Should Christians observe Ramadan (a Muslim Fast)?

[James Nored]

Author Brian McLaren has joined with some of his Christian friends in observing Ramadan. McLaren says:

"Ramadan is the Muslim holy month of fasting for spiritual renewal and purification. It commemorates the month during which Muslims believe Mohammed received the Quran through divine revelation, and it calls Muslims to self-control, sacrificial generosity and solidarity with the poor, diligent reading of the Quran, and intensified prayer.

This year, I, along with a few Christian friends (and perhaps others currently unknown to us will want to join in) will be joining Muslim friends in the fast which begins August 21. We are not doing so in order to become Muslims: we are deeply committed Christians. But as Christians, we want to come close to our Muslim neighbors and to share this important part of life with them. Just as Jesus, a devout Jew, overcame religious prejudice and learned from a Syrophonecian woman and was inspired by her faith two thousand years ago (Matthew 15:21 ff, Mark 7:24 ff), we seek to learn from our Muslim sisters and brothers today."

Some have commended McLaren for reaching out to Muslims, while others, such as Mark Driscoll, have condemned him. So is this a good or bad thing?

The tension that any true missionary faces is the tension between a) being incarnational and translating the gospel into a language that people can understand; and b) syncretisim, or the mixing of religions and faith systems.

Frankly, those who are not on mission do not understand this tension at all. When you are sitting in the safety of a church building or Christian circle, it is easy to rail against any "translation" of the gospel as being a violation of Christian faith or practice.

So what about observing Ramadan?

Can one fast or pray (prayer always goes with fasting) with someone who has a different understanding of God? To this I would respond:

1. None of us has the exact same view of God, though of course there are some understandings (such as the Trinity, God's goodness, power, etc.) that would seem to be essential to a biblical understanding of God.

2. Yes, Muslims deny that Jesus and the Spirit are God. But so do Jews. And Paul continued to worship at Jewish synagogues after his conversion. He did so on mission, going to where people were both physically and spiritually.

3. Jesus taught the disciples to pray--and they did not have a good understanding of who he was. He took them where they were, and they came to a fuller understanding later.

4. God apparently adopted the Canaanite's name for God--El--and reshaped it, calling himself El Shaddai, among other forms of El.

5. Paul took the altar to the Unknown God in Acts 17 and said that this God that they worshipped unknowingly was the true God of heaven.

6. Cornelius' prayers went up before God as a sweet aroma, though he was a God-fearer and not a Jew or a Christian. Would it have been wrong for Peter to pray with him prior to his baptism? Would this cause the sweet aromas which existed with Cornelius to turn sour when a Christian prayed with him?

7. When I pray with my children, do they fully understand God? No, but the act of praying together helps shape their understanding of God.

If I were praying with a non-Christian (or fasting, though it is hard to fast "with someone," since fasting seeks to abstain!), I would want them to know where possible and appropriate that I pray in Jesus' name. I do want to share Christ with them! In fact, however, I pray with people prior to their baptism all the time in Bible studies. We probably think nothing of this because we have lived in a nation with a generally Christian worldview. We have never contemplated praying with someone who has a different worldview, so fasting or praying with a Muslim sounds jolting to us.

Obviously, our intent should always be to reach people for Christ, never to give up our faith. If the intent were to say that there was no difference between Christianity and Islam, this would be wrong. But when we show respect for people, this can open doors for dialogue and faith sharing. And who do you think will have more opportunities for faith sharing--the one who fasts or prays with a Muslim, or those who do not do so?

These are the initial thoughts that I have, but I am open to other ideas and discussion. If you can interact with the passages I have brought up and point towards other relevant passages, this would be great.

What are you thoughts?

[Eric Asante Obeng]

greetings from Botswana Gaborone church of christ.and we thanks the Lord to reach south Africa in good condition.Q"10.94": But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers.If IsIam is doubt about the Holy Qur'an they must asked christains.Why IsIam is doubt but not asked christians?

[Darin Hamm]

James,

I think the comparison is apples to oranges. We are not talking about people who didn't know that Jesus was the Messiah. Cornelius had probably heard nothing about Him at that point. Contrast that with people who acknowledge Jesus, they know about him, but consider him inferior to their prophet and deny his Lordship and divine nature. They sound very different.

To your point about worshiping God, Hebrews 11:39,40 shows that those who didn't know Jesus and didn't have understanding were walking by faith because of the promise made. The promise was for a Messiah, a deliverer for God's people. The promise was a ruler on the throne of David. They were looking for the Messiah. To not know the exact identity of the Messiah seems a great deal different to me then saying that Messiah was just a guy who is below Mohammad.

If a Muslim group invited me to come discuss Jesus then great, I would encourage such dialogue and would have no issue listening to how they see the world but if I understand correctly we are talking about joining worship that acknowledges that Mohammad is superior to Jesus. I just don't see anything about the Cornelius story that is applicable to this situation.

Thanks for the opportunity to dialogue on this.

[James Nored]

Darin, I appreciate your thoughts and interacting with these texts. You say that God-fearers like Cornelius worshipped God at the synagogue, which is true. But they did not have an understanding of God that included Jesus. If they did not have this understanding, were they really worshipping God? Cornelius' prayers were a sweet aroma to God, despite this lack of understanding. And of course no one really had this understanding back in the Old Testament. So, if Cornelius' prayers went up as a sweet offering, do the prayers of "God-fearers" today go up as a sweet aroma? What about a Jewish God-fearer? A Muslim God-fearer? Where is the line drawn and why? I would be interested in your thoughts on this.

[Darin Hamm]

I think it might be interesting to find out what a Muslim thinks when a Christian joins them to celebrate the great prophet Mohammed who is greater than Jesus. If I understand correctly they believe in Jesus they simply see him as inferior.

Fasting to celebrate that seems to go beyond the idea of trying to get close to the Muslims that surround us.

The early church didn’t join trade guilds because of their connection to pagan gods. Their logic was not that this could help us get closer to them.

A person can get close to Muslims without sending a false message about what you think of their religion.

A few other things that come to mind.

The Canaanite woman approaches Jesus asking for mercy and acknowledging him as Lord and Son of David. Far from what will be happening during Ramadan. She comes to where he is not the other way around.

Cornelius is called a God-fearer which at that point in time means someone who followed Jewish practices but didn’t want to go all the way to become a Jew. These people worshiped God at the synagogue etc. You will find them referenced throughout Acts. That is why the experience with Cornelius leads to the council of Jerusalem and a change that has come because of Jesus Christ. Instead of becoming a Jew a Gentile simply need to place their faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized. They no longer had to carry the tag of God-fearer and be shown as second class worshipers.

The strongest argument I see is Paul in the Jewish synagogues and yet Paul relates his purpose in Romans 9. If I was offered the same opportunity as Paul was in Acts 13:13-43 I would think it was great but, I don’t think that is what we are talking about here. Can we forget that Paul’s time in synagogue didn’t lead to mutual understanding or even friendship but trouble (Acts 19:44-52)? The text says they shook the dust off their feet and left to Iconium. Sounds like a very different experience. Just follow the book of Acts and see if the picture is the same. Acts 14:5 they were going to stone them for what they said and what happens in 14:19?

“And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” Acts 17:2-3

[James Nored]

Miguel, that is an interesting point, and you may be on to something. Fasting is directed towards God.

Jesus seems to be against people who use fasting for their own self-glorification. Using it to create dialogue is a selfless kind of motive, so it might be a bit different. Still, I understand your point.

[Miguel Labrador]

At first gut reaction, the issue is not about whether we should do or not do anything with Muslims, the issue is centered on the Fast itself.

Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face

so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

If you fast for a specific prayer result or to break through to God in a special way, great! If you fast for any other purpose which includes "standing along side Muslims to make a point, then I fear it is "fasting to be noticed by men,"

Just sayin....