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The Gospel According to Islam

Discussion in '2000-02 Archive' started by TheBibleSender, Oct 3, 2002.

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  1. TheBibleSender

    TheBibleSender New Member

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    This is from an e-mail I got.

    The Gospel According to Islam


    Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the already ecumenical (all religions are thought as OK) climate in America has reached new heights. In an effort to distinguish between the extremist Muslim terrorists and the mainstream Muslim population, the media has called for an even higher level of tolerance and acceptance of the religion of Islam than usual.

    In a recent issue of Newsweek, for instance, religion editor Kenneth Woodward asserts that “mere tolerance of other religions is not enough” and that “even the acceptance of other religions as valid paths to God is insufficient” (“How Should We Think About Islam?” Newsweek, December 31, 2001 / January 7, 2002, p. 104). According to Woodward, “the most important theological agenda of the new millennium” is for committed Christians, Jews, and Muslims to “find within their own traditions sound theological reasons for valuing other faiths without compromising their own” (ibid., pp. 104-05).

    Sadly, the influence of this sentiment can be seen even in the church. In fact, in a recent Christianity Today article, Wheaton College professor James Lewis recommends that Christians “seek Muslim prayer partners and together beseech the true, one and only God to have mercy on us” (“Does God Hear Muslims’ Prayers?” Christianity Today, February 4, 2002, p. 31).

    When evangelicals capitulate and attempt to soften the offense of the gospel in this way, they blur the lines between the god of Islam and the God of the Bible. But now is not the time for blurring lines. Now is the time to draw lines—lines between truth and error, and between the one path to heaven and the many paths to hell.

    In an address last November to Thomas Nelson Publishing, John MacArthur had the opportunity to draw such lines. “‘Allah’ is not another name for God,” John began his address, “It is another name for Satan.” This is a message that both the world and the church need to hear—the religion of Islam is satanic in origin and is utterly incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:19-20).

    Islam rejects the Trinity and the God of the Bible, insisting instead that Allah alone is the one true deity. It denies that Jesus is God, that He died on the cross, and that He was raised from the dead. Instead, say Muslims, Jesus was but one of thousands of prophets sent by Allah, the greatest of them being Mohammed. In other words, Jesus was merely a man.

    Islam rejects the salvation of forgiveness through Christ, teaching that only Muslims can be saved. According to the Koran, if a person follows Islam and does enough good deeds to outweigh the bad, Allah may allow him to enter paradise, but even then he can’t be certain. The only sure pathway to heaven is killing and being killed in jihad, a holy war.

    Islam gives lip service to the Bible as a holy book, but it undermines and denies every fundamental doctrine about sin and salvation taught in the Bible. In fact, Islam today is the most powerful system on earth for the destruction of biblical truth and Christianity—thousands of Christians are dying under Islamic persecution, especially in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia.

    Clearly, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive. Both claim to be the only true way to God, but both cannot be right. There is no atonement in Islam, no forgiveness, no savior, and no assurance of eternal life. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope; Islam is a religion of hopelessness.

    Making these kinds of distinctions may not be politically correct, but it is critical if the purity of the gospel is to be protected. Put simply, there is no salvation outside of Christ. When this truth is compromised, the gospel is abandoned—and so is the only hope that we can offer to those who are not our enemies, but rather our mission field.
     
    #1 TheBibleSender, Oct 3, 2002
  2. Helen

    Helen <img src =/Helen2.gif>

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    The only think I would add to your post is that Christianity and all other religions are mutually exclusive. They may be able to accept each other, but we are different from the start. Any blurring of those lines is a denial of Christ Himself.

    I also find it interesting, though, that it seems to be fear that is motivating this ecumenism.

    But Somewhere I have read that perfect love casts out all fear. So all I can assume is that there are an awful lot of Christian apologists/leaders who do not know that perfect love...
     
    #2 Helen, Oct 3, 2002
  3. garret

    garret New Member

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    You make some good points of which I agree. But I think that religious unity is a goal worthy following. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with Islam or like what they stand for. I am currently reading the Qur’an and I am being confronted with the same truths as you did. My concern is that the view you put forth can promote hate and that emotion does not come from God. I have heard it said that the Qur’an is the Devils Bible and so forth. This thinking concerns me, the notion breads fear and hatred and then we are the same. We should understand our differences and be proud to be Christian, but it’s not our God or theirs! There is only one God! The same God that watches of them is the same God that watches over us! WE believe that they are wrong in their theology and we are right! That’s ok we are asked to believe and we do. But we should not fall into Satan’s snare of hatred and mistrust, for we will all be domed!

    Being right leads to self-righteousness, being wrong is the first step to understanding the truth.

    God Bless

    -Garret
     
    #3 garret, Oct 3, 2002
  4. Helen

    Helen <img src =/Helen2.gif>

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    Oh Garret, hatred most certainly IS of God! He hates a number of things. Check your concordance and look up the verses. There are even people He hates!

    In fact, He seems to hate anything which can hurt those He loves...

    But we can hate without letting that hate control us.

    I can also forgive a thief for breaking into my house, but for sure I won't then trust him with the key!
     
    #4 Helen, Oct 3, 2002
  5. LadyEagle

    LadyEagle <b>Moderator</b> <img src =/israel.gif>

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    RED FLAG! :eek:

    What fellowship hath light with darkness?

    Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

    Allah is not the same being as the One True God of the Universe.

    Link:

    http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm

    Link for rest:
    http://www.gillministries.com/Islam.htm

    The Truth is what sets you free. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me."

    There can be no "religious unity." Islam is DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED to CHRISTIANITY.
     
    #5 LadyEagle, Oct 3, 2002
  6. garret

    garret New Member

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    I think my point has been some what missed.

    I understand what the Qur’an has to say and I too do not believe that they are following God. I too do not like their theology or believe in their doctrine. But I do believe that there is only one God. When we use words like, their God or our God that implies that because we do not like or believe in the same things that THEIR GOD (as in not ours) has missed lead them. God might not like what they have to say or believe, but I believe God wants all his children to follow Christ. God is love, not hate.
    Read Galatians, and Philippians 2: 6-11.

    We are not to judge nor are we to hate, we are to follow Jesus even to the cross! He came as the lamb as we are to be. Not to fight back or call another wrong. If we hate Islam we are lost like sheep, we do not have to agree with them as I don’t and I think they were evil to attack the US and kill innocent people. But it is not us that will or should judge them. If we do we are be building ourselves up as better, for Jesus who being in the form of God did not count equality with God and humbled himself and accepted death, death on a cross! God built him up and God only, as it should be with us if He so chooses. If we build ourselves up by self-righteousness and indignation we are lost like sheep.

    -Garret
     
    #6 garret, Oct 3, 2002
  7. weeping prophet

    weeping prophet New Member

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    I think I get your point Garret,
    We cannot hope to lead those, who are captives of the Devil because they trust a false teaching like Islam, into the light of the truth, by acting with the same self righteousness and hatred that has been shown by them. We must, with the love and humility of Christ Jesus, show to them the truth of what we believe by the light we shine. We do not, and wiil not, agree to the false teaching but we must lovingly seek to correct them from their error and this requires some amount of fellowship on our part. We fight not against flesh and blood. In Christ
     
    #7 weeping prophet, Oct 3, 2002
  8. Bible-boy

    Bible-boy Active Member

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    Hello Garret,

    It looks to me as if you are saying that God and Allah are one and the same. I agree with you that there is only one God. However, Allah is not just another name for the same God. As Christians we hold to Trinitarian Monotheism. Muslims hold to a radical extreme Monotheism. There is a big big difference. They reject the Trinity. Therefore, they reject Jesus Christ. So your statement above that, "We should understand our differences and be proud to be Christian, but it’s not our God or theirs!" is very much incorrect. People either worship God (the God of Christianity) or they do not. There is no middle ground here. We must be very careful with the language that we use when discussing "God" either with a Muslim or in respect to Islam. We must clearly define our terms and then stick to those defined terms in all aspects of the conversation.

    Also, you said, "But we should not fall into Satan’s snare of hatred and mistrust, for we will all be domed!" I think that you should reconsider that. We can never trust the word of a false religion. To do so would really be to fall into Satan's snare.

    In light of reading your second post above let me clarify my what I mean by "our God" (the Christian God, who is defined by Trinitarian Monotheism) and "their God," (Allah who is defined by radical extreme Monotheism). Because there is only one true God (the God of Christianity) Muslims really worship no God at all technically and practically speaking.

    It is a good thing that you are reading the Quran. However, you must remember that it contains no, I repeat NO, Bibilcal truth. By reading it you will begin to understand why Muslims believe what they believe. That is a good thing. However, always weigh what it says against the Bible and if it is contrary to the Bible it is wrong. I suggest that you also read "Unvailing Islam" by the Caner brothers. Another good resource for understanding the issues involved here is a book entitled "Neighboring Faiths" by Winifred Corduan (I think I spelled the name correctly).

    [ October 04, 2002, 07:37 AM: Message edited by: BibleboyII ]
     
    #8 Bible-boy, Oct 4, 2002
  9. garret

    garret New Member

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    Read the weeping prophets reply. He got what I was saying.

    Thanks for the book references, I will check theses out.

    -Garret
     
    #9 garret, Oct 4, 2002
  10. Bible-boy

    Bible-boy Active Member

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    Yes, weeping prophet is correct. One of the best ways to win a Muslim to Christ is through friendship evangelism. It is hard work and requires a long time. Likewise, your motive for making friends with a Muslim must be pure. Your goal cannot simply be to make a convert to Christianity, because when/if they reject Christianity you will be hurt and walk away from the "friendship." You make friends with people because friends are good to have and you want to share your life with them. However, with all that said, we can never misassociate the Triune God with the Allah of Islam. As I expressed above we may be using the same word, "God," but the two parties (Christians and Muslims) have completely different definitions for those words. Please don't fall into the trap of post modern pluralism on this issue.

    [ October 08, 2002, 02:17 AM: Message edited by: BibleboyII ]
     
    #10 Bible-boy, Oct 4, 2002
  11. JonathanG

    JonathanG New Member

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    the Muslim faith to me is nothing but an Eastern Cult. No trinity, Works to get to heaven, Jesus not recognized as the true and only way to Heaven. That sounds like most other cults like Mormons, Scientologist, Universalist, JW. Do not waiver from the Truth.

    But Hate the sin Love the sinner. We need to embrace these lost and dying souls and reflect the light and awesomeness of Jesus Christ onto them.
    Our God is a jealous God he will not tolerate anyone trying to put something or someone before him.

    May God Bless

    Jon
     
    #11 JonathanG, Oct 7, 2002
  12. Frogman

    Frogman <img src="http://www.churches.net/churches/fubc/Fr

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    Helen you wrote:
    I say: Amen

    Bro. Dallas

    (Please don't tar and feather me...) [​IMG]
     
    #12 Frogman, Oct 7, 2002
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