DO WE NEED CONVERSION?

By Moustafa F. Moukarim

Few years back. I was at home with my wife Leila when the doorbell rang. I opened it. A well-dressed man with a book in his left hand was standing at the door.

I asked him, "May I help you sir?"

"Are you Christians?" he asked.

"No we are not," I replied.

"I am father Peter Jones," He said: "I am here on a mission, to enlighten you and to show you the truth. May I come in?"

"You are welcome," I replied. I invited him to the living room and asked him to be seated. My wife asked him if he cared for a cup of coffee. "Yes I do not mind that." He replied.

"Would you care for American coffee or Turkish coffee?" she asked.

"I never had Turkish coffee before," he replied, "I do not mind trying it."

Leila went to prepare the coffee. Father Jones said: "Thank you for receiving me in your home. I am usually turned away by many people."

"Do not mention it, " I replied, "this is the least we can do. Welcoming people into our homes is part of our culture and heritage."

"Where are you from, and what about your culture and heritage?" he asked.

"We are from Lebanon." I replied: "In our country, it is a tradition to invite visitors in, and to help them as much as we can."

"That is a beautiful culture." He said: "I read about Lebanon in the Bible where it is described as the Land of Milk and Honey. Is that true?"

"It is so," I said.

"Your traditions are superb," he said: "I admire your hospitality, and am glad that I learned something new about your culture."

Leila came with the coffee, and offered him a cup. He took it and admired the small cup and saucer. To encourage him to drink our coffee I took another cup and took a sip from it. He did the same, then looked at Leila and said, "This is delicious. It tastes as coffee should."

He took another sip and complimented our coffee. He said: "I am glad that I asked for Turkish coffee. This is a new experience for me."

"May we know about your mission?" I asked.

"As I told you, I am here to enlighten you and to show you the truth." He replied, "I hope to succeed in converting you to the true faith."

He continued: "God sent to us his only son, our Lord Jesus, to come and lead us to salvation. Jesus gave His life for our sake and suffered for our sins. It is our obligation to confess Him as our Lord and to follow in His steps. I am here to invite you and your family to join our church, and to be re-born again into the true faith of Christianity."

"Sir, I wish to welcome you again into my house." I said, "May I ask you what you know about us?"

"Nothing much "he replied: "Except what I have just learned from you about your culture."

"You did not ask us if we have a religion," I said. "Did you presume that because we are not Christians, we do not have a faith?"

"Well sir," he replied: "I am here to convert you to the true faith."

I said, "How can you convert me from something that you do not know anything about? Remember, you did not know anything about our coffee but when you tasted it you admired it. You did not know anything about our culture, but when you experienced it you admired it. Have you ever wondered about our faith?"

"Frankly not," he replied: "Because I am here on a mission and my only objective is to fulfill my task.

"That is sales ability sir." I replied: "It applies to commodities and not to faiths and philosophy. Specially those ideas those are as old as creation."

"Do you believe "in God?" he asked.

"Of course we do believe in God," I said.

"Do you believe in His Son, Prophets, Disciples and Commandments?" he asked.

"We believe in God’s Disciples and God’s commandments as we know them." I replied. "And since you confess Trinity in your books, that is, the three is one, which are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which confirms the absolute oneness of God. As for his prophets and disciples, they are all recognized within us as: The Universal Mind - The Universal Soul - The Word - The Cause and The Effect."

I went on. "As for His Commandments, they are: A Truthful Tongue - Cultivation and Protection of the Brethren - Excision of Fallacies and Falsehoods - Rejection of the Villain and Aggressor - Adoration of the Lord in every Era. Cheerful Acceptance of whatever comes from Him and Spontaneous submission to His Will."

"That sounds very spiritual." He said.

"Is this not what religions should be?" I replied: "Materialism turns religions into a trading commodity. Such as the laws of barter and exchange. Faiths are not for sale, they are a persuasion that is accepted by the free and Universal Mind. The Mind is our Prophet. Through it we are able to recognize God as our Creator. Through the Soul we confirm Gods Existence. Through the Word we express God's Will. Through the Cause and Effect we pronounce Gods Commandments."

"Sir, your philosophy is beyond my comprehension," he said. "Your words are so simple yet so foreign to me. I did not know that such philosophy existed. It is a very noble wisdom. It has an insight into religion and is expressed with common sense. It is metaphysical and it sounds very sacred. Please tell me what do you call your faith, and how old is it?"

"We call it Tawheed," I said. "That is Unitarianism, which is the oneness of God. It is as old as Creation itself. It evolved through history and it is in every true faith and religion. It is the basis of all religious philosophies."

"What are your main believes?" He asked.

"Our main belief, as Mowahedeen, that is Unitarians is:

1. The absolute oneness of God.

1. He is beyond the comprehension of the human understanding.

1. He rises above language and thought.

1. He does not come under any name, characteristic, or expression.

1. He cannot be defined by words, for words convey what is grasped by the senses, reason or imagination.

1. He is without like and without opposite, eternal without beginning, abiding without end.

1. He is in every age and place, not limited by bounds of time and space.

1. He is One but not in number. Single without any similar.

1. He is the Creator who produced from His light all things, to whom all shall return.

Father Peter Jones interrupted me and said, "I am sorry to interrupt you sir, you have just explained to me what a very a true religion is like. I came here to convert you but I am afraid that if I listen anymore to your wisdom I may be converted to your faith. Since I am not planning to do that I wish to be excused."

He stood up and thanked us for our hospitality and said, "I shall forever remember this meeting. I came to enlighten you, and I ended being enlightened myself. Since I have a task, or a sale, as you described it, and you do not need my output, I need to find someone who needs my products. Thank you again."

Father Jones left us; he walked out without looking back.

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