This is absolutely true. However I hope you realize that this cuts both ways:
Their (that is, Christians who deliberately antagonize Muslims) favorite tactic is to provoke a people or culture to anger (by burning a Qur'an or denying religious liberty to Muslims) then blame the provoked (the Muslims) for the retaliating.
Muslims definitely need to be more thick-skinned and also realize that the actions of some wingnut Christians do not represent all of us, but I have a hard time making that case when most of "conservative" American Christendom seems to do exactly the same thing.
In John 5, Jesus went to visit the Samaritans who had established a rival temple and were despised by most Jews of the day. The Samaritans had no great love for the Jewish people either. When Jesus was speaking with the woman at the well, she turned the conversation off of herself and onto the burning religious question of the day: whether to worship in the Samaritan temple of the Jewish temple. Jesus answered her question directly, but went on to reveal that there was much more to Worship than the location. He also explicitly revealed Himself to be the Messiah.
Did Jesus go up to the center of Samaritan worship and disrupt it? Nope. Did he work to offend the Samaritans so He could somehow prove He and the Jewish people were better than the Samaritans? Nope. Did he complain about the Samaritans contempt for the Jews and use that as an excuse not to love them? Nope. Did He simply write off all of the Samaritans as a lost cause? Nope.
He extended His love to them, told the truth, and they responded.
I know several people who serve as Christian missionaries in some of the Islamic countries we hear about on the news. For the most part, they have found the Muslim peoples very open to the gospel. They also have repeatedly experienced the protection of Muslims (who have, up to this point, not given their lives to Christ) when the radical Muslim bands come by to look for the Christian "infidels."
Foolish provocation of Muslims does not honor the example of Christ and endangers the ministries of those who, like Christ, seek to win the lost.
Yes, I know that human nature plagues every culture, race, religion, etc... it's global.
What about the murder, autrocities and mutilations of Christians by muslims in Nigeria, Egypt, The philippines, etc, etc...
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
And that's what we are talking about in this thread, human nature and how it manifests itself in the world of islam and how to deal with the unregenerate
in that realm when they come knocking
at your door or knocking down our buildings and killing innocent civilians.
If you want to talk about the love of the Triune God and how to participate in His plan to save muslims then we can start a thread about that as well.
I do and have witnessed to muslims on more than one occassion.
Usually it is politely ignored or cordially tolerated but in one case my life was threatened because I told an islamic man that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh and that He died for our sins. He told me that there is no greater blasphemy than to say Jesus is God in the flesh and that I deserved to die.
The Gospel is indeed foolishness to those who are perishing, however radical islam carries it to the ultimate extreme in retaliation, your death.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
It goes beyond denial, they not only deny Him but are duty bound to kill
you for affirming Him.
Jesus Christ and the Gospel in and of themselves are provocations to murder for radical islam.
HankD
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