By Rev. Morley G. Clarke
I am appalled and deeply grieved to learn from Christian Week that the United Church’s Emmanuel
College is now planning to offer a course to train Muslim leaders. What a preposterous offer! And what faithful Muslim would deign to accept such a presumptuous proposal? Would they in turn reciprocate by offering to train future United Church ministers in their theological seminaries?
It would be fascinating to learn what the syllabus for the proposed course might include. Might
one, for instance, find:
- the fact that Muhammad could neither read nor write, making it necessary for him to rely on inadequate and misleading information from others as to who Jesus really is;
- the historical fact that massive military campaigns were used to “convert” non-Muslims;
- a detailed account of the career of Osama Bin Laden, including terrorism such as the destruction of the Twin Towers;
- reliable documentation of the ongoing persecution of Christians in Islamic countries;
- required reading of criticism of Islam such as Ayaan Hershi Ali’s books Infidel and Nomad, and Mark Stein’s America Alone, and other documentation of ongoing persecution of Christians in Islamic countries, with Islam’s threat to impose Sharia law on “tolerant” countries like Canada”.
Since the United Church’s beginning in 1925 there has been a steady regression from being evangelical to the prevailing ultra-liberalism that pervades our Theological Colleges. The result has been our dubious distinction of being the fastest declining denomination in North America! We have lost the Gospel we once faithfully proclaimed, and have forfeited our cornerstone as a Christian Church by abandoning Jesus’ mandate for His Church in The Great Commission.
Do you believe that God would smile on a denomination that marginalizes His Son and the clear
teaching of his Word, the Apostles and Nicene creeds, and the affirmations of the Protestant Reformation? Somewhere along the way our Church has kicked out the basis of union that held us together and made our Church a strong one.
And your proud graduates look in vain for giants to lead us on.