Truth, Justice and the Islamic Way
With all the talk between Prince Charles of England and President Bush concerning our response to Muslims, Christians need to once again survey the facts and not get caught up in the politics of the issue. Since 911 Christians have been indicted by our politically correct sense of “fairness and Christian ethic” concerning any bias or prejudice that we are perceived to have against Muslims. We are told that the Christian response to Muslims should be one of tolerance and acceptance of their beliefs and the traditions of their religion. The problem with this position is that it is neither Christian nor properly tolerant and further it in no way reflects the agape love that we as Christians are commanded to manifest as part of our lives and commission (Matt. 28:18 & 19) – assuming that we really believe what we say we believe.
The unwritten bible on political correctness, it seems has taken precedence over the Word of God and even our common sense. While the dumbing down of the Christian faith and our own ignorance of Islam are further complications in our understanding of the real issues, there is still no excuse of our allowing ourselves to be guilted into the passivity of sterility.
The Koran in Sura 9 (and a host of other places) calls on all Muslims to kill Christians and Jews. This is not a veiled or secret message buried in the text, but a direct instruction to all Muslims with regard to how they are to respond to all Christians and all Jews (those they see as the enemy of Islam). It seems self evident that the “acceptance” and “tolerance” of this doctrine by Christians is both absurd and suicidal. It should also be noted that this is a doctrine of the holy book of Islam and that as such it is not the radical Muslims that are involved in this practice, but rather the faithful, orthodox, and true believers in Islam. It is thus those that practice something other than these murdering acts, that are “bad” Muslims – though they may be genuinely good people.
While President Bush, who I often find myself in agreement with, says that those who killed us in the 911 attacks were not practicing the tenants of true Islam, that statement may be politically expedient, but it does not correspond to what Mohammad actually wrote and taught. The fact is that those that planned and executed the horrible acts perpetrated on us in New York City were carrying out the purest modern form of the teachings of the Koran.
Salvation in Islam can in fact only be sure IF the person seeking salvation dies in the act of killing Christians and/or Jews. Contrast this with the Christian faith that points to the historical and sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for all, that we may LIVE eternally. One is a religion of hate and death, and the other a relationship with the one that concurred death for ALL who would choose Him, and offers Himself as “the Life”.
Since Islam does not hold to the resurrection of Jesus and in fact teaches that He was only a lesser prophet to Mohammad, we must ask if we even worship the same God. How could a consistent, holy, righteous god give us conflicting exclusive truth claims concerning something as crucial as the path to eternal life. Jesus said that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except by Him. This exclusivity specifically eliminates any possibility of the God of the Bible being the God of Islam. It, in fact presents gods of opposite nature, characters and intents for all mankind. Because we share a common heritage in Abraham, does not necessarily equate to the worship of the same God.
There is however a truth professed by Muslims that we as Christians must face which, if we are honest, can right our understanding of tolerance and our ministry to Muslims who we are commanded to love and reach with the love of Christ. That truth is that we have allowed ourselves in many cases to be as deceived as we claim they are. We have been deceived into believing that our mission as Christians is to passively allow the truth to go unspoken even when it means these we are commanded to love, are destroying themselves in the vain hope that their destruction and the destruction of others will gain their entry to heaven. If this deception is not revealed and righted with truth, many more Muslims, Christians and Jews will die in the vain hope of one’s salvation by destruction.
Christians must “speak the truth in love,” love those that have chosen to be their enemies, and share the truth of that love in the face of those seeking to destroy them. Culture is not the issue. Skin color is not the issue and oil is not the issue. Truth is the issue. Truth, when spoken in love, does in the long run defeat hatred and in this case is the only answer to the destructive deceptions of orthodox Islam, which led to 911, 311 and the ongoing attacks around the world. There simply are no shortcuts. Anything less than the truth is perceived to be a weakness to be capitalized on. Speaking with political correctness at a time like this may be popular, but it is not ultimately productive in a way that in the end will provide a platform for genuine healing. Bandaids don’t deter bombs. We must love the people, and heal ALL the deceptions on both sides by addressing the real issues, and that only happens in the blatant light of the truth.
The unwritten bible on political correctness, it seems has taken precedence over the Word of God and even our common sense. While the dumbing down of the Christian faith and our own ignorance of Islam are further complications in our understanding of the real issues, there is still no excuse of our allowing ourselves to be guilted into the passivity of sterility.
The Koran in Sura 9 (and a host of other places) calls on all Muslims to kill Christians and Jews. This is not a veiled or secret message buried in the text, but a direct instruction to all Muslims with regard to how they are to respond to all Christians and all Jews (those they see as the enemy of Islam). It seems self evident that the “acceptance” and “tolerance” of this doctrine by Christians is both absurd and suicidal. It should also be noted that this is a doctrine of the holy book of Islam and that as such it is not the radical Muslims that are involved in this practice, but rather the faithful, orthodox, and true believers in Islam. It is thus those that practice something other than these murdering acts, that are “bad” Muslims – though they may be genuinely good people.
While President Bush, who I often find myself in agreement with, says that those who killed us in the 911 attacks were not practicing the tenants of true Islam, that statement may be politically expedient, but it does not correspond to what Mohammad actually wrote and taught. The fact is that those that planned and executed the horrible acts perpetrated on us in New York City were carrying out the purest modern form of the teachings of the Koran.
Salvation in Islam can in fact only be sure IF the person seeking salvation dies in the act of killing Christians and/or Jews. Contrast this with the Christian faith that points to the historical and sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for all, that we may LIVE eternally. One is a religion of hate and death, and the other a relationship with the one that concurred death for ALL who would choose Him, and offers Himself as “the Life”.
Since Islam does not hold to the resurrection of Jesus and in fact teaches that He was only a lesser prophet to Mohammad, we must ask if we even worship the same God. How could a consistent, holy, righteous god give us conflicting exclusive truth claims concerning something as crucial as the path to eternal life. Jesus said that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except by Him. This exclusivity specifically eliminates any possibility of the God of the Bible being the God of Islam. It, in fact presents gods of opposite nature, characters and intents for all mankind. Because we share a common heritage in Abraham, does not necessarily equate to the worship of the same God.
There is however a truth professed by Muslims that we as Christians must face which, if we are honest, can right our understanding of tolerance and our ministry to Muslims who we are commanded to love and reach with the love of Christ. That truth is that we have allowed ourselves in many cases to be as deceived as we claim they are. We have been deceived into believing that our mission as Christians is to passively allow the truth to go unspoken even when it means these we are commanded to love, are destroying themselves in the vain hope that their destruction and the destruction of others will gain their entry to heaven. If this deception is not revealed and righted with truth, many more Muslims, Christians and Jews will die in the vain hope of one’s salvation by destruction.
Christians must “speak the truth in love,” love those that have chosen to be their enemies, and share the truth of that love in the face of those seeking to destroy them. Culture is not the issue. Skin color is not the issue and oil is not the issue. Truth is the issue. Truth, when spoken in love, does in the long run defeat hatred and in this case is the only answer to the destructive deceptions of orthodox Islam, which led to 911, 311 and the ongoing attacks around the world. There simply are no shortcuts. Anything less than the truth is perceived to be a weakness to be capitalized on. Speaking with political correctness at a time like this may be popular, but it is not ultimately productive in a way that in the end will provide a platform for genuine healing. Bandaids don’t deter bombs. We must love the people, and heal ALL the deceptions on both sides by addressing the real issues, and that only happens in the blatant light of the truth.
posted by Community Fellowship Church | 9:36 AM
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