Pastor learns about Islam, tries to bridge gap with Christians | August 12, 2008
During lunch 18 months ago, Dr. Ben Johnson had an epiphany as Dr. Aisha Jumaan, a Muslim, spoke to him about her faith and her experience of God.
"It came to me that this woman loves and worships the same God I do," says Johnson, a Christian. "I had this sharpened awareness that in that moment she was in touch with God, just as I was. It was a dawning and an awakening, and it was liberating because it liberates you from standing on a pedestal and looking down on someone else."
It also inspired Johnson to take on a life-changing mission.
At a time when many Christians, including some in his own church, were openly hostile towards a religion they believed advocated terrorism and was at war with the United States, Johnson initiated a dialog aimed at bringing Christians and Muslims together.
He has conducted a series of lectures and small-group gatherings at which more than 500 Muslims and Christians have shared their faith with each other. Not, Johnson hastens to point out, to convert anyone: "Just to understand each other."
Sunday Johnson will present another lecture, "Beyond 9/11: Christians and Muslims Together — A New World Vision" at Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta with a vision clear in his mind.
"The dream," he says, "is that we can find a way to bridge the chasm between Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists and make Atlanta a model city. That over the next year or two, we can develop an interfaith immersion program."
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Posted by admin at August 12, 2008 10:52 PM