One of the best things about Christmastime is that all the biggest pop stars just have to sing Christmas carols. They must. And we do reap the benefits. Tonight hearing Celine Dion sing O Holy Night was quite amazing, even though with a slight Canadian tinge.
A second one-of-the-best-things-about-Christmastime is the theology inescapably present in carols. All of sudden glitzy starlets turn from singing the praises of their many paramours to the glories of the advent of the Christ child. In so doing the themes of sin, judgment, reconciliation, true peace, salvation, redemption, and God’s provision fill the airwaves for the season until we’ve gotten what we wanted from under the tree and can tuck these confronting, blatantly Christian topics away into the attic with all our Christmas decor. Out of sight, out of mind.
The theology present in carols highlights a difference between Christianity and Islam to which I would like to draw your attention. Tonight as I listened to the mellifulously sopranic voice of Celine declare over the radio for all of North America to hear Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever I was struck by the ineffective nature of her otherwise decidely Christian confession. Let the reader recall the somewhat infamous martyrdom of Polycarp at which time he was called upon to declare Kurios Caesar (“Caesar is Lord”) but rather than choosing to deny his Lord replied securely Kurios Iesous (“Jesus is Lord”). This is the most basic Christian confession. Indeed at the church I attend the baptized are asked “What is your confession?” to which the expected response is “Jesus is Lord.” However, much to my chagrin, there is reason to believe that Celine Dion along with the company of fifty plus artists who have recorded this carol in singing out “Christ is the Lord!” are not making heart-felt, Spirit-induced confessions of the lordship of Jesus of Nazareth.
In Christianity, just saying the words is not what renders a confession effectual. Yes, Paul affirms in Romans 10:9 that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” But Jesus’ words in John 6:44 are also true “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” This is not to deter anyone from Christianity or from turning to Christ for the forgiveness of sins; but to deter a flippant confession by which one might expect to be saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3). This then is where the difference between Christianity and Islam emerges.
The Shahada
Al-Islam.org in a section entitled If You Decide to Convert outlines what it takes to become a Muslim:
Ash hadoo an laa ilaahaa ilallaah [I bear witness that there is no god but Allah (one god)]
Ash hadoo anna Muhammadan Rasoollallah (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah).
If you state those two things with belief and conviction, you are Muslim.
Unlike Christianity, in Islam there is a magic formula, the Shahada, whereby one becomes Muslim upon declaration in Arabic. Later on in the above-linked article the new convert is advised:
When you get the chance, meet with someone who already knows the prayer and they can help you with the Arabic and little details, God willing.
Help with the Arabic seems a most important step. In Christianity, however, each hearer of the gospel is invited to respond by turning to God through Christ in prayer in their heart language and in their own words in faith, for he is not merely God of one tribe, tongue or nation alone, but the high king of heaven around whose throne peoples from all nations will gather.
Caroling Doesn’t Save
Christmastime is therefore not an automatic in-gathering of carolers but a season during which each listener gains another precious opportunity to take in the glories of God in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). Each season gives the gospel another spin on the record players and over the airwaves only to be ignored and superficially melodically enjoyed. Were this a time during which the Shahada filled the airwaves set to infectiously hum-worthy tunes we might all awake on Boxing Day Muslims!
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