Comparative Religion is taught in many colleges and universities, often looking at 3 major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) in a supposed clinical, objective way. There is evidence that our multi-cultural philosophy has resulted in many thinking these beliefs are equal, peaceful and compatible. The popular thought even goes so far as to describe them as worshiping the same God. While these assumptions are mostly true of Judaism and Christianity, Islam is an opposing belief in every respect. The Catholic Pope has recently been criticized for regarding Islam as a religion of violence and, as recent behavior suggests, the Pope is right. With so many regarding the religion of Islam as above criticism, it's important to get some facts out so Christians won't be fooled. While, as Christians, we are to love the Muslim people, their religion is one of violence, with a goal to kill all Christians and Jews who don't deny their God and convert to Islam.
Religion Of Peace: After the Pope spoke, as if to prove him right, violence and death threats erupted all over the Islamic world. So far, 2 murders have been attributed to the Muslim furor over his speech. This violent behavior confirms the truth of the Pope's words and, more importantly, the bankruptcy of Islam as a faith of peace. Given how little objection "moderate" Muslims have made in the last 10 years to all the bombings, hijackings, kidnappings and missile attacks murdering tens of thousands of innocents, it seems rather silly that anyone would claim Islam to be a peaceful religion. Christianity, on the other hand, is unquestionably a faith of peace, from the teachings of Jesus to love our enemies to His example on the cross, praying for His own murderers. I suppose this is a good time to give you the obligatory, "I'm not attacking Islam," statement. But, I'm getting very tired of Muslims attacking us, with the conspicuous silence of "moderate" Islamic leaders. We pray that all Muslims find the Truth of God and the Way of peace.
Making Disciples: According to the Bible, Jesus taught us to make disciples by Christian love and good deeds and by proclaiming the good news that Jesus Christ, God With Us, will forgive our wrongs and give us life in paradise with Him, forever. We pray this forgiveness and eternal life be granted to every Muslim, everywhere...that we could become one loving family in Christ. What do you have to do to receive this eternal life? Believe in Jesus...that's it! What if you don't? We'll still love you and pray for you. It's between you and Him! How does the Koran tell Muslims to make Islamic disciples? According to the book "Islamic Invasion" by Robert Morey, the Koran says "Fight and slay the pagans (infidels) wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war." Sura 9:5, and, "Their punishment is...execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from the opposite sides, or exile from the land." Sura 5:33. Just in case you missed it, "pagans" refers to anyone not following Islam...in other words...us. As you can tell from the headlines the last couple decades, these guys take their Koran literally. This is why many refer to Islam as a death cult, promoting violence and murder in the name of religion.
Dead Idol-vs-Living God: According to Mr. Morey, Allah is the personal name of the ancient Arabic moon-god, which is why the name needs no explanation in the Koran. This differs greatly from the false assumption of many Christians, myself included, that the name was taken from the Biblical name for God, "El." The crescent moon symbolizes the worship of the moon-god, Allah, and is the symbol for Islam. This understanding is further reinforced by the fact that all Muslims are required to pray toward the Kabah, in Mecca, the home of the moon-god idol. This isn't to minimize anyone's faith in Allah but to make it clear that the God of Christians and the one of Muslims are not the same. The claims that Jesus was a prophet of Allah are false. Jesus is God, the Son, who created us all, was born of a virgin, crucified and rose again to offer us His eternal forgiveness and love. God has chosen to express Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Anyone claiming the deity of someone or something other than this God is working against his own Creator and risking an eternity without God.
Whether or not you follow Jesus, we Christians and our God still love you. Even while the followers of Islam are murdering us all over the world, we're praying for them, for Jesus to forgive them and bring them into true faith in the one true God. The Muslims regard our Christian love and forgiveness as weakness but it is the sign of true strength from the one God. Love, more than anything else, highlights the vast difference between the obsession of Islam and the faith in Jesus Christ. How do you feel Christians should respond to Islamic violence?
About the Author
Glen Williams is Webmaster at http://www.web-church.com and CEO of E-Home Fellowship (EHF), Inc. He is an ordained minister who has been active in Christian ministry since 1989, counseling and helping people live in Christ.
