 

Our model of evangelism speaks of winning souls. 

Most of our missionary work was tied 

to spreading the economic and political expansion of western ideas. 

Our missionaries tried to Westernize the people we met. 

Here in Canada our residential schools 

had the goal of assimilating aboriginal people 

by eradicating their native culture. 

 

 

 

Dr. Cornel West is one of the most influential black philosophers 

and theologians in North America today. 

He is most famous for his book “Race Matters”. 

Dr. Cornel West has a good sense of what is lacking 

in the way Christianity is practiced today. 

Dr. West says “You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. 

You can't save the people if you don't serve the people.”

 

If our goal is conquer, then we will need 

lots of swords and men in order for our understanding of the truth to prevail. And if the world rejects our message, we will be justified in our revenge. But if our goal is to love and to serve, 

then we already have all we need in order to succeed. 

Jesus says all you need is a faith the size of a mustard seed. 

Mustard seeds are tiny little things. But they are pungent. 

You only need a few drops of mustard to spice up a hot dog. 

Mustard seeds are like dandelions. They spread like crazy. 

So if you don’t have some, it’s not hard to get. 

All it takes is a little love. All it takes is a little caring. 

You don’t need an army to make a difference. 

You don’t have to force your good on others to make a difference. 

 

In his article, Adnan Oktar says 

“If the prudent, moderate, rational peoples of the West 

and the Islamic world become allies, 

we can make big significant changes in a short period of time. 

Let's not forget that The Good are greater in numbers, 

but they don't work together.”  

He notes that our political and economic agendas have kept us apart. 

 

 

Oktar notes that the evil forces in the world 

become more effective because they do work together, 

even though they are a small minority. 

 

This past summer I attended the Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina. Over two thousand Christians gathered from across Canada and the USA.  There were Catholics and Pentecostals, Presbyterians and Anglicans, Unitarians and Methodists all sitting together. 

We were asking one another “What is the Holy Spirit inspiring you to do?” Instead of competing or disrespecting one another as we often do, 

we were determined to learn from each other. 

I met one woman who had recently left her church. 

She was tired of the negative judgmental attitude she found there. 

She told me she didn’t want to teach her children to hate like that. 

She is still trying to find a church that teaches love instead of hate.

 

I met a man who had started a community garden in North Carolina. 

The garden was a project of the white Methodist congregation, 

but the garden was in the black part of town.  

The potluck meals held at the garden became a a model 

of racial harmony and bridge building. 

 

I met a pastor who had won an award for excellence in evangelism. 

The very same week he won the award, 

he was kicked out of his denomination, 

because they didn’t approve of him talking to ‘those kind of people’.  

 

I met the Reverend Nadia Bolz Weber. 

Reverend Bolz Weber is a Lutheran pastor. 

She has the most tattoos I have ever seen on a female pastor. 

She is the founder of a church called House for All Saints and All Sinners. 

It welcomes in those who couldn’t find a welcome at a regular church. Reverend Bolz Weber has the rare talent of recognizing hypocrisy 

and using blunt language to pop the balloon of complacency. 

Reverend Bolz Weber says 

 

“while we as people of God are certainly called to feed the hungry 

and clothe the naked 

that whole Christian “We’re blessed to be a blessing” thing 

can be kinda dangerous. 

It can be dangerous when it starts to feel like 

we are placing ourselves above the world 

waiting to descend on those below 

so we can to be the “blessing” they’ve been waiting for, like it or not. 

It can so easily become a well-meaning but insidious blend 

of benevolence and paternalism. 

It can so easily become pimping the poor 

so that we can feel like we are being good little Christs for them.”

 

Like Cornel West says, “You can't lead the people i

f you don't love the people. You can't save the people 

if you don't serve the people.” 

 

Jesus calls us to the hard work of loving the people. Of serving them. 

Of being with them. 

Like the workers in a garden, 

this means we must be willing to get our hands dirty. 

For when we are with them, we become one with them. 

We become one of them. And they become one of us. 

And when are together in this way, 

we are all changed by the presence of God. 

And all it takes is a little faith. And a little love. Amen.