John R. Houk
© March 15, 2016
I am not one who has a lot of compassion for one devoted to
being a believer in the theopolitical death cult known as Islam. Not just
because of all the death and mayhem executed by adherents who attribute such
actions to being a true follower of Islam and its prophet Muhammad. But also as
a Christian I am very displeased the Quran, Hadith and Sira that specifies that
Jesus Christ is only a man and not the Son of God who gave his life in death on
the cross as the redemption price Adam and Eve’s treason in the Garden. That
simple denial makes Muhammad an Antichrist preach and Mo’s followers as
infected with an Antichrist spirit.
This centrality of Islam has led to some tough polemical anti-Islam
thoughts placed in my blogs. For this Muslim Apologists, Leftist
Multiculturalists and even some duped Conservatives label me an Islamophobic
hate-monger, especially since a “majority” of Muslims claim to be “Moderate” in
their Islamic faith and are not violent toward non-Muslims.
My problem with the “Moderate” moniker is such a Muslim
still believes the Quran are the very words of Allah spoken through Muhammad
and that there is no better example for humanity than the example and life of
Muhammad. Sorry my critics, that thinking is still in line with an Antichrist
mentality. I have no compunction favoring a religion or ideology that one of
its central tenets is to call the Redeemer of humanity a mere man and teach the
suppression of those that believe that Christ is the Son of God. Frankly I have
changed my mind on the polemics.
However, as a Christian I need to learn how to share the
Great Commission given by Christ to all Believing Christians.
The Great Commission
16 Then the
eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had
appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they
worshiped Him; but some doubted.
18 And Jesus
came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them
to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age.” Amen.[b]
(Matthew 28: 16-20 NKJV)
The Great Commission
14 Later He
appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief
and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him
after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.16 He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who
believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new
tongues; 18 they[a] will
take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt
them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16: 14-18 NKJV)
And so I can’t see me changing the polemics when I read
something a Muslim did that was scandalously heinous in relation to any normal
society no matter the prevailing cultural faith or lack thereof. AND YET my
Lord and Savior’s example of confrontation in a 1 Corinthian 13 manner is a
level I will continuously work toward achieving. That means toning down
adversarial trap anger gives into too often.
The Greatest Gift
13 Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding
brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the
gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and
though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I
am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to
feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but
have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love
suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not
parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave
rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does
not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never
fails. … (1 Corinthians 13: 1-8 NKJV)
In an email from the Colson Center by Eric Mataxas telling about a book by Dr.
Nabeel Qureshi entitled “Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward”. Dr. Qureshi is a former Muslim who found Christ and now is
very involved with Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries (RZIM) which is devoted to sharing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christians and Dr. Qureshi has a particular to
share in a compassionate manner to Muslims.
Mr. Mataxas begins this email with a story that is one of
those true stories of the brutality of Islam aimed specifically at Christians
who were in a ministry situation in a Muslim majority populace within the grasp
of Islamic terrorists. Then the email goes on to introduce an interview under
the aegis of BreakPoint This Week which
is an audio between Dr. Qureshi and John Stonestreet. The link to BreakPoint.org has the audio then the
story in the story of the email. When I get to the link I’m only posting up to
the audio link. If you want to read what Christians face in Muslim dominated
nations, feel free to read the story either after listening to the audio or
maybe even while listening.
Then after the audio I want to cross post a mini-seminar
conducted by Dr. Nabeel Qureshi under RZIM followed closely by the video
description. Now here’s the thing, the video stretch through 1 hour and 56
minutes of run time. Annoying there is about eight minutes of no sound and a
picture of the seminar. Then at about the nine-minute
mark the seminar begins with an intro. At about the fourteen-minute mark Dr. Qureshi speaks. At about the 56-minute mark Dr. Qureshi ends in
prayer. And finally at around the 58-minute
mark a lengthy Q & A session begins that is in relation to the speech.
Of Interest:
Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward
– rzim.org 3/8/16
Book
Review: Answering Jihad by Nabeel Qureshi – CrossExamined.org 3/10/16
**************************
An Unholy War
ANSWERING JIHAD
Email by Eric Mataxas
Sent from: Colson Center
Sent: 3/15/2016 9:23 AM
Is there
any answer to violent jihad? Yes. It’s the same as God’s answer to sin.
Let me tell you a
story that, tragically, has no happy ending. Vincent Minj, who is almost 80,
was the oldest of six children growing up in rural India, and he remembers the
day decades ago when his sister, Cecilia, fell into a well near their home and
almost died.
Somehow however,
Cecilia lived, and Vincent took her survival as a sign from God. He told The
Indian Express newspaper, “I thought that if God had given her another life, it
had to be used in His service . . . So I just took her along with me and got
her admitted to the Missionaries of Charity.”
That order of nuns,
of course, was founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta to care for the poorest of
India’s poor who would otherwise die alone and unloved. Vincent, who was a
preacher himself, told his father that Cecilia was going to get an education in
the city of Ranchi. What she got instead was a lifetime of serving the
poor in India, then the United States, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, and, finally,
Yemen. She was proving the corollary of a famous observation by Mother Teresa:
“A life not lived for others is not a life.”
On Friday, March 4th,
Sister Anselm, as she’d come to be known, was working as a nurse in the lawless
southern port city of Aden. More than 6,000 people have died and 2.5 million
have been displaced in the mostly Arab Muslim country’s ongoing civil war.
Sister Anselm was
serving breakfast for the residents of the retirement home when some men came
to the front gate, saying they wanted to visit their mothers. This home,
founded by Mother Teresa in 1992, was reportedly the last Christian facility in
the country of more than 26 million people, and it ministered to
developmentally disabled children, as well as to old and dying people.
Of course, the men
at the gate were lying, and once they gained access, they handcuffed the
residents and the nuns and shot them in the head. Sixteen people, including
Sister Anselm and three other nuns, died. While groups linked to the Islamic
State and al-Qaeda are roaming the city as if it were a dystopic, real-world
version of “Mad Max,” no one has taken responsibility for the massacre, which
the Vatican calls an “act of senseless and diabolical violence.”
Vincent now has only
a worn photo of Sister Anselm to remember her by.
The story goes that
a British newspaperman asked the redoubtable G.K. Chesterton what was wrong
with the world. Rather than waxing eloquent on poverty, greed, or unjust social
structures, the great author got right to the point: “I am,” he said.
And indeed, we all
are, following our first parents into rebellion, degradation, and exile from the
Garden. That’s why the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection for sinners
is good, because we are so bad. And while there are many
expressions of our unholy war against God in the 21st century,
certainly the one grabbing the most headlines seems to be the radicals who
apparently enjoy murdering and terrorizing people such as Sister Anselm in the
name of Islam.
That’s why I hope
you’ll listen to the latest installment of “BreakPoint This Week,” hosted by my
friend and colleague John Stonestreet, who interviews Nabeel Qureshi about his
great new book, “Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward.”
Nabeel, who used to
be a Muslim, is today a follower of Christ, and his book clearly and
convincingly answers every question you’re likely to have about the religion
founded by Muhammad.
Even better, it will
help us sinners think through a truly Christian response to the unholy
war we see in the news, as well as the Muslim neighbor who may live down the
street. Don’t miss this “BreakPoint This Week”—it’s terrific! You can find it
at BreakPoint.org, along with Nabeel’s book “Answering Jihad.”
+++
An Unholy War
ANSWERING JIHAD
By: Eric Metaxas
Published: March 15, 2016 7:00 AM
…
An Unholy War: Answering Jihad
What is the Christian response to Islamic jihad? Read Nabeel
Qureshi's answer in his new book "Answering Jihad: A
Better Way Forward," available at the online bookstore. And click here to listen
to John Stonestreet's interview with Nabeel Qureshi on BreakPoint This Week.
+++
Streamed live 3/14/16
Join us for an insightful event with New York Times
bestselling author and former Muslim Nabeel Qureshi as he gives personal,
challenging, and respectful answers to the many questions surrounding jihad,
the rise of ISIS, and Islamic terrorism.
After Nabeel's presentation there will be a live question and answer session.
San Bernardino was the most lethal terror attack on American soil since 9/11, and it came on the heels of a coordinated assault on Paris. There is no question that innocents were slaughtered in the name of Allah and in the way of Jihad, but do the terrorists' actions actually reflect the religion of Islam? The answer to this question is more pressing than ever, as waves of Muslim refugees arrive in the West seeking shelter from the violent ideology of ISIS.
Setting aside speculations and competing voices, what really is Jihad? How are we to understand Jihad in relation to our Muslim neighbors and friends? Why is there such a surge of Islamist terrorism in the world today, and how are we to respond?
After Nabeel's presentation there will be a live question and answer session.
San Bernardino was the most lethal terror attack on American soil since 9/11, and it came on the heels of a coordinated assault on Paris. There is no question that innocents were slaughtered in the name of Allah and in the way of Jihad, but do the terrorists' actions actually reflect the religion of Islam? The answer to this question is more pressing than ever, as waves of Muslim refugees arrive in the West seeking shelter from the violent ideology of ISIS.
Setting aside speculations and competing voices, what really is Jihad? How are we to understand Jihad in relation to our Muslim neighbors and friends? Why is there such a surge of Islamist terrorism in the world today, and how are we to respond?
____________________
Nicer Polemics Against Islam
John R. Houk
© March 15, 2016
___________________
An Unholy War
44180 Riverside Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20176
COPYRIGHT 2016
COPYRIGHT 2016
_______________________
Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward with
Nabeel Qureshi Live Stream
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