We live in an increasingly pluralistic age and it can sometimes be a challenge helping people see the uniqueness of Jesus given all the religious options surrounding them. But a powerful way to explore those differences is with a dialogue event.
Solas’s Andy Bannister has been involved in many dialogue events over the years, especially between Christians and Muslims. Andy says his highlight was in Toronto a few years back where over 1,000 people attended—of which 600 were Muslims—to hear a panel with Christian and Muslim speakers discuss a number of topics, including questions like “Who was Jesus?”
More recently, Andy helped the Christian Union at Lancaster University organise a dialogue. The CU partnered with the university Islamic Society, who invited the Imam from the local mosque. On the night, he and Andy were interviewed about the differences between Christianity and Islam. It was a friendly, robust dialogue in which Andy had many opportunities to share why he believed in Jesus not Muhammad. And afterwards, Christian students got to talk over coffee with Muslim students late into the night.
Andy said: “I love dialogue events! They are are easy to invite friends to; you quickly get to the differences between belief systems and to the uniqueness of Jesus; but you also get to model Christianity by the manner in which you respond to the other speaker.” And you don’t just need to try a Muslim-Christian dialogue event; dialogues with atheists also work well.
So why not try a dialogue event in your church or CU. If you need help planning, or with topics, or in finding a speaker, do contact us at Solas: we’d love to help. And if there’s a mosque near your church, try reaching out to ask if they’d be interested in organising a dialogue event. Dialogue events are an easy way to build friendships with your local Muslim community; a bridge of friendship over which the gospel can cross.
One other tip: remember to prepare Christians so they get the most out of your dialogue event. Andy’s top tip is to ensure Christians don’t all sit next to each other, but distribute themselves among the audience and talk to the strangers they meet.
Prayer: Jesus, in the gospels we see how you reached out to those who didn’t believe in you. Give us the courage and confidence to try using dialogue as an evangelistic tool. Amen!
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