The Sheepcat

De Marco: Conversion Is the Crossing of a Threshold

Pietro De Marco responds to Aref Ali Nayed's criticism of the baptism of Magdi Cristiano Allam, and to some Catholics who, in their haste to recoil from any hint of triumphalism, show a kind of embarrassment instead of joy at the entry of another soul into the Christian fold.

In effect, conversion is always the crossing of a threshold. It marks this threshold, it shows it where it had not appeared before, making it visible to those who out of habit or through cloudiness of vision no longer recognized it, or to those who, although knowing it, deny it out of ideology, nihilistically....

The fact that the arrival point is not guaranteed, that it must always be desired as if it were not possessed, as a gift that remains under the sovereignty of the Giver, all of this does not negate, but rather confirms the reality of the threshold. The precariousness of the gift, in fact, is such only for man. But with the crossing of the threshold, we know that He, the divine Lover (as the true mystics know him, beyond his ineffability) "takes us as it were by the hand, and introduces us to lasting life, to the true and correct life." And therefore: "Let us hold on tightly to his hand!". These are the tender, perfect words dedicated to baptism by Benedict XVI at the homily for the Easter vigil, at which Allam was baptized.

Chiesa is proving invaluable to me as a source of sober commentary on the West's relations with Islam in its diverse forms, neither marching to the drumbeat of American neoconservatism nor embracing a woolly-minded Eurorelativism.

Outspoken Journalist Converts

The biggest religious news from the Easter weekend was the Pope's baptism of Magdi Allam, an Egyptian-born Italian journalist who has been an outspoken critic of radical Islam. I don't have anything original to add here but agree with Samir Khalil Samir, sj, writing an excellent commentary in Asia News:

[J]ust as with the Regensburg address, this baptism is a message in defence of religious freedom, of evangelisation and of co-existence between religions....

What is for me somewhat disjoined is that [Allam] chose the moment of his baptism to continue his analysis of Islamic fundamentalism.  That was the precise moment in which Magdi could have communicated how Christianity is the fulfilling of Islam’s religious leanings.

The original story as covered by ZENIT: Magdi Allam Recounts His Path to Conversion.

Fr Federico Lombardi, a spokesman for the Vatican, defends the baptism while saying the Pope does not necessarily agree with all Allam's opinions. Says Lombardi,

Maybe this is why the pope accepted the risk of this baptism: to affirm the freedom of religious choice which derives from the dignity of the human person.

John Allen weighs in with thoughts on why the baptism of this one man was carried out in such a prominent manner that anyone could predict it would arouse a strong reaction in Muslim quarters.

• For a pope committed to reawakening a strong missionary spirit in Catholicism, receiving a high-profile convert during the Easter Vigil is a symbolic way of making the point. In effect, Benedict is saying that the church shouldn't shrink from receiving anyone who knocks on its door, even if there's a political price to be paid.
• Allam's baptism can also be read as a statement of solidarity with Muslim converts to Christianity around the world, many of whom suffer in various ways on account of that decision.
• Finally, the episode illustrates an important wrinkle to Benedict's personality -- stubborn indifference to the canons of political correctness. Benedict is a gracious figure, but he also refuses to sanitize what he regards as important matters of belief or practice in order to avoid PR headaches. Whether that amounts to moral courage or tone-deafness to public reaction is a matter of opinion, but the pattern is clear.

Sherry Weddell at Intentional Disciples

• gets into an interesting exchange over the prudence of giving the baptism such a high profile
• explains the main reasons Muslims give for converting to Christianity and shows (scroll down to near the end of the comments) why there's more to evangelism than speechifying
• clarifies just what one prominent Muslim cleric said about freedom of conscience.