How Should We Judge Faiths (Including Christianity)?

March 14, 2016

This one is a midnight think piece, so no idea on length as I get into this. As you may have noticed, I have been posting to Facebook from David Wood (Acts17Apologetics) about the Top 10 Lies that the media has told about Islam. I do not intend to expand on that series here, but instead on a thought that I had while watching this. How should we judge religions, including our own? By their followers, or by the text?

So the first video in the series talked about how only a certain fraction of Muslims identify with extremism. So what? There are multiple passages in the Quran that mandate the killing of non-Muslims that do not convert to Islam. There are also passages that command Muslims to lie and follow the crowd if they are in the minority. Though once they gain the majority, Muslims are called to spread Islam like wildfire, by any means necessary. We are seeing that in the refugee rush into Europe. Look at the Paris riots. This is what happens when Muslims gain the majority in a society.

Now this is not to call the Muslims out and to spread fear, only to point out that they are following what the Quran commands them to do. I work with Muslims in my department, and they are wonderfully sociable people. There are Muslims around the United States, living among us as our peaceful neighbors. If they were following the Quran, once Muslims have the majority, they would be commanded to do the same that we are seeing in Europe and start pushing for control so that Islam can be forcefully spread. Should we fear them? As a Christian I say no, for we are to pray for our enemies and for those that persecute us.

So how should we judge Islam? By the American Muslims? By the European Muslims? By the Middle Easter Muslims? Or by the one thing all of these people have in common, the Quran? As one who likes to get to the heart of the issue, I would vote for our fourth option. I have studied the Quran, and David Wood at Acts17Apologetics does a wonderful job of presenting a case where Islam is incoherent and a danger to the free world that we are struggling to maintain. I will post the verses of the Quran that I alluded to at the end so that I will be backing up what I have said.

Now then I went off about the Quran and Islam, but I’m not afraid to turn this sword on myself and my faith. How should we judge Christianity? I argue the same direction. Anyone who wants to make a serious decision about Christianity and its truth claims should seriously examine the Bible themselves. There are a list of people who have examined it, and have had their lives transformed by it. There are plenty of people that have come over from Islam to Christianity, though at this time I find myself at a loss to think of a name of someone who has gone in the opposite direction.

Now there is a caveat to this, for someone to want to seriously examine the Bible and the claims of Christianity, Christians need to be the salt and light into this world. Not what the media has painted us to be. I will not say that they are not reporting false stories, because there are churches like Westboro Baptist out there. These people are not following the commands to go forth and to make disciples of men, and to answer the questioners with gentleness and respect. (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Peter 3:15). We are to do this and allow God to work to draw people unto him through us. Instead there are those who would take their power as a church in our country and use it to spread hate. Indeed there are those who also compromise the message of the gospel to draw in followers and money from their donations. I do not fault those who give to these churches as they are cheerful givers, but I do fault those who misuse that money that should be used to further the kingdom of God.

I would pray that anyone who reads this would see the salt and light I am trying to spread through this ministry. I do not wish to cause the spread of hate, and I do my best to say that at the start of any post that could cause controversy. I am a seeker of truth, and would do my best to explore every avenue with the gentleness and respect that we as Christians are commanded to do. To my Muslim brothers and sisters, I would pray that you can see the inconsistencies in the Quran that I have pointed out as well as the others that have been shown through the work of others such as Dr. Wood. To everyone who reads this, I would pray that you have a blessed rest of your day and that God would watch over you.

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/taqiyya.aspx