Source: HUFFPOST RELIGION
Rev. Pat Robertson weighed into the fraught world of interfaith marriage with some advice for a Christian fellow who plans to marry his Muslim girlfriend.
“I’ve been with my girlfriend for three years and we’re planning on getting married,” writes Brad in the friendly Q&A section of Robertson’s 700 club. “Here’s the thing. I’m a Christian, she’s a Muslim. People have told me to break it off with her. But she seems open to the faith, and I’m worried that leaving her will turn her off to Christianity and it isn’t exactly Christ-like. What do you think.”
Robertson lost no time in telling Brad to get rid of his Muslim fiance with a warning about being yoked with ‘unbelievers’ and referencing the Old Testament when Jews were forbidden to intermarry with the ‘heathen.’
No way! No way! She’s going to want to do her Muslim thing and your going to want to do your Christian thing. There will be constant struggle and strife. Walk Away!
This may be good advice as many studies show that interfaith marriages are more likely to fail than people of the same views on religion. Just look at TomKat.
Robertson’s solution in the end is for the young man to pray that the Muslim girlfriend become a Christian. And if that doesn’t work, Robertson tells the young man, “Then say goodbye!”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/16/pat-robertson-on-interfaith-marriage_n_1677175.html
NOTE BY THE EDITOR: Well, we agree with him. Moreover, what kind of ‘Muslim girl’ will remain as girl friend of a Christian man for 3 years? It is unfortunate that some Muslims in the West feel the need to copy this ‘Western lifestyle’. As you can see from this article it will only lead to unhappyness.
Categories: Americas, CHRISTIANITY, Family values, Human values, Interfaith tolerance, Islam, United States
The phenomenon of interfaith marraiges needs to be studied indepth. This phenomenon is one of the many which moves the evolutionary process of the humankind to a higher level of existance. Those who somehow get involved in this phenomenon, knowingly or unknowingly, are sure to face much difficulty. Every moment of their existance becomes a challenge and each partner is required to either “break” the relationship OR find a “synthesis” of the “thesis and anti-thesis” inwhich they hanve landed themselves into. And while doing that, the “truths” of their respective beliefs come into sharp focus.
Ordinarily, in the “same faith” marraiges such an experience is absent. There is no challenge at such an emotional level.
Then comes the next generation: the children of such a family. I call them the “synthesis” generation. Mostly such children are broad minded, and get the opportunity of studying the belief systems of their parents as “observers”. In the western society, which is dominated by a secular mindset, the children are able to make the choice without any compulsion and with logic and reason. It does not remain “blind faith”.
What the priest has advised the boy and the girl, is an advise which is very normal. The advice could have been much better when it comes to advising youngsters who have grown up in a secular society. They look forward to living their life in a Global Village and being part of a Universal Ciilization – which is neither the outdated Christian belief system nor any other, but which can cater the “human nature” and its evolution which has taken place over milleniums where the human species is about to undertake space journeys to other planets and galaxies.
On the one hand Human Being is discovering the so called God’s Particle” and on the other hand we have this outdated priest advising these youngsters about his age old theories of “interfaith marraiges”.
We need to grow up to the expectations of the younger generation of this space age.
MAV
Sweden
To say “…what kind of ‘Muslim girl’ will remain as girl friend of a Christian man for 3 years?” shows all the problems Islam has. It does not show love. Not the person is important but the religion of the person. Muslims are killed by their parents because they convert to other religions. This is rellay God’s will? Never. God does not want people to split because of different religion. He wants all people to unite no matter what religion they have as long as they are good people(honest, faithful, forgiving, modest, kind). Forbiding muslim girls to marry christians is ignorant, especially if at the same time muslims are allowed to marry christian girls. That is clearly a man made rule to gain more followers and power and not to lose women and their childern to other religions. Follow Jesus because he is only love.
He said in the bible: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to God but through Me.” Remember that when next time an apostate is killed because of islam.
Thanks Thomas. Just to clarify: I would have written the same thing about ‘what kind of Muslim girl will remain as girl friend of a Muslim man for 3 years’. They are supposed to marry first before living together. We at The Muslim Times believe in ‘there is no compulsion in religion’, while we would admittedly be pained if any of our children would convert to another faith we would not kill them. Allah is the judge of all that in the next world. And, yes, the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him) was right to say “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to God but through me’. He was after all the Prophet of the time. In the meantime this function has been replaced by the Master of all Prophets, Mohammad (peace be on him), who brought the final book, the Qur’an.
I think there’s a misunderstanding here.
First, who said that this couple mentioned above were living together? They might just be seeing each other.
Then, one of the reasons that Islam has this supposed inequity regarding allowing marriage by a Muslim man to an Ahle-kitaab woman is because, the children born of this union would, in normal circumstances follow the faith of the father.
While a Muslim woman cannot do the same because of the same reason – the children she bears would in the normal course of such a relationship automatically follow the faith of the father.
And since this is a Qur’anic law, it should be obeyed unless the man accepts Islam and becomes a practicing Muslim.
Again, I believe that the reasoning behind this is so that there is no clash in the marriage and we, as Muslims, are supposed to bring up pious children who will be good practicing Muslims, too.
Reading the comments above, if the followers of all religions marry their children in their own communities, each claiming that they want to bring up “pious children who will be good practicing Muslims”, does it not declare in the same breath that the rest of humanity is “not pious”?
MAV
Sweden