The Religion of Convenience?

Saint Paisios, Muslim Converts, and the need for Orthodox Evangelism

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Happy Feast of the Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical Council and of St. Nikodemus the Hagiorite!

During my time as a catechumen, I was very fortunate to read the first volume of the Spiritual Counsels series by St. Paisios the Athonite. This volume is entitled With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man, and it's essentially a dialogue between Paisios and one of his spiritual children on the various afflictions that modern man faces. It is an enlightening book that I have found to be very applicable in my own life and cannot recommend it enough. This is one of the places it can be purchased (paid link). 

During a section of the book dealing with the prevalence and even celebration of man indulging in his passions, Paisios touches upon a trend he sees occurring in Europe during his time that seems almost prophetic to us today. Here is the passage:

“Although France is a developed nation - so differ ent from underdeveloped countries-I recently heard that some eighty thousand people there have converted to Islam Why is that? It's because sin has been turned into a fashion. However, you see, people are bothered by their conscience; they know that something is wrong and they want to feel better. Just as the ancient Greeks made up the twelve gods to justify their passions, so, too, these people had sought for a religion that would justify their passions and comfort them. Islam is actually serving their needs well. It allows them to take as many women they want for wives, and it promises mountains of rice. lakes of yogurt and rivers of honey in the next life! And matter what their sins are, once the body of the departed is washed with hot water, they are cleansed! They go to Allah clean! What else could they ask for? It's all so convenient! But these French converts will not find the comfort they seek. They are looking for comfort but they will not be comforted; the passions can never be justified”. (Paisios, pg. 47-48)

There is a footnote at the bottom of pg. 47 that says this statement by the elder was made in November of 1988. It is difficult to verify if what Paisios said at this time was actually happening. According to one source, there was an increased flow of workers from North Africa into France in the post war period, which suggests that the Muslim population could have risen during the 1980s if French natives converted. However, even if Paisios was imprecise about the numbers, he was in a certain way prophetic about the West’s future with Islam. Islam is not only growing in the West, but also in the world as a whole, in part indicated by the record-breaking numbers in this year’s Hajj. 

While western converts have given different reasons for joining Islam, there is a certain subset that has joined because of Islam’s supposed stance of tradition against the scourges of liberalism, feminism, secularism, etc, and are partially inspired by the conversions of others for this reason, such as popular personality Andrew Tate, known for his scathing critiques of feminism and chastisement of a “weak Christianity”.

While there have been disputes as to whether or not Islam actually supports the positions held by these zealous converts, one cannot help but be somewhat sympathetic towards those who have left Christianity for Islam. Afterall, if you are raised in a western Christian setting, you most likely have witnessed firsthand the sorry state that much of western Christendom is in; lukewarm believers, capitulation to cultural heresies, and general disregard for basic Christian doctrine among many denominations can give the impression to the aspiring truth seeker that Christianity has largely failed. Yet when they look at their Muslim neighbors who will drop everything to fulfill their prayer obligations, dress modestly, and fast during Ramadan, it can easily appear as if one religious body is actually living out its message while the other is not.

All of these circumstances point to the need for Orthodox Christians to not only be on guard against Muslim apologetics, but to also fulfill the Gospel commandment to evangelize all peoples, particularly here in the West. I believe part of the reason these people convert to Islam is that they simply have not been exposed to Orthodoxy. Being a minority religion in America and the West at large that has only in recent years been seeing increased amounts of converts, we cannot fully blame those who apostatized from Christianity to Islam when all they have been exposed to are watered down variants of the faith. And with the rise of the internet and increased immigration of Muslims into the West, being prepared to confront the claims of Islam is more important for the Orthodox Christian than ever before. 

That being said, these converts have made a mistake, and I believe that by showing them what Orthodoxy has to offer, they will realize that our Faith is what they were actually hoping to find in Islam. Afterall, Islam may have actually borrowed quite a bit from Orthodoxy, such as fixed prayer times, similar architecture, etc. This Wikipedia entry provides some great resources on the subject, such as the work of Philip Jenkins which I have found to be highly informative. Orthodoxy should be presented as the “golden mean” between two defective extremes: we preserve the core Christian doctrines that the West has, while also retaining the ascetical qualities that converts look for in Islam. 

I am far from being an expert on the subject, but I hope this can provide some useful suggestions and considerations for Orthodox struggling with this topic. I end with a quote by an Orthodox priest who has also written on Islam and the need for conversions: 

“It is our responsibility as Orthodox Christians to use the things we share with the Muslims as bridges so that we can lead them to the hope, joy, and truth that are most perfectly found in Christ and His Church. We cannot demonize Islam or Muslims, nor can we pretend that their heresies are trivial. It is Christ’s desire that all be saved, and it is only through Him that this is possible. Mohamed set a severe stumbling block before Muslims when he made the rejection of Christ a fundamental part of Islam. We must help them over this obstacle.” 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.