Proclaimer Blog
Christmas Open Air
Tomorrow, with some trepidation, I'm going open air Christmas preaching at an East End market frequented by Muslim groups. Should be interesting (although that's not the word that immediately springs to mind). I've been reading up on a paper a colleague has prepared about the nativity in Islam. Here's an excerpt:
There are a number of similarities, but also important differences between Christianity and Islam in their narratives concerning the Nativity of Jesus. For example, in the Qur’an and Hadith (both Sunni and Shia), no Joseph is present, no manger, no Shepherds, no Presentation in the Temple, no Herod, no Magi, no Star of Bethlehem – indeed, any mention of Bethlehem at all, no Massacre of the Innocents, no Flight into Egypt or return to Nazareth. The Qur’anic narrative centres very largely on Mary. However, in an edited form, there are a number of similarities with Apocryphal material, such as the Protoevangelium of James, the Pseudo-Gospel of Matthew and the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, the latter being dependent upon earlier Syriac material.
Essentially, the paper argues, the Islam nativity is heavily influenced by pseudographic material in circulation at the time of Muhammad (no surprise, really). So, there are grains of truth, heavily distorted. For example, the location of Jesus birth (beside the river Euphrates). There are also wholesale inaccuracies carried over from the one pseudo document to another – for example, that Jesus spoke whilst in the cradle.
For me, my task is not to be apologetic – i.e. not to interact with the what the Koran says – but rather to preach the truth – i.e. to proclaim what the Bible does say. I'm going to take Luke 2.11 as a simple text: "for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord."
- Jesus is the Saviour
- Jesus is the Christ
- Jesus is the Lord (in this passage context that means God)
Pray, if you can, tomorrow from 1-3pm.