Thread: Christian Churches Read Quran from Pulpits across America

Christian Churches Read Quran from Pulpits across America

October 31, 2011
by da Tagliare

How would you feel if your pastor stood in the pulpit this past Sunday opened what you believed to be his Bible and then started to read passages completely unfamiliar to you. Then in the midst of the reading you hear him say Allah instead of God and you realize he is reading not from his Bible, but from the Quran.

How would you feel and what would you do?

If this didn’t happen to you yesterday, count yourself fortunate because it did happen to a number people sitting in Christian churches across America.

Social activists involved with Faith Shared, a program of Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First were trying to promote tolerance and respect of Islam and counter opposition to the Muslim faith. So starting with the National Cathedral in Washington DC, at least fifty other churches in twenty-six states joined in the effort to host readings from the Quran.

The effort is meant to counter what they refer to as ‘anti-Muslim bigotry and negative stereotypes’ that have been growing in the US. By getting prominent national and local churches to read from the Quran and teach their congregations about Islam, the Alliance believes it will help make Christians more knowledgeable and tolerant of Islam.

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance said:

“The anti-Muslim rhetoric that has pervaded our national conversation recently has shocked and saddened me. Appreciation for pluralism and respect for religious freedom and other human rights are at the core of our democracy. We believe that demonstrating our commitment to those core American values will help counteract the intensified level of negative stereotypes and anti-Muslim bigotry in our recent public discourse.â€

Well I guess if I were an ungodly bigot, I'd feel threatened by this. Since I follow a Christ-like life, I will let God decide what is right and wrong instead of FORCING what I think onto other people. As a Texan, I can't buy vodka on a Sunday because of people FORCING their religion on me, a person that was given freewill by God himself, only to be taken away by people "better than me."