What does God and His Word say about Conflict?

How do Christians respond to the threat of Islamic terrorism?  We can’t ignore the threat like its not happening, or that its not touching our lives, because it is. So, as a nation do we take up arms and fight in a war against ISIS? Will a war eliminate the threat? Should we prepare for open conflict in the streets and cities of America?  After all, we know there are radicalized Muslims living all across America.  Islamic sympathizers have recently threatened acts of terror on one of America’s most enduring pass times... the Shopping Mall, with specific threats directed at the Mall of America in Minneapolis Minnesota.

These questions and many more like them are troubling for Christians who are trying to proclaim Christ as the solution to the world’s problems. The Gospel, Salvation, Eternal Life, Peace, these are not the things of conflict.  Killing our enemies... is that an action consistent with the Christ we profess to follow?  

Consider these realities... each year, thousands of Christian homes and churches are torched or bombed by Muslim mobs, and hundreds of Christians, including dozens of priests, pastors and church aid workers are murdered at the hands of Islamic extremists.  The so-called justification varies, from charges of apostasy or evangelism, to purported “blasphemy” or “insulting” Islam.  Innocent people have even been murdered by radicalized Muslims over cartoons.

Yet, there is little if any violent retaliation from Christians to the discrimination, kidnapping, rape, torture, mutilation, and murder that is routinely reported from nations with Muslim majorities.  Neither is there any significant deadly terrorism in the name of Jesus, as there is in the name of Allah each and every day.  Muslim clerics in the West do not fear for their safety as do their Christian counterparts in Islamic dominate countries. 

The "Christian world" and the Islamic world contrast sharply in human rights, civil liberties and economic opportunity.  An astonishing 70% of the world's refugees are Muslims -  usually seeking to live in Christian-dominate countries for safety.  Why do you suppose that is?  Because killing and retaliation is the furthest thing from the mind of Christians, even from those who have and are suffering at the hands of Islamic extremists.  Furthermore, Christians do not and have not made life unbearable for Muslim refugees.  Muslims however, are killing fellow Muslims in their own Muslim dominate countries.

At some point the slaughter of innocent people, Christian and Muslim, has to end.  Negotiation and compromise do not work.  Economic opportunity is nothing more than political hyperbole on the part of western leaders.  ISIS started the current conflict and it affects are spreading to all corners of the globe.  ISIS and radical groups like them have to be stopped.  Is conflict the answer?  Can any conflict be considered a “just war”?

Many Christians read what the Bible says in Exodus 20:13... the sixth Commandment “You shall not kill,” and immediately apply this command to war... conflicts that cause loss of life.  However, the Hebrew words in this commandment literally mean “the intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice and murderous intent.” 

Let’s step back several centuries to ancient Israel and review several events recorded in the Old Testament. God often ordered the Israelites to go to war with other nations (1 Samuel 15:3; Joshua 4:13). God ordered the death penalty for numerous crimes (Exodus 21:12, 15; 22:19; Leviticus 20:11). So, God is not against killing in all circumstances, only murder. War is never a good thing, but sometimes it is a necessary thing. In a world filled with sinful people (Romans 3:10-18), war is inevitable. Sometimes the only way to keep sinful–wicked people from doing great harm to the innocent is by engaging in war.

In the Old Testament, God ordered the Israelites to “take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites” (Numbers 31:2). Deuteronomy 20:16-17 declares, “However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them…as the LORD your God has commanded you.” Also, 1 Samuel 15:18 says, “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.” Obviously God is not against all war. Jesus is always in perfect agreement with the Father (John 10:30), so we cannot argue that war was only God’s will in the Old Testament but changed to pacifism in the New Testament. God does not change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17).

Jesus’ second coming will be exceedingly violent. Revelation 19:11-21 describes the ultimate war with Christ, the conquering commander who judges and makes war “with justice” (v. 11). It’s going to be bloody (v. 13) and gory. The birds will eat the flesh of all those who oppose Him (v. 17-18). He has no compassion upon His enemies, whom He will conquer completely and consign to a “fiery lake of burning sulfur” (v. 20).  Scary to say the least.

It is an error to say that God never supports a war. Jesus is not a pacifist. In a world filled with evil people, sometimes war is necessary to prevent even greater evil. If Hitler had not been defeated in World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If the American Civil War had not been fought, how much longer would African-Americans have had to suffer the pain of slavery? 

War is a terrible thing. Some wars are more “just” than others, but war is always the result of sin (Romans 3:10-18). At the same time, Ecclesiastes 3:8 declares, “There is…a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” In a world filled with sin, hatred, and evil (Romans 3:10-18), war is inevitable. Christians should not desire war, but neither are Christians to oppose the government God has placed in authority over them, should conflict become the only option to defending and eventually protecting the innocent (Romans 13:1-4; 1 Peter 2:17). 

For centuries many Christians have believed that in any given war, usually one side of the conflict is evil while the other side is righteous or just. In the most basic terms, those who hold this view generally say that the aggressor (the one who starts the war) is guilty of sin, while the defender (the one fighting to repel the aggressor) is not. From the standpoint of the latter, the cause is just and participation in the conflict (even to the point of killing the enemy in self-defense) is morally justified. This is the concept of a “just war.” The following list comes from Arthur F. Holmes, War and Christian Ethics (Baker, 1975), pp. 4, 5.

• A just war must have a just cause, i.e., there must be a just reason for entering the war in the first place. And according to the just war view, The only morally legitimate reason for going to war is self-defense.
• A just war must have a just intent, in terms of what it attempts to accomplish. The only morally legitimate goal in war is the restoration of peace, with justice for both friend and foe. Vengeance, subjugation, and conquest are unjustifiable purposes.
• A just war must be the last resort for resolving a dispute. War should be entered upon only when negotiation, arbitration, compromise, and all other paths fail. Of course, when a nation comes under attack, these more preferable solutions may be impossible.
• A just war must have a lawful declaration by a recognized governmental body. Only lawful government has the right to initiate war, for the use of force is limited to the state and its legally authorized agents; it is never the prerogative of individuals or parties within the state to use force on their own authority.
• A just war acknowledges the immunity of noncombatants. Every effort must be made to avoid involving the non-fighting and non-participating population of the attacking nation in actual combat where casualties may occur. Those not officially serving as agents of the government in its use of force, including POWs and medical personnel and services, should not be permitted to fight and are not to be subjected to violence.
• A just war must have limited objectives. If the purpose of war is peace, then unconditional surrender is an unwarranted objective, as is the destruction of the enemy’s economy or political institutions.
• A just war must be fought with limited means. Only sufficient force should be used to resist violence or restore peace. The criterion for ‘sufficient’ is not decisive victory but the restoration of a just peace.

These principles for a just war seem to be a very neat and reasonable set of rules. All of them, however, are fraught with ambiguity and are subject to individual interpretation. For example, what counts as self-defense? Does this include preemptive strikes? Who qualifies as a combatant? Could combatants include civilian sympathizers?  How can such rules be applied in the age of terrorism (ISIS), when enemies are no longer defined in terms of geo-political boundaries?

Despite such difficulties in application, the concept of a “just war” is still valid. The presence of these difficulties, however, makes it all the more crucial that a nation’s leaders, those who must interpret these principles, be men and women of good moral character who have no personal agenda in waging a conflict.

The most important thing Christians can be doing in a time of conflict [war] is to be praying for godly wisdom for our leaders, praying for the safety of our military forces, praying for quick resolution to conflicts, and praying for a minimum of casualties among civilians on both sides (Philippians 4:6-7).

Christians in the 21st Century are living in the New Testament age. Has Jesus given us a way of love and non-resistance that rules out conflict? No. In Matthew 5:38-48... He forbids personal vengeance, as does Paul in Romans 12:17-21. But in the latter context the inspired apostle clearly shows that God executes His own vengeance on evil-doers through the civil government (Romans 13:1-4). In comparing Romans 12:19 with Romans 13:4, we see that even in the Christian era “just conflict” is God's way of providential judgement on evildoers.

It is the God-given duty of the civil government to maintain an environment where justice, peace and hopefully righteousness prevail and where we can live our Christian lives unhindered by the stress of violence (Romans 13:3, 4; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2; 1 Peter 2:13, 14). This must be done even if the government has to resort to the sword. A soldier who participates in warfare on behalf of his government (not in a spirit of personal revenge) is not breaking the sixth Commandment... “Thou shall not Kill.”.
  

NEXT TIME:  How about personal self-defense?  What does the Bible teach us about protecting ourselves and those closest to us... our families? 

The Differences: Islamic Jihad verses Violence in the Bible

Immediately following the horrific terrorist attacks on 9/11, many Westerners began to take notice of Islam for the first time. Most of us paid little attention to who the Taliban or al Qaeda were.  Many were shocked to find out that Islam’s holy book the Quran provides specific directives to engage in acts of violence as part of the “holy war” or jihad in the cause of their religious objectives. 

Soon many secular thinkers began to draw comparisons between Islamic terrorist attacks and the violence found in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. But are these comparisons valid? Are the commands of Yahweh (Jehovah) to the Israelites in the Old Testament the same as jihad as prescribed in the Quran? What is the difference between the violence found in the Bible and Islamic understanding of jihad? 

To answer this question, we must be clear on the definition of “jihad.” The word jihad means “striving” or “struggle.” Within Islam, there are several categories of jihad. The word can be used to describe various types of struggles such as “jihad of the pen” (which would involve persuasion or instruction in the promotion of Islam) or “jihad of the heart” (a battle against one’s own sin). However, the most well-known form of jihad is that which involves physical violence or warfare in the cause of Islam. While the Quran does contain passages that encourage Muslims to engage unbelievers with grace and persuasion (Sura 16:125), the Quran contains many other verses that command Muslims to engage in offensive physical warfare against non-Muslims.

In Sura 9 the Quran says... “But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem [of war]; but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful” (Sura 9:5). Also in Sura 9, “Fight those who believe not in God nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, [even if they are] of the People of the Book [Christians and Jews], until they pay the jizya [tribute] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (Sura 9:29). 

In addition to the teachings of the Quran, Muslims also follow the Hadith, a supposedly inspired record of Muhammad’s words and actions. The Hadith explains how Muhammad instructed his commander when sent out on an expedition, “When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to [accept] Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. . . . If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them” (Sahih Muslim, Book 19, Number 4294). 

But what about the violence commanded by God in the Old Testament? Is that any different? The most often-discussed episodes of violence in the Old Testament are Yahweh’s command for the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites and return to the land that He had promised to them. When assessing these incidents, we must understand the context in which these events took place. The Canaanites were a brutal and wicked culture that frequently engaged in incredibly decadent behavior. As Christian author Norman Geisler put it, “This was a thoroughly evil culture, so much so that the Bible says it nauseated God. They were into brutality, cruelty, incest, bestiality, cultic prostitution, and even child sacrifice by fire. They were an aggressive culture that wanted to annihilate the Israelites.” 

By ordering the destruction of the Canaanites, God enacted a form of corporate capital punishment on a people that had been deserving of God’s judgment for some time. God had given the Canaanite people over 400 years to repent (Genesis 15:13–16). When they did not, the Lord used the Israelites as an “instrument of judgment” on an evil and deeply depraved society. 

The Canaanites were not ignorant, as news of God’s awesome power had reached them (Joshua 2:10–11; 9:9). Such awareness should have driven them to repentance. The example of Rahab and her family is a sure proof that the Canaanites could have avoided their destruction if they had repented before Israel’s God (Joshua 2). No person had to die. God’s desire is that the wicked turn from their sin rather than perish (Ezekiel 18:31–32; 33:11). 

We must also remember that Yahweh did not sanction all of the wars recorded in the Old Testament, and that all of the wars that were specifically commissioned by Him beyond the time of Joshua were defensive in nature. A number of the battles that Israel fought on the way to and within Canaan were also defensive in nature (Exodus 17:8; Numbers 21:21–32; Deuteronomy 2:26–37;Joshua 10:4). 

There is a radical difference between the violence in the Old Testament and the kind of Islamic jihad we are seeing played out in the Mid East today. First, the violence prescribed by God in the Old Testament was intended for a particular time and limited to a particular people group. There was no precedent set to continue this practice beyond what God had commanded. In contrast, the Quran actually prescribes and condones military jihad in the promotion of Islam. At no time in the Bible do we see God commanding His people to kill unbelievers in the promotion of biblical faith. Second, it is beyond dispute that, in its earliest years, Islam was promoted by the sword. It is exactly the opposite for early Christianity. Many of the early Christians were severely persecuted and martyred for their commitment to Christ. As one Christian philosopher put it...“Both Islam and Christianity were spread by the sword, but the swords were pointing in opposite directions!” 

The teachings and example of Muhammad are very different.  A Muslim who desires to commit violence in the name of Islam can find ample justification for his action both in the Quran and in the words and actions of Muhammad.  

NEXT TIME.... How can Christians justly respond to the threat of Jihad and Islamic radicalism?  Is resistance expected and justified?  Is war the answer?  More to come on this thorny subject...

If we bury our heads in the sand... will radical Islam fade away...?

The Rev. Franklin Graham asked a poignant question following the brutal beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya:  What would public reaction be if roles were reversed? “The militant Islamic terrorist group ISIS has released a video called A MESSAGE SIGNED WITH BLOOD TO THE NATION OF THE CROSS showing the beheadings of the 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped in Libya,” Franklin wrote. “Can you imagine the outcry if 21 Muslims had been beheaded by Christians? Where is the universal condemnation by Muslim leaders around the world? As we mourn with the families of those 21 martyrs, we’d better take this warning seriously as these acts of terror will only spread throughout Europe and the United States. … The storm is coming.” Barack Obama’s White House statement on the beheadings didn’t even mention that the victims were Christians.

Make no mistake about it... Islam is well on the road to becoming a major spiritual–political influence in the World. It is imperative that we don’t lose sight of the fact that their ultimate goal is to rule the world. It is patient enough, and sufficiently financed, to accomplish its goal, one country at a time. 

Muslim advocates are working fervently to convert America to Islam. Their dream may not be practical or even achievable, but they persevere none-the-less in their quest and are gaining ground every day.  Non-Muslim ‘no-entry’ zones have been multiplying all over Europe, and growing in cities here in the U.S. This should heighten every American’s awareness of the imminent danger we as a nation face. Once established, they are unsafe, and proving deadly for non-Muslims to inhabit or even to walk through the neighborhood.  Impossible you say? 

In the U.S.  Dearborn, Michigan has become a Muslim dominated city. Over 100,000 Muslims, 45% of the city has settled into their

first ‘no-go’ zone in a major metro region. The city and police officials have been sued in many cases that allege discrimination “against Christians” effectively by the authorities applying Sharia law. Dearborn-Dar-al-Islam, (a place governed by Islamic Sharia law). The new idea of ‘no-go’ and ‘no-entry’ is significant, and shockingly being upheld. They provide weapons and guards and government officials in their own societies. They build what they want on their compounds. They have schools inside these “zones” where their kids are educated in their religion.  Is this the future of America?

Consider this... Muslims were able to conquer most of the known world in the 7th century with their limited and primitive means... mostly intimidation, violence and brutality. Can it happen again?  No one ever expected radical Muslims to fly jets into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon, but it happened.  What will happen to the world, if America becomes embroiled in religious conflict - Christian against Muslim, in its major cities? 

Where is the battlefield?  It’s here in America, in Europe, in the Muslim dominated countries of the Mideast and everywhere Muslim populations live.  While there is a chance of winning on our own soil, there is no chance on theirs because the rules of engagement are so very different. The difference between a professional soldier and a Jihadist comes down to one main issue. The soldier wishes to remain alive, the Jihadist wishes to die for Allah. To beat an enemy whose prime directive is not to remain alive, but to martyr himself for his God, is not something that can be dealt with by just using firepower. 

The question may ultimately be... can any strategy derail the infiltration by radical Islam in western [Christian] countries?

The rules of Islam cast serious doubt on the intentions of fundamentalist Muslims when they insist on residing in a non-Muslim country like America, the UK and many other European countries. Considering the viewpoint accepted by most Muslim theologians... that it’s unacceptable for a Muslim to continue residing among “infidels” unless there is a benefit to Muslims from doing so. Islam is not just a religion, it’s a state to which all Muslims belong regardless of where they live. It is a set of laws, directives laid down from which there is no option of escape. As this series of articles have shown, based on actual verses in the Quran, there can by definition be no such thing as a moderate Muslim. He or she is ORDERED by the Quran to spread Islam around the world, to create one Islamic state. It should make us question their motive, and whether they have an agenda for staying in America.  The purported “no-go zone” in  Dearborn Michigan is an example of what may happen as we continue to bury our heads in the sand in the hopes that this will all just fade away.

TAKE NOTE of this actual exchange between a medical professional in the UK and a so-called moderate Muslim, a male colleague and friend:  “I asked my Muslim friend where his real allegiance lies, with The United Kingdom which is the country of his birth or with Islam and what he would do if called to jihad... would he kill me if I stood in the way of his beliefs?”

The Answer:  “Islam is not dependent on what my passport says. I live for the day when the one true God is recognized across the world, this is the hope and prayer of all Muslims. I cannot imagine myself killing people in the name of Islam, but if that is my destiny then so be it, I cannot change what has been ordained for me. You have to understand that Islam will not stop. Islam is a way of life not just a religion. It is a set of directives on how good Muslims should live their lives, even if that means using violence to forward the Islamic State. As I am a good Muslim these directives have a bearing on how I live my life both in the present and in the future. When the time comes I will do what I have to do, what I am meant to do. I would hope that we would not meet during that period of time. I assume this conversation will change our friendship, and I understand that. We had some good laughs but I doubt we will again. I am surprised that we have not had this conversation before, but now we have so there is no going back.”

The Aftermath... “He left the hospital after this conversation witnessed and heard by many co-workers. If I am honest, he would have probably needed medical help if he had stayed… lots of people were very upset. I was stunned he would sit in a staff lunch room and come out with this, but he did, without hesitation. Someone I had known for years, I was totally stunned.”

The war with Islam is raging.

Islam... a Religion of Intolerance, Violence and Terrorism

“I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God...” wrote the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 20 verse 4. 

This past Sunday, a video surfaced that showed black-clad jihadists of the ISIS franchise in Libya, The Islamic State in Tripoli Province, beheading 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, staining the waves with blood. These Christian victims were poor men from Egypt's rural areas who had traveled to Libya looking for work to support their families. The jihadists made it clear: They beheaded the men because they were "people of the cross, followers of the hostile [Christian] Egyptian Church." The killings raise the possibility that the Islamic militant group — which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq in a self-declared caliphate — has established a direct affiliate less than 500 miles from the southern tip of Italy. One of the militants in the video, speaking English, makes direct reference to that possibility, saying the group now plans to "conquer Rome."

Before the killings, one of the militants stood holding a knife and said in a North American-accented English: "O Crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes, especially when you’re fighting us all together. Therefore, we will fight you all together, until the war lays down its burdens, and Jesus, peace be upon him, will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine and abolishing jiziyah. (The meaning of jiziyah:  a poll tax levied from those who did not accept Islam, but are willing to live under the protection of Islam, and are thus tacitly willing to submit to the laws enforced by the Muslim State).

Egypt launched swift retaliation, bombing at least seven locations in Libya. 

Meanwhile, Barack Obama still denied the religious causes of the violence when in his While House delivered statement said... "We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Egyptian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens. ISIS's barbarity knows no bounds." Not only does Obama deny the religious motivations of ISIS, he dishonors victims by denying why they were murdered. Not knowing the enemy -- that's how wars are lost.

Christians are under siege all over the world... in the middle-east now the siege is deadly.  It’s beginning to feel like there is a war raging between Christianity and Islam.  Too many people are struggling to grasp the fact that we are indeed involved in a war without borders, without traditional battle lines, where the soldiers are not easily identifiable by the uniform they wear. 

The murder of Christians around the globe is an indicator of what is to come unless the march of Islam is stopped in it’s tracks.

A simple Google search tells us that Christianity is the world’s largest religion, it has more ‘adherents’ than any other. However, that’s a little misleading. The most practiced religion, the religion where people believe and adhere to the teachings of that religion more than any other is Islam, and that is where the problems begin.

We hear the word jihad on a regular basis, but we often don’t understand what we are hearing. The Quran talks of two jihads, the Lesser and the Greater Jihad and this is where we fail to understand the motivation behind the different views.

The Greater jihad is the everyday struggle that Muslims face to grow in their faith and worship Allah, something most Muslims feel is the hardest thing they are asked to do, hence the greater tag. The Lesser Jihad is the struggle they face to build a good, stable Muslim society. It is the Lesser Jihad that allows Muslims to conduct Harb al-Muqadis, or what we often hear proclaimed as holy war.

A non-military Jihad [Lesser Jihad], one conducted by, an unofficial group of Islamists is not governed by the rules of the Quran, and that’s why we see the atrocities from “organized but unofficial groups” such a Shabaab, al Qaeda, Boko Haram and of course ISIS.

Just as Christianity encompasses different denominational groups, Islam also has different sects within it. Sunni, Shi’ite, Alawite and Wahabi are some examples. They all believe in Allah, they all follow the teaching of the Quran, but their interpretation of it is very different.

It is these differences that are stoking the fires of civil unrest in Iraq. This was bound to happen. When you remove a strong dictatorial leader, however bad he is, and then you remove the force that removed that leader, there is a vacuum left behind that rival factions attempt to fill, and this is precisely what’s happening in Iraq, and gave rise to ISIS.  The goal ISIS... what is happening in Iraq will happen across the rest of the Middle East, and Africa until the winning sect is strong enough to take on the rest of the world.

There are three main tenants of Islam that most western nations do not understand.  They are...

Islam’s ultimate goal is to rule the world. Islamic theology provides two methods for this to be accomplished. The first is spiritual, as people are lured into conversion. The second is coercive through political and physical conquest of nations. For Muslims, there are no gray areas. They see the world in black and white. To them the world is divided into two big camps: the House of Islam and the House of War. The House of Islam are the Muslims, and the House of war are the non-Muslims, of every nation, in every corner of the planet. Muslims (the House of Islam) are in a constant state of spiritual/political/physical warfare with Non-Muslims (the House of War) until they subjugate them to Islam.

Islam always employs a carrot and stick strategy. The carrot and stick that is perpetually set before Muslims is the expectation of generous rewards in this life and in eternity for those who fight for Islam. On the other hand, those who falter are warned of severe temporal and eternal punishments.

Apostasy from Islam is not an option. Once-a-Muslim-always-a-Muslim, the only official alternative is death. There is no room for changing one’s mind. The door is wide open to join Islam, but there is no backdoor for those that would like to leave it.

The third point there is important. A person is considered in Islam to have the religion of the father, even if you do not practice Islam. Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, even if he doesn’t wish to be, is considered under the “law of Islam” to be a Muslim.  His father was Muslin and practiced Islam.

As no attempts have been made on his life, one can assume that Islam regards him as still being a Muslim, that he has not turned his back on the faith.  Or, it could simply be that no “opportunity” to exercise a jihad against him has yet presented itself.  

Unquestionably the Muslim activists of modern times are smarter and are using more sophisticated tactics than those of ancient times. The days of the primitive methods that were used to conquer the known world, between the 7th – 17th centuries, are long gone. Islam now applies carefully studied and sophisticated strategies to achieve their goals of global conquest.

They define their targets, and decide on the best strategies to reach them. Young women are reached through love and marriage. With African-Americans the race card is used. They are deceived into believing that Mohammed was black and that Islam was birthed on the African continent. To the needy, they use money. For most people, they polish Islam and present it in an attractively revised westernized form. The violent Quranic verses are carefully excluded from recruitment strategies. The peaceful verses of the Quran are emphasized. The fact is, according to Islamic theology, the early peaceful verses that were written in Mecca are nullified (abrogated), and replaced by later violent verses that were written in Medina. To the religious establishment they claim compatibility with the Judeo-Christian faith. They cite belief in Moses, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary.  

They concur with us on the existence of Heaven and Hell. Regardless of their boast that they have common ground with us [Christians, Jews], the fine print in Islamic teaching tells a very different story.  

The war on Christianity by Islam has begun and it’s a fight to the death.  

More on this important topic in coming articles....

What's Behind Islamic Jihadist Brutality?

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the declared caliph of the Islamic State, [ISIS] holds a doctorate in Islamic studies from the Islamic University of Baghdad—distinguishing him as highly knowledgeable of Islamic law, history and culture. Unlike these Western leaders, he is thoroughly familiar with the beliefs of Islam and teachings of its holy book, the Quran.

As caliph, the supreme ruler of the new Islamic nation carved out of Syria and Iraq, his determinations of what is allowable or forbidden is the law of the land. And as recent headlines have shown, Al-Baghdadi and his followers, like Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda before them, see no conflict between their tactics of murder and mayhem and their practice of Islam. In fact, they boast that what they do is the practice of Islam.

What, then, is the real truth? Is Islam a religion of peace, as western politicians say, or is it something drastically different? To understand the answer, we need to examine Islam's holy book, the Quran.

What are some of the teachings of the Quran that are leading to violence and bloodshed around the world?

The clear teaching of the Quran is that Islam is the supreme and only true religion, and that eventually the entire world will come under Islamic rule.

For example, Surah 61:9 states: "It is He [Allah] who has sent for His apostle [Muhammad] with guidance and the true faith [Islam] , so that he may exalt it above all religions, much as the idolaters may dislike it" (all Quran quotes from the Dawood translation, 1999). In the Quran, "idolaters" refers to all who practice non-Islamic religion including Christianity and Judism.

In line with this belief in the supremacy of Islam, Surah 2:193 gives this clear command: "Fight against them until idolatry is no more and [ Allah's ] religion reigns supreme." Again, "idolatry" in the Quran refers to any religion other than Islam, which would include Christianity and Judaism and any other belief system. To those who follow this verse and there are millions who do, if you don't worship Allah by the dictates of Muhammad, you are considered an idolater and therefore a legitimate target of this command. 

In the worldview of Islamic scholars and leaders, the world is divided into two spheres—the sphere or lands of dar al-Islam, meaning "the domain of Islam" (where Islam is dominant) and dar al-harb, meaning "the domain of war." A fundamental aspect of this worldview is that all non-Muslim lands must eventually be absorbed or conquered by Islam, preferably by peaceful conversion, but by force if necessary, thus they are "the domain of war." 

Most if not all of the Muslim world is united against Israel because it is considered an abomination of the land that was once dar al-Islam, part of the land of Islam, but has reverted to dar al-harb, or fallen back under control of the infidel, whether Jews or Christians.

This is a key reason why Muslims are so determined to bring the physical territory of Israel back under Muslim domination. Keep in mind that the Palestine Liberation Organization was founded in 1964, three years before Israel captured the West Bank and Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War—so Muslim determination to "liberate" Israeli lands long predates Israel's control of these areas and extends to all of Israel, period.

This is why Muslim leaders openly boast of their desire to liberate the land "from the sea to the sea"— from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning no more Israel. This is why the founding documents of terror organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah openly call for the elimination of Israel.

Western governments, failing to understand this Muslim belief, regularly pressure Israel to negotiate with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority for a peaceful solution. But in fact there is no peaceful solution when the negotiating partners believe with all their heart and soul that Israel's land belongs to them and that it must be ethnically cleansed of Jews as stated repeatedly by Hamas and Palestinian Authority leaders. 

If Islam is to become the supreme and only true religion in the world as taught by the Quran, how is that goal to be accomplished? 

The answer is jihad or holy war against non-believers. The Quran commands violence and conquest to spread Islam. It contains literally dozens of such commands, such as these:

Surah 9:5 states: "When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them."

Surah 9:73 reads: "Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate."

Surah 9:123 commands: "Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Know that [ Allah ] is with the righteous."

Harvard University professor of government Samuel Huntington, commenting on the disproportionate involvement of Muslims in warfare and terrorism around the globe, coined the phrase "the bloody borders of Islam" in his 1997 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. At that pre-9/11 time he had no idea how prophetic the phrase would be.

In the 2005 book Religion, Culture and International Conflict: A Conversation (Michael Cromartie, editor), Professor Huntington wrote: "While groups from all religions have engaged in various forms of violence and terrorism, the figures make it clear that in the past decade Muslims have been involved in far more of these activities than people of other religions . . .

If you look around the Muslim world you see that in the 1990s Muslims were fighting non-Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Chechnya, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kashmir, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Middle East, Sudan, Nigeria, and other places. Muslims have been fighting one another also" (p. 5).

He went on to note that in the year 2000, 23 of the world's 32 armed conflicts involved Muslims. Similar numbers hold true today. A glance at a world map shows that nearly all of the world's wars are taking place around the edges of the Muslim world where Islam is pressing outward against non-Muslims. 

Whereas the Bible teaches us to love our neighbors, the Quran teaches Muslims to "make war on the infidels who dwell around you”— to fight your neighbor. 

It's also worth noting that many Muslims believe that the only sure way to enter paradise (in their view of the afterlife) is to become a martyr fighting for Islam. They draw this belief from Surah 22:58: "As for those that have fled their homes in the cause of Allah and afterwards died or were slain, Allah will surely make a generous provision for them in paradise. [Allah] is the most munificent provider. He will surely admit them with a welcome that will please them. All-knowing is Allah, and gracious."

In Islamic thinking, as soon as a martyr sheds his first drop of blood, he is guaranteed a place in paradise. And when he arrives, he has waiting for him 72 young, dark-eyed, beautiful virgins to be his perpetual companions in paradise. This is one reason so many young Muslim men are willing to die as suicide bombers, because they are guaranteed entry into paradise as soon as they blow themselves up, since they are dying in the cause of jihad.

The Quran also says that Allah will punish those who do not wage jihad as he commands. Surah 9:39 warns: "If you do not go to war, [ Allah ] will punish you sternly, and will replace you by other men." In other words, if you're a Muslim and don't wage jihad, you will be punished and Allah will choose someone else to fight in your place. 

The Quran also commands using terror and cruelty in waging jihad. Surah 8:59-60 states: "Let not the unbelievers think that they will ever get away. They have not the power so to do. Muster against them all the men and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them who are unknown to you but known to Allah." 

This is why the Sunni fighters of the Islamic State [ISIS] are so viciously cruel. Knowing this verse, they use terror to strike fear into their enemies to demoralize them and cause them to give up their will to fight. Those whom they capture, Shiites whom they consider apostates or non-Muslims, they brutally execute in accordance with what they read in their holy book.  

The Quran even mentions specific methods to sow terror, which the Islamic State fighters are using. Surah 8:12 states: "[Allah] revealed his will to the angels, saying: 'I shall be with you. Give courage to the believers. I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers!'"   So what the Quran tells them to do, they do. When their holy book tells them to strike off heads, they do exactly that.

The civilized world has been horrified to see Islamic State fighters, like al-Qaeda fighters and Iraqi terror groups before them, brutally decapitate captive soldiers, as well as Western journalists and aid workers. Perhaps you have seen clips from some of the beheading videos shown on news reports or posted on the Internet. You may have wondered as I did, what the Arabic-language shouting and chanting signified.

Most of us already knew the meaning of the shouts of "Allahu Akbar"—"Allah is great" or, more properly, "Allah is greater" (than any who would oppose them). With a little research I learned the significance of the chanting often accompanying the shouts. The murderers are chanting verses like the one above telling them to behead infidels. They are simply quoting their scriptures in the Quran.

Yet Western leaders assure us, as President Obama did in a Nov. 16 White House statement after the beheading of American hostage Peter Kassig, that such acts "represent no faith, least of all the Muslim faith . . ."

Another Surah that illustrates Allah's cruelty is Surah 5:34-35: "Those that make war against [Allah] and His apostle [Mohammad] and spread disorder in the land shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land. They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly punished in the hereafter."

Here Allah commands torture, crippling and maiming of prisoners. Crucifixion is a horrible form of torture and execution, and they practice it with relish. A brief search of the Internet will produce hundreds of photos showing Islamists carrying out and celebrating such practices.

What does the Quran teach about slavery? Although little is said about it in Western media, slavery remains alive and well in parts of the Muslim world. While the slave trade in the Americas during the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s has been rightfully condemned, the focus has largely been on the white slave owners and slave traders, with little said of the Arab Muslims who first enslaved Africans and sold them to whites from the American colonies.

This, too, was approved in the Quran. Surah 47:4 says: "When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly." Those who follow the Quran literally have long understood this to mean that when Muslims defeat their enemies, they are allowed to either kill them or enslave them.

According to early Muslim writings, Muhammad—who is viewed as the ideal man whom Muslims are to emulate—sold, traded and confiscated slaves, clearly making himself a slave trader.

A particularly appalling aspect of recent Muslim conquests is women and girls being taken captive to be used as sexual slaves. This happened with the capture of Yazidi towns in northern Iraq by the Islamic State and the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by the Islamic Boko Haram movement in Nigeria. This, too, is specifically allowed in the Quran. Notice these verses:

Surah 23:1-6 says: "Blessed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, who avoid profane talk, and give alms to the destitute, who restrain their carnal desires (except with their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them)."

Surah 33:50 states: "We [that is, Allah speaking of himself in the plural] well know the duties We have imposed on the faithful concerning their wives and slave-girls. ( We grant you this privilege [satisfying their sexual desires with slave girls]) so that none may blame you."

A Nov. 5, 2014, report by the International Business Times was headlined "Shocking: ISIS Official 'Slave' Price List Shows Yazidi, Christian Girls Aged '1 to 9' Being Sold for $172." The article went on to describe a price list for sexual slaves on an Islamist website: "In the name of Allah, most gracious and merciful. We have received news that the demand in women and cattle markets has sharply decreased and that will [affect] Islamic State revenues as well as the funding of the Mujaheddin [jihadist fighter] in the battlefield. We have made some changes. Below are the prices of Yazidi and Christian women."

At the same time a video posted online appeared to show Islamic State fighters at what one of them called "slave market day" while quoting Surah 23:1-6 (cited above). The men discuss prices for girls and women from $100-300 depending on the age and eye color—with green or blue eyes bringing a higher price.

An October online edition of Dabiq magazine (published by an Islamic State jihadist group) boasted after the capture of the Iraqi town of Sinjar that "the enslaved Yazidi families are now sold by the Islamic State soldiers." It then explained that "the Yazidi women and children were then divided according to the Shariah [Islamic law] amongst the fighters of the Islamic State who participated in the Sinjar operations." Thus, as war booty, they were divided up and sold as pieces of property.

The sad truth about the Middle East today is that we are seeing a revival of the original Islam Muhammad brought to the world in the seventh century.

Muhammad's new religion caught fire, fueled by power and plunder. The Islamic State is repeating Muhammad's early conquests—burning churches, looting monasteries, enslaving and forcibly converting the powerless, and callously executing those who stand up to them. It is vigorously enforcing sharia law—cutting off the hands of thieves, stoning adulterers and blasphemers, whipping criminals and banning anything that stands in the way of Islam.

In defiance of the major Western powers, it has brutally butchered American and British citizens, decapitating them and posting videos of the murders on the Internet for the world to see. The message is unmistakable: Allah is on their side, and they have nothing to fear from the major world powers.

Until Western leaders wake up from their willful blindness and face the grim reality of the jihadist worldview that is motivating the Islamic State as well as Hamas, Hezbollah and countless other groups and movements, that part of the world will remain a powder keg waiting to explode and take down much of modern civilization with it. 

Next time... What does the ONE TRUE GOD say about this difficult situation?

Confused by what the Quran teaches - Peace or War?

The brutality of the Islamic State [ISIS] and various terrorist organizations is shocking and horrifying—beheadings, suicide attacks, slaughter of prisoners and women forced into sexual slavery. What's really behind such barbarism? The truth may surprise and shock you!

The headlines out of the Middle East in recent months have been horrifying—American and British hostages beheaded, captured prisoners executed in the thousands, women forced or sold into a lifetime of sexual slavery, children brutally murdered and communities starved to death or murdered in cold blood for refusing to change their religion.

Much of the world is shocked by such brutality, and rightfully so. It seems incomprehensible to the Western mind.

What's driving such this cruelty and barbarism?  If we are to understand, we need to cast off the blinders of political correctness and unflinchingly face the facts of what the Quran really teaches.

In reality, the answer is simple. Those who are behind these horrors share a common denominator. They are unapologetic in saying they are doing what they are told to do by their religion— Islam.

And while it is true that many Muslims are peaceful, and are equally horrified by these events, all we have to do is look at the words of the perpetrators of such atrocities to understand their motivations. They clearly and proudly state that they are doing what their religion tells them to do.

Ever since the horrific hijacked-airliner terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon with another jet apparently supposed to crash into the White House or U.S. Capitol building, Western leaders have gone out of their way to describe Islam as a religion of peace.

For example, just six days after those attacks that killed almost 3,000 Americans, then-President George W. Bush, speaking at the Islamic Center of Washington D.C., said: "These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith . . . The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam.  That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace".

In a 2014 speech to the United Nations, U.S. President Barack Obama stated: "The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them—there is only us, because millions of Muslim Americans are part of the fabric of our country. So we reject any suggestion of a clash of civilizations."

In a speech on Sept. 3, 2014—ironically, the day after the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video showing the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry applauded Islam as a "peaceful religion based on the dignity of all human beings."  He then explained that "the real face of Islam is . . .one where Muslim communities are advocating for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the most basic freedom to practice one's faith openly and freely."

On Sept. 24, following the brutal decapitation of British hostage David Haines, British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted that his murderers "have nothing to do with the great religion of Islam, a religion of peace, a religion that inspires daily acts of kindness and generosity."

While these and other Western leaders [Judeo-Christian cultures] repeatedly claim that Islam is a peaceful religion, we should also remind ourselves that those actively involved in committing these atrocities have spent their entire lifetimes immersed in Islamic belief and culture.

So the question that needs an honest answer... Is Islam a religion of peace? Those who state that Islam is a peaceful religion usually point to several verses in the Quran to support their view.

Those most commonly cited are:

• "There shall be no compulsion in religion" (Surah 2:256, all quotes from the Dawood translation, 1999). This is often quoted to say Islam doesn't compel conversions to Islam or prevent people from leaving Islam for another religion.

• "Whoever killed a human being, except as punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be regarded as having killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as having saved all mankind" (Surah 5:32). This is often cited to show that Islam condemns violence and holds human life in high regard.

• "Say, 'Unbelievers [non-Muslims], I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship. You have your own religion, and I have mine" (Surah 109:1-6). This is often quoted to say that Islam takes an accepting view toward others being able to practice their own religions.

• "If they incline to peace, make peace with them, and put your trust in [Allah]. It is surely He who hears all and knows all" (Surah 8:61). This is often cited to say that Islam teaches living at peace with others.

Some even say that the word Islam means "peace," however this isn't close to being true. Islam means "submission"— submission to Allah, Islam's deity. 

The meaning of Muslim, a person who practices the religion of Islam, is "one who submits"— one who submits to Allah and his religion.

While the verses quoted here seem fairly clear, what the Quran actually teaches isn't so straightforward. Dozens of verses in the Quran  clearly advocate warfare, violence and brutality against anyone who is not responsive to submission to Allah. So why the obvious contradictions?

Much of the confusion stems from the circumstances under which the Quran was written. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was illiterate, so he didn't write a single word of the Quran. The 114 chapters of the Quran, called surahs, record the supposed revelations of Muhammad as written down or memorized by his followers after Muhammad came out of trance-like states during which Allah supposedly disclosed his divine thoughts.

In the years following Muhammad's death in A.D. 632, his closest companions compiled these writings into the Quran, which Muslims consider to be the divine and authoritative words of Allah.

However, unlike the Bible, the Quran isn't organized historically, chronologically or thematically. It's organized based on the length of the chapters, from longest to shortest, regardless of content or timing. Thus, when verses conflict, no one can really tell for sure which verses were written earlier and which were written later and thus presumably the "final word" on a given subject.

Such inherent contradictions led to the Muslim doctrine of abrogation, meaning earlier verses were abrogated, nullified or overridden by later verses. This doctrine is based on two verses that Muslims believe Allah inspired to be included in the Quran:

• "If We abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We will replace it by a better one or one similar. Did you not know that [Allah] has power over all things?" (Surah 2:106).

• "When We change one verse for another ([Allah] knows best what He reveals), they say: 'You [Muhammad] are an imposter.' Indeed most of them have no knowledge" (Surah 16:101).

Islamic scholars and teachers are well aware of this teaching, though they seldom discuss it openly because of its inescapable implications, that Allah, far from being an all-wise and all-knowing deity, can and did change his mind in what was supposedly divinely revealed to Muhammad.

What are the practical conclusions that result from the doctrine of abrogation?

Most scholars who have studied the Quran believe that the Quran's verses advocating peaceful coexistence and tolerance were written in the early years of Muhammad's movement when he and his small number of followers didn't wish to antagonize potential enemies who greatly outnumbered them. But as Muhammad gained more and more power and a greater following, the chapters of the Quran written later increasingly advocated belligerence, warfare, violence, intimidation and enslavement of those who opposed him.

Thus, Allah's later revelations command fighting and subjugation of "infidels"— non-Muslims — so that Islam would gain its rightful place as the dominant or only religion in lands it controlled.  Which is exactly what we see playing out in gruesome headlines all around the world.

More on the teachings of the Quran and the religion of Islam in the next article.