When I was a child, growing up in the sixties and seventies just a few blocks away from the notorious Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, I was surrounded by the hippie movement. It was a \u201cturn on, tune in, drop out\u201d age of sexual freedom, cultural revolution and social recklessness.<\/p>\n
Happily, I was never caught up in the hippie movement, but being so close to it, I could not help but observe its development. One thing I clearly remember is how many hippies were labeled \u201cJesus freaks.\u201d As I surf my childhood memories, nearly four decades later, this euphemism strikes me as having been decidedly peculiar. These hippies were considered \u201cJesus freaks\u201d because they dressed as Jesus did, grew their hair as he did, renounced materialism as he did, and propagated devotion to God, peace, charity and communal love.<\/p>\n
Now, many whom embarked upon this path fell into hallucinogenic drug use and wanton sexual proclivities\u2014practices which are far from the example of Jesus\u2014but this is not why these hippies were called Jesus freaks. Rather, they were called Jesus freaks for their long hair, loose clothing, asceticism, communal unity and passivism, all a result of their effort to live like Jesus. The House of Love and Prayer, located nearby in the avenues, was a collecting point for many of these well-meaning souls, and the title of the institution reflected their focus in life.<\/p>\n
Looking back, what seems strange to me now is not that people would wish to embody Jesus\u2019 values, but that others would criticize them for it. What seems even stranger is that few Christians, in the modern day, match this profile. Indeed, what seemed most strange to me, prior to my conversion to Islam, is that Muslims seemed to embody Jesus\u2019 values better than Christians.<\/p>\n
Now, that assertion requires an explanation, and it goes like this: To begin with, both Christianity and Islam consider Jesus to have been a prophet of their religion. However, whereas Jesus\u2019 teachings have been lost from the creed and practices of most Christians (see my article, Where is the \u201cChrist\u201d in \u201cChristianity?\u201d), these same teachings are respected and evident in Islam.<\/p>\n
Let us look at some examples.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Jesus was bearded, as are most Muslims, but only the rare Christian.
\n2. Jesus dressed modestly. If we close our eyes and form a mental picture, we see flowing robes, from wrists to ankles\u2014much like the loose Arabian thobes and the Indio-Pakistani shalwar kameez, typical of the Muslims of those areas. What we don\u2019t imagine is the revealing or seductive clothing so ubiquitous in Christian cultures.
\n3. Jesus\u2019 mother covered her hair, and this practice was maintained among the Christian women of the Holy Land up to the middle of the twentieth century. Again, this is a practice maintained among Muslims as well as Orthodox Jews (of which Jesus was one), but not among modern day Christians.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Jesus focused upon salvation and eschewed finery. How many \u201crighteous\u201d Christians fit this \u201cIt\u2019s not just on Sundays\u201d profile? Now how many \u201cfive prayers a day, every day of the year\u201d Muslims?
\n2. Jesus spoke with humility and kindness. He didn\u2019t \u201cshowboat.\u201d When we think of his speeches, we don\u2019t imagine theatrics. He was a simple man known for quality and truth. How many preachers and how many evangelists follow this example?
\n3. Jesus taught his disciples to offer the greeting of \u201cPeace\u201d (Luke 10:5), and then set the example: \u201cPeace be with you\u201d (Luke 24:36, John 20:19, John 20:21, John 20:26). Who continues this practice to this day, Christians or Muslims? \u201cPeace be with you\u201d is the meaning of the Muslim greeting, \u201cAssalam alaikum.\u201d Interestingly enough, we find this greeting in Judaism as well (Genesis 43:23, Numbers 6:26, Judges 6:23, I Samuel 1:17 and I Samuel 25:6).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Jesus was circumcised (Luke 2:21). Paul taught it wasn\u2019t necessary (Rom 4:11 and Gal 5:2). Muslims believe it is.
\n2. Jesus didn\u2019t eat pork, in keeping with Old Testament law (Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8). Muslims also believe pork is forbidden. Christians \u2026 well, you get the idea.
\n3. Jesus didn\u2019t give or take usury, in compliance with the Old Testament prohibition (Exodus 22:25). Usury is forbidden in the Old Testament and the Quran, as it was forbidden in the religion of Jesus. The economies of most Christian countries, however, are structured upon usury.
\n4. Jesus didn\u2019t fornicate, and abstained from extramarital contact with women. Now, this issue extends to the least physical contact with the opposite sex. With the exception of performing religious rituals and helping those in need, Jesus never even touched a woman other than his mother. Strictly practicing Orthodox Jews maintain this practice to this day in observance of Old Testament law. Likewise, practicing Muslims don\u2019t even shake hands between the sexes. Can Christian \u201chug your neighbor\u201d and \u201ckiss the bride\u201d congregations make the same claim?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Jesus purified himself with washing prior to prayer, as was the practice of the pious prophets who preceded him (see Exodus 40:31-32 in reference to Moses and Aaron), and as is the practice of Muslims.
\n2. Jesus prayed in prostration (Matthew 26:39), like the other prophets (see Nehemiah 8:6 with regard to Ezra and the people, Joshua 5:14 for Joshua, Genesis 17:3 and 24:52 for Abraham, Exodus 34:8 and Numbers 20:6 for Moses and Aaron). Who prays like that, Christians or Muslims?
\n3. Jesus fasted for more than a month at a time (Matthew 4:2 and Luke 4:2), as did the pious before him (Exodus 34:28, I Kings 19:8), and as do Muslims in the annual fast of the month of Ramadan.
\n4. Jesus made pilgrimage for the purpose of worship, as all Orthodox Jews aspire to do. The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca is well known, and is alluded to in the Bible (see The First and Final Commandment).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Jesus taught the oneness of God (Mark 12:29-30, Matthew 22:37 and Luke 10:27), as conveyed in the first commandment (Exodus 20:3). Nowhere did he declare the Trinity.
\n2. Jesus declared himself a man and a prophet of God (see above), and nowhere claimed divinity or divine sonship. Which creed are the above points more consistent with\u2014the Trinitarian formula or the absolute monotheism of Islam?
\nIn short, Muslims appear to be the \u201cJesus freaks\u201d of modern day, if by that expression we mean those who live by God\u2019s laws and Jesus\u2019 example.<\/p>\n
Carmichael notes, \u201c\u2026 for a whole generation after Jesus\u2019 death his followers were pious Jews and proud of it, had attracted into their fold members of the professional religious classes, and did not deviate even from the burdensome ceremonial laws.\u201d[1]
\nOne wonders what happened between the practices of the first generation of Jesus\u2019 followers and the Christians of modern day. At the same time, we have to respect the fact that Muslims exemplify Jesus\u2019 teachings more than Christians do. Furthermore, we should remember that the Old Testament foretold three prophets to follow. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ were numbers one and two, and Jesus Christ himself predicted the third and last. Hence, both Old and New Testaments speak of a final prophet, and we would be amiss if we didn\u2019t consider that final prophet to be Muhammad, and the final revelation to be that of Islam.<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2007 Laurence B. Brown.<\/p>\n
About the author:
\nLaurence B. Brown, MD, can be contacted at BrownL38@yahoo.com. He is the author of The First and Final Commandment (Amana Publications) and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). Forthcoming books are a historical thriller, The Eighth Scroll, and a second edition of The First and Final Commandment, rewritten and divided into MisGod’ed and its sequel, God\u2019ed.
\nFootnotes:
\n[1] Carmichael, Joel. p. 223.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: https:\/\/www.islamland.com\/eng\/articles\/jesus-freaks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"