Wow. So much to cover ... I'll try to organize my thoughts.
I know the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) quickly called a press conference to condemn the attacks and do some "damage control" and I applaud them for that. (I watched it live, in fact.) But to be fair, fostering better relations between Muslims and other Americans is the sole reason for their existence. It's what they do.
They are not the "prominent, well-known Muslims" to which I was referring. I want to hear from celebrities like Shaquille O'Neal, Dr. Oz, Paula Abdul, Kareem Abdul Jabaar, rappers like Ice Cube and Akon, and Louis Farakhan, for just a few examples. No Muslim that anybody has ever heard of is speaking out publicly, or if they are the message isn't reaching the masses. It's also one thing to condemn an individual act of terrorism. It is another thing entirely to condemn the ideology that drives groups like ISIS and al-Queda.
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Thank you for that link. I had not seen it before. While I tend to dismiss most of what I see in the NY Times because of their heavily slanted liberal bias, I believe that article is accurate.
While Mr. Dear claims to be a Christian, there is nothing Christian about his ideology especially where it concerns sin and grace. Unlike Dear, no Christian denomination believes that we can continue to sin because we are forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, we believe that because God loved us so much that he was willing to sacrifice His ony Son for OUR sins, if we willingly continue to sin it is like a slap in the face to God.
"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God."--1 John 3:9 (NIV)
"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"--Hebrews 10:26-29 (NIV)
The Bible says that we will know who the Christians are by their fruits (actions). While Dear claims to be a Christian, his actions show clearly that he is not.
Next topic.
This sounds familiar when I hear Muslims claiming it their duty to use quotes from the Quran to kill innocent people. Maybe back in the day, but today's world has no place for these "commands." Just as in the Bible has verse to kill, we need to evolve away and live in peace. This, is what I hope you all can understand is the true goal to majority on Muslims.
Yes, but there is a huge difference between the way radical extremist Muslims (not most Muslims) and Jews and Christians interpret such verses.
The Jews believe that those verses serve as a historical context. They were commands for only those Jews in that area at that time, when they were claiming a land for themselves; a land that has been taken from them time and time again over their 4000 year history. They don't believe that those particular verses are "commands" for modern day Jews.
Christians interpret those verses the same way, but we also accept the New Testament which replaces the Old Covenent between God and His people. The NT teaches that God is Love. It teaches that not only should we "do unto others as we would have others do unto us," but we should love our ENEMIES as well!
"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."--Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
"But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."--Luke 6:35 (NIV)
Is there any similar command in the Quran?
Also, unlike Christians and Muslims, Jews see no reason to evangelize or proselytize. While they welcome non-Hebrew converts to their faith, they believe that the descendants of Abraham are "God's chosen people" and if God chooses them they will be born into that "family."
Christianity is open to all, Jew and Gentile alike. We have been commanded to spread the Gospel to all nations, but we don't force anybody to convert. In fact, if the conversion is forced then the convert isn't really a Christian. We believe that one can only be led to God through Jesus Christ by persuasion of the Holy Spirit. We can "witness" and "share our testimonies," but only God can do the work of changing people's hearts.
The radical extremist sect of Islam believes that all people must convert to Islam or die and that it is their duty to "kill the infidels."
Next topic.
Just as last Friday as another extremist went to kill people at the clinic Planned Parenthood, I do not think every Christian want to kill.
There are absolutely NO similarities between the Planned Parenthood attack and Islamic terrorist attacks. The intents, goals and purposes are completely different.
Mr. Dear went after a specific target because he sincerely believes that Planned Parenthood is killing unborn babies and selling their body parts for profit. He was not trying to terrorize the general public. The guy making sandwiches at the Subway down the street does not fear that if he doesn't convert to Christianity, religious extremists will try to kill him.
The goal of Islamic terrorists is to kill as many non Muslims as possible or to kill people regardless of their faith so that we will fear them. They strike at random times and in random places to instill maximum fear. They try to blend in with the general public and will plot and prepare for years, waiting until the time is right for them to strike. They believe they are waging a holy Jihad in the name of Allah and many of them are willing to die in this pursuit.
To compare the Planned Parenthood killings to Islamic terrorism and say that there is no difference between Christian extremists and Muslim extremists is disengenous at best. They are nothing alike.
There is so much more we could talk about but I think that this is enough to digest for now.
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