Damascus: Paradise on Earth?

Usually when I read The Other Sheep, I find stories about missionaries, reports on missions from local churches and districts, and anecdotes on why missions is important – these are the types of things one expects to find when reading a publication like The Other Sheep. However, every so often one can find an article that seems to be somewhat out of place. This week, my class was asked to write about something we read that forced us to wonder what the background is concerning why it was written and included. One article I read this week almost seemed to be more of an ad for tourism that would be more at home in a travel magazine.

It starts of by talking about the age of the city of Damascus, claiming that it is one of the oldest cities in the world and that its age is far greater than other ancient cities, such as Athens and Rameses. It also claims that some believe the city to be the location of one of Abraham’s conversations with God. Going on, it relates a tale about Mohammed, who is said to have refused to go into the city on the belief that one can only enter paradise once, and that entering in this world might prohibit him from entering paradise in the afterworld.

After introducing the city with these and other descriptions of its beauty, the article list some of the sites a visitor may want to see, such as the many mosques around the city, or the alleged ashes of the head of John the Baptist. One exciting point of interest mentioned is the bazaars and shops that fill some of the city streets, so much so that the roofs hardly let in any sunlight. Another interest the article makes mention of is the silversmiths.

After this, the article begins to explain the culture of the city, but it never explains why these things were written. When I read it, I found myself suddenly wanting to visit the city, but in no way did I feel I had learned more about missions work in the area. The article did speak briefly about Christian Muslim relations, but only to say that Muslims often refused to sell the Koran to the Christian tourists. Nothing was mentioned about any attempts to evangelize the people of the city. It was an interesting article, but I fail to understand why it was sent in to this publication.