Third Culture Kid ?

“ someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture”

hi

Peace be with you,

my name is Sebastian. I’m 35. I was born in Sydney. Both my parents were born in Sydney. My parents are not Muslim but I am. Before I was Muslim I was Christian. My purpose in life is to serve my Lord, almighty God: faith, righteousness, prayer, respect to my parents, looking after my family, fasting, pilgrimage, charity, telling the truth, and anything else that’s pleasing to Him.

One of those duties includes sharing the good news with mankind about eternal life, and warning of the hell fire. While this warning is for all mankind, another duty of a Muslim is specific to Christians and the Children of Israel, and that is to call you to the rememberance of our Lord and his commands, and the rememberance of our founding father in religion, Abraham, and he was not an idolator, and to remind you of the oneness of God.

We must worship our Lord in sincerity and take not as lords others besides Him. With God as my witness, and He is witness to all things, and he is sufficient as a witness, I tell you that our Lord has not begotten a son. He creates by his word and he creates whatever He wills, and He is the best of creators.

Even so, there is no need for argument between us. The truth is not in need of any arguments. We are better off to search earnestly to know truth, rather than argue using our own ideas of what it is. God gives guidance to any who seek it, and trust in Him, and Him alone. We all need to question ourselves to do this.

Do we know where we got our beliefs and why? What if God wants you, or your father, to surrender to Him, and be released from this oppressive idea of the sonship of Jesus? Have you ever thought of that? Why does my religion appear foreign to many people? It is the religion of your founding father in faith, Abraham, and the religion of his sons.

Like other ‘new’ things, something that is not familiar is easy to dismiss. If my faith is the truth, and if Moses and Jesus mentioned it in the scriptures, as the Qur’an says that they did, and if it was the Holy Spirit that brought it down to Mohammad, as the Qur’an says that it did, then what will happen to you if you reject it and your Lord asks you about these things on the day of judgement?

Let’s look at it from another perspective. Would you want to be in the shoes of the chiefs of Pharoah, who rejected the messenger Moses, while Moses showed him great signs from his Lord? Woudl you want to be in the shoes of a denying Jew, who in the time of Jesus rejected the truth of his Lord that had come right before his eyes, miracles brought by the hands of Jesus, and he called them mere sorcery?

Anglicans of Sydney! By God, and his name is the most powerful of all names, Mohammad has brought the truth! By God, you would be wise to have a look at this! By God, you know that nothing can save you, me, or any soul except our true king, the sovereign of the heavens and the earth, almighty God. He is your creator and sustainer, who gave you life and who will one day raise you again.

By his name, will you not think about it and spend some time hearing what the Qur’an has to say. It is a revelation from God, and as his servants, you are bound in a contract to serve Him with all you have, willing to suffer whatever He asks of you for his sake.

The Qur’an is not the speech of Osama Bin Laden. It is not the writing of a Fairfax journalist. It is a word from a high source. Every time you watch the news or some other reportage of this worldly life, ask yourself why you are not checking up on this, seeing if this could be a blessing right before your eyes. The muslims online are ready to answer your questions and respond to your comments. We are duty-bound to respect fair people and give our time to those who ask for explanation of our book.

God stands not in need of any of his creation. He has given us freedom of belief, freedom of speech, tolerance, and forums like this, where we can on the same earth, even while our beliefs are diverse.

Glory be to my Lord.

Peace be with you

Hi Sebastian,

You say that you are a Muslim, but on your profile you state that you are a member of

Parish : Christ Church St Laurence - Sydney

I am confused. Are there many Muslims in that parish church ?

Cheers, Kevin

Glory be to God.

Thanks for the question, Kevin.

I had mentioned that Parish because its the closest one to me. However, I don’t go to church, I’m muslim and we don’t worship anything but God.

I’ve changed my profile now, so that it shows that I live in Redfern, which is my locality. I’m not a member of a ‘parish’ group.

Glory be to God

I Have posted a couple of comments, so thought I better follow protocol and introduce myself.  I have been in the Navy for 20+ years and thanks to the grace of God, the Navy is currently training me to be a Chaplain.  I finished at Moore last year and am working in Parish ministry at St Matts West Pennant Hills for a couple of years before I return to Naval service as a Chaplain.

Hi Andrew,

Welcome to the forums - good to ‘have you aboard’ !

By coincidence, I visited the HMAS Watson chapel on Saturday and had a very interesting talk to the chaplain who’s been there for 20 years - with a whole lot of tales to tell. We sure do come from varied backgrounds, don’t we ?

Cheers, Kevin

Hello,

I’m David Stansfield and I am 28 years of age.

I’m in Sydney from Melbourne, sharing a room in Lidcombe, and working on a live theatre ministry for people under mortgage / financial stress.

Last year I completed a Grad. Dip. in Theology with Tabor.  My prior education was Commerce (Economics) and Information Systems with Melbourne University.

My theology is most influenced by the Bishop of Durham, N.T. Wright.  When I first heard his Regent Audio lecture, “Romans in a Week”, I felt as though I had heard the Bible story and “the gospel” articulated for the first time.

I like Shakespeare’s plays.

You may spot me dressed as a court jester and serving fine food in Cirque du Soleil’s VIP lounge.

David.

David Stansfield - 29 September 2008 09:10 PM

I’m in Sydney from Melbourne

Hi David. Welcome to Sydney.

My theology is most influenced by the Bishop of Durham, N.T. Wright.  When I first heard his Regent Audio lecture, “Romans in a Week”

I’ve also listened to Wright’s “Romans in a Week” and thought it was more than worth the ~$AUD28 it cost for the download. Truly excellent listening and it reshaped my understanding of Romans too. Sadly, many here in Sydney see some of his theology (eg justification) unhelpful. If you search the forums here you’ll see plenty of discussion on that (though much less over the last 12 months). While of course I don’t agree with everything he says, I personally think he’s been misunderstood but, bearing in mind I’m just another pleb pew-sitter, take that for what it’s worth :).

Hello,

I’m Benson Lau from St David’s Forestville. Was dragged out of an internet cafe and into a church by my two mates, who had become christian only some time before the event.

I study Business at UTS, but am really into japanese modified cars (no chrome wheels for me thanks.)

Am passionate about bringing people to Christ in the most unconventional means. So am trying to get started a Christian car ministry with the express purpose of evangelising to people, either through the way we live (or drive) or through car events/meets.

In Christ alone.