Reasons to be Converting?

The reports of 'unprecedented' numbers of British women converting often speak of how they converted from Roman Catholicism or from being Anglican. Actually, what this means, generally, is that they have converted from a place of having no faith at all and this is something that we need to recognise and lay at the feet of the RC and CofE brands.

In the UK it is predicted that by 2035 the number of British women converts will outstrip the number of immigrant Muslim women.

There are a number of reasons given for this conversion rate and there are a number of stories quoted regarding the path to Islam (some of which we will take a look at). Interestingly, although the conversions mean the number of adherents also grow, one of the effects of this growth is to herald a change to a more moderate, intellectual and secular Islam.

Some Reasons given for conversion:

God didn't answer my prayers!
I find this an interesting, albeit immature reason. The idea that God is some celestial entity who exists to provide whatever we ask, regardless of reason, reality or logic is childish and selfish in equal measure! Not only that, but they're heading for a bit of a shock if they think conversion to Islam will stump up with their desired outcomes! As I understand it the greater jihad (struggle between self and god) doesn't give away a great deal but requires sacrifice, obedience and commitment.

It's a A personal faith
Apparently some see their conversion as a move away from the hierarchical structures of being submissive to a priest. The majority of these people are from an RC background (a few Anglicans) and they welcome the fact that Islam is a faith that can be lived directly between them and God. Think that they are in for a bit of a shock here - especially when it comes to keeping the laws and observances.

It's a consistent faith!
Well, you can't fault them for this viewpoint can you? Islam stands rigidly behind its legal system and sharia law, attitudes towards marriage, adultery, sexual immorality, deviant sexual practices, lending and many other issues have been set in stone. I can see the attraction here as the Christian Church pulls itself apart and denies the Gospel, Biblical standards and attitudes and rewrites whatever it wishes. "Truth remains truth whether we like it or not!" The words of an Imam i recently shared lunch with! problem is, in some parts of the Christian Church we have to say that, "Truth is a subjective and changing constant - especially if we don't like it!"

It seems to me that Gene Robinson, KJS and the other revisionists and liberal types (in the US and in the UK) have denied the traditional faith and opened the door to weaken the faith through their (self-serving) error and variable truths. They threaten the lives of African Christians, they draw people away to other faiths and they cause their own denomination to weaken and(eventually I assume) fall!

It's a lifestyle not just a 'Sunday' thing
We can lay the blame directly at those Christians who want a faith on their terms. It's not about coming on a Sunday and paying the PArish Share. It's not about having a 'pick 'n mix' lifestyle. We can't validate those whom we encounter with lives that deny the Gospel because we don't want to offend. This is a challenge to the Christian Church - a 'wake up' call.

It's bloody amazing that the same nominal Christians who can't read their Bible once a week or manage to pray for even five minutes a day can suddenly pray five times a day, every day. Who's at fault here, the unmotivated and untaught person or the people who should be acting as Pastors, Priests, Bishops and higher still (the über pointyheads - Anglican, Catholic, Methodist and many other denominations besides!) are all in the frame - and they need to start acting as the Bible demands and restore Christianity to it's proper place!

More later . . . . .