From Genesis to protests...

I wonder if the American people protesting the erection of Muslim community centers and mosques realize they are asking for our elected officials to do some very unconstitutional things. I wonder if these people think it was Islam that attacked us on 9/11. I wonder if these people realize that saying we are at war with Islam is like saying we would be at war with Christianity if just one of the 25,000 plus sects of Christianity attacked us in some way. You know, because if we were attacked by the Amish, of course we should include all Christians in the blame game (sarcasm here folks).

I am completely lost when I hear American Christians make comments like, ”Islam is a cult….Muslims worship a false God…Muslims are agents of Satan.” When I was a kid, I was taught every person that believed in God, believed in the same God, they only knew Him by a different name. I learned that from a Christian Sunday school teacher.

I also remember a day of fishing at the dam here in Winfield as a young teen-ager when I was in a discussion with an older gentleman about Islam. The man, who then was about 55-60 years of age explained to me that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believed the same things, they only differed on what he called the “Middle-Man.” The “Middle-Men” of course being Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. He added, ”I choose to follow Jesus because that’s who my dad followed and his dad before him. Besides, it too late for me to change and learn about something new when it works just fine for me. It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks…”

I have noticed mindsets like this and of my Sunday school teacher have been fading away in the Christian community, especially in the last decade. I get the sense that these mindsets have stopped being taught in favor of focusing only on the small differences. These differences are the ones that only vary on the surface and deal mostly with social or cultural practices and critics will paint a picture of contrast. But when one looks at the eternal spiritual teachings of every great world faith, a picture of harmony comes into focus.

I understand why it is important for the American Christian to feel like their religion is the only right one on the planet and it’s not just prevalent here. But when the most vocal American Christians seem to be the ones wanting Muslims to be treated less than American, I have to offer the following food for thought…The Bible says Islam is true and blessed by God. Here’s the scoop…

The founders of each religion (in reality each revelation of the one religion of God) foretell of the next ones to come. The tribe in which Jesus was born is described in Micah 5:2. In the book of Ruth (4:1-11) we find Boaz, from who Jesus was a direct descendant was of that tribe.

Muhammad, who accepted and claimed that Moses and Jesus as true and from God, said, “As for me, my Lord hath guided me into a straight path; a true religion, the creed of Abraham, the sound in faith; for he was not of those who join gods with Gods” (Sura 6:162). Judaism and Christianity are also outgrowths of the creed of Abraham.

In Genesis 17:6, we see that God promised to make great nations (faiths) out of Abraham. In 17:20, Ishmael, Abraham’s son, received the promise of fathering a great nation, begetting 12 princes, and was blessed by God. It is interesting to note that Shi’ah Islam had 12 successive Imams who reigned after Muhammad’s passing. Tradition says that the 12th Imam disappeared and is expected to return and reveal Himself at “the time of the end.” So, as clear as day, the OT promises the rise of a faith for the Arabs (descendants of Ishmael) and God blessing it. Also interesting to note, in Genesis 16:12 it states about Ishmael, “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” Humm, a faith that dwells with the brethren of Abraham and is against everyone and everyone is against them. Does this not sound like Islam to you?

Muhammad asked the Arabs of His time why they had not accepted the truth of Moses and Jesus and all the prophets gone before Them. They could not follow Him without first acknowledging the truth of the former Messengers of God. Concerning Moses, He said, “And of old gave we Moses the guidance and we made the children of Israel the heritors of the Book-a guidance and warning to men endued with understanding” (Sura 40:56). Moses even foretold the coming of Muhammad to His followers in Deuteronomy 18:15. If this prophecy had referred to Jesus, the term “seed,” rather than “brethren” would have been used. The prophecies of the “nations” gathering in Israel in the “end” also speak of the validity of Islam and its source.

My point is this… would it not be better to understand something rather than to know nothing about it and call it false?? Not only are these protesters abasing themselves as Americans, they are fighting against something foretold in their Holy Book.