Dear Editor:

Re: Muslims and Christians at Houston Baptist University

Though the tile, "Where Jerusalem and Mecca meet", like many titles, is more attention-grabbing that descriptive of the article over which it sits, Gregg Chenoweth and Caleb Benoit's piece on the interaction between Houston Baptist University and Muslim students who attend there was exciting to read. While I know that any article is of necessity reductionist about the reality it describes, nevertheless I was excited about HBU President Robert Sloan's apparent understanding that while "interfaith dialogue is not our goal; sharing Christ is…." still sharing Christ must be done in an atmosphere of dialogue, love, and respect where no one group is targeted.

I did disagree with one fine point in the article where it states that courses in New Testament and Christian Doctrine would be considered "heretical" to Muslims. In terms of our Christian apologetic to Muslims, I do not think that it is helpful to lump Christian doctrine and the New Testament together because the Qu'ran can sometimes create an openness among Muslims to the contents of the New Testament that they would not share about Christian doctrine in general. Though many if not most Muslims would consider some affirmations of Christian doctrine to be heretical, their approach to the New Testament (at least part of which the Qu'ran would call "Ingeel," a revealed book) is certainly more nuanced. This is so in spite of the conviction held by many Muslims that parts of the New Testament may have been corrupted. Still many of them may be open to faith-filled yet critical study of the New Testament which can clearly show that convictions about the uniqueness of Jesus as God's Son, his propitiating death, and his resurrection are among the earliest truth affirmations of the Ingeel and are at its irreducible core.

Finally, as a Presbyterian pastor, I appreciated President Sloan's comment "Interfaith dialogue is [part of] what the Calvinists would call a prevenient grace, a penultimate step in the evangelistic process or part of the total evangelistic process," --"as long as we are not satisfied to end there." But near as we are to the celebration of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth, I would want to add that Calvin also had a unique ability to see pre-Christian Classical literature as pointing in some ways to Christ. In the same way, while we cannot agree with much of the Quran's Christology (including that he is only a prophet) Qu'ranic affirmations that He was born of a virgin, performed miracles, and references to him as the "Word of God" and the "Spirit of God," have at times been used by God's prevenient grace and His Spirit to create an intense hunger for the One who is the Bread of Life and the Light of the world (Nur Jehan).

Winfield Casey Jones, D. Min
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church
Pearland, Texas