Hello everybody,
On Sunday we visited the Crossroads Community Church, and today we had a tour of the Cincinnati Mosque. I enjoyed these two activities, but I'm a bit confused. On the one hand, there is this very new and big mega church called Crossroads where the people use very much media to make the people do something. On the other hand, there is the Mosque that is very progressive for Muslim circumstances, but for us, so people from a western Country, it's very traditional. Though, I'm a Christian, and I've been in many churches in Germany and Italy, it was a really different service at Crossroads. There were no traditional parts of a common service like prayers. These prayers were embedded in the songs. The service reminded me more of a TV-Show because there was a big introduction using media, small breaks where the band played music, and you were able to look at the pictures, and there was a special guest the minister talked to. 
I don't know exactly how a service in a Mosque looks like, but I'm sure that the service in the Mosque in Cincinnati is not different to any other service in a Mosque in Iraq, Iran or anywhere else because the Koran tells the people how a service has to look like.
The difference between modernity and tradition is one big difference, but there are quite more!
I think that the appeals of these two institutions are very different. The Mosque wants to be a place for people who came from different countries to the U.S. but share the same religious roots. The people pray together, they do sports together, they have parties, and many more things. In Islam, Culture and Religion is very common, so I think that the people feel like they would be in their home country while spending time in the Mosque. The aim of Crossroads is a totally different one. They want to change something. The minister talks about very many different programs they do. They help people in New Orleans, try to make Cincinnati nicer and cleaner, help people whose first language is a foreign language, help prostitutes in Mumbai, and many more things. Though it's very good what they do, and that they act, I'm a bit confused. They do everything with the feeling that their attitude and religion is the best, and that they're prior to anybody else. They want to Christianize the whole world, and because of people like that, many Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, Hindu etc. have prejudices against the Christian church.
A similarity between the two types of religious institutions we examined is their expectation what people should do. The Islam tells the people exactly what to do and how to act. They have the Koran that answers any question a man or woman could have. The minister at Crossroads tells the people how to act and what to do, too. He tells even how much money they should spend. I don't like this attitude because everybody should decide what to do and how to act. If someone wants to do something good in the world, like helping abused women in Mumbai, they should do it because they want to do a good thing and not because god, a minister, or someone else wants him or her to act like this. We are all free, and we are all responsible for our actions, so nobody should tell us how to act!
On the one hand, the Crossroads Community Church wants to help people in Cincinnati by making the city nicer, giving people food at Thanksgiving, and many more things, but at the same moment, they think that only they are right, and that they have to help everybody to do the right thing, so to become a member of their church. We were told that Muslims generelly accept all other religions and people. Though, it's better to become a Muslim if you want to be in heaven after the day of judgement. So both religions raise the claim to be the best and superior religion.
I think that this divides people from each other. They say they accept other people, but in fact they don't. In the Mosque there are other activities beside praying, too. For example, they do sports and have parties there. Although, it's nice for the people to get together with people from their home country or at least from their home culture, this causes problems, too. If the people don't get in touch with other people beside the people in the Mosque, there will be a parallel community. The people from foreign countries should try to integrate themselves in the new country, and the best way to do this is to find friends that were born in the new country. The best way to find new friends is to spend time with people, so to do sports with them, to have parties, and so on. This is hard if they spend so much time in the Mosque!
I don't know exactly how a service in a Mosque looks like, but I'm sure that the service in the Mosque in Cincinnati is not different to any other service in a Mosque in Iraq, Iran or anywhere else because the Koran tells the people how a service has to look like.
The difference between modernity and tradition is one big difference, but there are quite more!
I think that the appeals of these two institutions are very different. The Mosque wants to be a place for people who came from different countries to the U.S. but share the same religious roots. The people pray together, they do sports together, they have parties, and many more things. In Islam, Culture and Religion is very common, so I think that the people feel like they would be in their home country while spending time in the Mosque. The aim of Crossroads is a totally different one. They want to change something. The minister talks about very many different programs they do. They help people in New Orleans, try to make Cincinnati nicer and cleaner, help people whose first language is a foreign language, help prostitutes in Mumbai, and many more things. Though it's very good what they do, and that they act, I'm a bit confused. They do everything with the feeling that their attitude and religion is the best, and that they're prior to anybody else. They want to Christianize the whole world, and because of people like that, many Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, Hindu etc. have prejudices against the Christian church.
A similarity between the two types of religious institutions we examined is their expectation what people should do. The Islam tells the people exactly what to do and how to act. They have the Koran that answers any question a man or woman could have. The minister at Crossroads tells the people how to act and what to do, too. He tells even how much money they should spend. I don't like this attitude because everybody should decide what to do and how to act. If someone wants to do something good in the world, like helping abused women in Mumbai, they should do it because they want to do a good thing and not because god, a minister, or someone else wants him or her to act like this. We are all free, and we are all responsible for our actions, so nobody should tell us how to act!
On the one hand, the Crossroads Community Church wants to help people in Cincinnati by making the city nicer, giving people food at Thanksgiving, and many more things, but at the same moment, they think that only they are right, and that they have to help everybody to do the right thing, so to become a member of their church. We were told that Muslims generelly accept all other religions and people. Though, it's better to become a Muslim if you want to be in heaven after the day of judgement. So both religions raise the claim to be the best and superior religion.
I think that this divides people from each other. They say they accept other people, but in fact they don't. In the Mosque there are other activities beside praying, too. For example, they do sports and have parties there. Although, it's nice for the people to get together with people from their home country or at least from their home culture, this causes problems, too. If the people don't get in touch with other people beside the people in the Mosque, there will be a parallel community. The people from foreign countries should try to integrate themselves in the new country, and the best way to do this is to find friends that were born in the new country. The best way to find new friends is to spend time with people, so to do sports with them, to have parties, and so on. This is hard if they spend so much time in the Mosque!
That's it for today,
Sebastian
I think your comments about traditional church services are very important. I also appreciate how you used the term "embedded" for the messages at Crossroads. Certainly, much was said (both explicity and explicity) during this non-traditional sermon. Your conclusion is very well expressed.
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