"And there are layers of complexity that add to the confusion. Many young Muslims were born in Australia. Their country demands their loyalty and yet it is involved in a war that, for many, offends their families' religion and culture. International politics, Islam and injustice are regularly discussed in the privacy of their family homes."
"but how can they totally relate to, warmly embrace, or thoroughly respect Western ways when they have grown up being warned, directly or indirectly, against the decadence, the follies and the wantonness of the West?"I can't imagine it would be easy growing up as a Muslim in Australia. But there was more I took from here. As Christian's perhaps we too should have a similar "identity" crisis as the look at this world - a world that clearly grieves God.
We too should look at the decadance of the west and grieve. (And I think our churches perhaps too often embrace the decadence of the west, rather than flee).
To quote part of an email discussion I was having relating to this –
“I do think, however, that, as Christians, it is something that we need to be aware of and monitor in ourselves. We need to remind ourselves that the way to live and the path to happiness is not through the material but belief in Jesus- a thought that can sometimes be hard to hold onto in today's material world of brands, debt, and the fashionable suburbs etc.” (F)Which I thought summed it up quite nicely. We can't just let this world and its values wash over us. We need to be shaped by God, (Romans 12:1-2) and stand out from the world within which we are visiting (1 Peter 1-2, Php 2:12ff).
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