Hello all:
Its been a while since I posted. I have a few things to write on, but I’ve held back. Until now.
Last night, I recieved my weekly Disciples News Service email. I found the following story at the bottom of the synopsis:
NORTHWEST REGION WELCOMES NEW CHURCH START IN SEATTLE, WA.
Friends of the One has been welcomed as a Disciples congregation in formation by the Regional Board of the Northwest Regional Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Friends of the One, which met for the first time on Sept. 30, is a Christian Sufi community bringing together the mystical traditions of two faith groups into the formation of a Christian community. The community’s Sufi practices include a silent mediation of the heart. This Sufi tradition is explicit that one can belong to any religion and be a Sufi and there are many Sufis who are actively and fully Christian.
The community also will draw from the non-hierarchical non-creedal Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) tradition, which practices the return to the earliest roots of inclusive Christianity, including weekly communion, to which all are welcome. To learn more about Friends of One, see: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2007/07157.html
I’ve heard of Sufism, but never known anything about it. According to the Wikipedia Article on Sufism, it is a branch of Islam. Some Sufi’s are considered “universalists” who feel that Sufism is compatible with all relgions and that the Sufi “faith” is the most base form of religion that leads to knowledge about God. Islamic Sufi’s deny universalism as unorthodox.
My first thought about this article is that this is quite disturbing, especially with the words “inter-faith” being used to describe this church. This type of activity seems to affirm what more Conservative Disciples have been saying about the direction the Denomination is heading. I’d like to hear your opinions on the issue.
Also, if you know any Disciples, send them over. Disciples are usually few and far between on here…I’d like to hear what they have to say about this.
-Clarke
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October 13th, 2007 at 17:41
Hi Clarke,
Good to hear from you again. You’re ahead of me on this one… I’ve never encountered Sufism before. I wonder what that congregation’s convictions are about John 14:6 and similar passages.
October 13th, 2007 at 20:34
Alan:
My guess is that they don’t agree. Some of the more conservative congregations left the Disciples after the 2005 general convention here in Portland because one of the resolutions seemed to reject the idea that Jesus is the only way.
I recently read Leroy Garrett’s book “The Stone-Campbell Movement” who talked about this issue with Disciples. Garrett claimed in the book that the bible doesn’t claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven. I was wondering if Dr. Garrett had never read John 14:6…it was probably the only thing in the book I had an issue with.
-Clarke
October 22nd, 2007 at 19:05
“Sufis believe that God is responsible for everything they do, every act that they, as his servants perform. If not, then they would be equal to God, doing whatever they wanted. Thus God is responsible for every thought and deed. God can do with his servants whatever he wills, whether it is to the servant’s advantage or not.” http://www.allaboutreligion.org/sufism.htm
They’d be right at home with the Calvinists.