News-Record.com

After much consideration I find the difference between the peaceful Muslim and a radical Muslim is that the "peaceful Muslim" hasn't picked up an AK-47...........................YET!

It is most unfortunate the such a large population only 'know' what the hear about Islam and accept it as the truth.
I was raised a Quaker in the Greensboro community and returned to college in my 40's. Guilford College offered a class on Islam and found it to be a beautiful religion. Now when I hear people, particularly well-known evangelists, speak about Islam in the negative, it only confirms their ignorance. What's worse is their verbage is taken by others as the truth.
Like all religions, including Christianity, fundamentalists spin the messages in their holy books for their own selfish purposes and sour the purity of a religion's beauty. I promise to anyone who reads the history of Islam and learns what exactly what messages the Koran holds, you will find it to be a far more truthful, consistent, peaceful religion than what we Christians claim our own to be. Would I convert to Islam? If I felt I could live the examples taught, I would. I prefer instead not to claim any one religion but rather take the good they all teach, particularly the three monotheisitic ones -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They do, afterall, refer to and claim the same God.

Mr. Jackson's response was pithy and terse, but lacked any nuance. I think his point is that Islam has historically been spread, in large measure, by aggressive jihadist MOs.

Mr. Robbins' comments are typical of those who hold all the computer cards (remember) up and look through them and the holes the light goes through they accept.

The only way to assess Islam is through biblical eyes. There is a vast difference between islam and Christainity, and Judaism as well. The biblical sotries recounted in the Qur'an are far different from the originals, especially the NT. The doctrinal differences between the two religions are myriad and deep. Only bleeding heart liberals who lack doctrinal understanding assert that all religons are the same. They will, seemingly, sell their souls to look magnanimous and tolerant. If this weren't a lethal error, it would just look naive.

Islam is pure religious legalism; i.e. salvation by obedience to laws and works. True biblical Christianity (Reformed) is salvation by trusting in the finished work of Yeshua on the cross as the full atonement for sins - and then receiving all the gifts of grace that flow from that glorious reunion with God. Works flow from that reality, but do not produce it.

Since Islam does not, and cannot, have this totally necessary atonement, it must rely on religionism and law-keeping. As Paul points out in Romans, keeping the Law (Decalogue) is great and good, but NO one can EVER be good enough to have intimate, eternal fellowship with an all-holy God, who MUST judge every and ALL sin, because of His perfect Righteousness.

Truth be told, all people are exceedingly sinful. All our superficial good works can, at best, fool other people; but not God. And since sin ALWAYS alienates us from God, we need for our sin-debt to be neutralized. Christ's once-and-for-all atonement clears us of all guilt and spiritaul death, even as the Holy Spirit creates a new nature within, filling us with God's very presence and inexpressable joy. There is NO substitue and no competition.

And this is the crucial point at which Islam must be rejected: as a false, man-made religion with no atoning grace, which simply produces religious "flesh" - as do ALL religious systems apart from the atoing work of Jesus Christ and the new birth. For "There is ONE Mediator betwen God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

In the final analysis, Islam is an aggressive, law-driven, power-hungry religious system, intent on undermining and ultimately destroying all cultures it invades - ours being no exception. (Thank God for Charles Martel.) All their "peaceful" posturing, including Nasr's, is just a diversionary tactic to numb our awareness and stifle our resistance - until they impose sharia law on everyone. This is their clearly stated goal. Just take a good look at England, France, and the rest of Europe, to see this dynamic at work.

Islam has no Good News, only dead religionism, with an equally deadly agenda - spiritually if not physically. We are a foolish nation to refuse to see it's ruse. But we tolerate so much garbage these days, we hardly notice the Trojan Horse in our midst.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr helped us last Wednesday to better understand some of the heart and soul of Islam, especially mystical Islam. This Islamic mystical tradition is perhaps best represented by the Islamic, Sufi mystical poet Jelalludin Rumi. While much Christianity today has been replaced with some strange secularized worship of flag and the nation-state we still have the core teachings of Christ and early Christianity to show us a truer path.

The Sermon on the Mount has somehow been lost, re-interpreted or ignored by much of mainstream Christianity. Likewise some of the spiritual core of Islam has been lost to modernity and the political utilization of religion. It is interesting that Rumi's poetry of Islamic mysticism is among the best selling poetry in the US.

Nasr said that both true Christianity and true Islam can agree on two central issues -- Love of God and Love of Neighbor. Nasr and other Muslim scholars are working with the Vatican on a document that will emphasize how both of these great religions do connect on their love of God and love of neighbor.

There can be no true love of God while at the same time rejecting the Son of God and his glorious and utterly necessary atonement. It's all make believe and spiritual deception. I agree that true Christianity is obscured today by TV Osteenism; but the real McCoy is is still alive and thriving in the grassroots. Stop watching TV to get a true picture of biblical Christianity. That's old liberal hash.

NT Christianity is not mysticism; rather it is REAL spirituality based on the new birth and obedience to the apostolic teaching of the scriptures, including the truths of the OT Law and Prophets. Mysticism, of whatever ilk usually ends up in self-preoccupation and error. As the Apostle Paul so eloquently put it:

"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."

Mysticism, new doctrines, near death experiences, etc., are all alien to the NT reality of knowing God through faith and the new birth, and living it out in daily life, loving others and sharing the Good News of Christ's unique and efficacious grace.

"There can be no true love of God while at the same time rejecting the Son of God and his glorious and utterly necessary atonement.".....Amen nikos.
to me it always comes back to either owning your faith or borrowing someone else's. much easier to live on borrowed faith, it requires much of nothing on ones part to live this way and actually (falsely) give those who live that way an excuse....." well that is what he told me to believe". owning your faith requires obedience and sacrifice, reading, studying, meditating, praying, fasting etc. to name a few. it become much harder if not impossible to be led astray when you follow this model. modern christianity often uses a mix and match approach to draw people into their respective churches -those like osteen are the perfect example.

What draws people to Islam?