Posted on 11/15/2015 6:09:42 AM PST by lifeofgrace
Can we get serious? Because our enemies are dead serious.
I grieve for Paris, and for the families who lost loved ones. I grieve for those who are frightened. The two largest terror attacks against civilians in the West in this century both took place in cities boasting a Statue of Liberty. I don’t think that was missed by the Islamic jihadists who perpetrated the slaughter in Paris.
The plaque beneath the lady sitting in New York harbor reads:
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!There is no such verse attributed to the smaller copy in Paris, yet the verse presciently revealed the wretched plans of murderous rage by an enemy who infiltrates as a homeless, tempest-tossed refugee. Undoubtedly we will now see the Syrian refugee crisis discussed and dissected by world leaders and their mouthpieces, as hundreds of thousands stream out of war-torn areas into the West (including the United States).
How many of those are embedded jihadists? We don’t know, but the number is more than zero. Some in America are stocking up on ammunition, preparing for open war. Some say we’re already at war. By most definitions, we are: Our military is engaged against an enemy who is willing to attack us at any opportunity at home or abroad, with their goal our enslavement to their rule.
War is upon us, but war is not the answer, the hope, or the end. Winning the military war is really not in doubt, anyway. The United States cannot be conquered from outside these shores. Jihadists have been attacking soft targets in America for years since 9/11, the most recent example being a recruiting office in Chattanooga. A larger-scale, coordinated attack like what just happened in Paris would wake up the sleeping giant from our denial—that these events are just “isolated, lone-wolf†incidents.
Many of us know they’re not, but we’re not serious.
I just wrote that America can’t be conquered by an invader, and I also wrote that we’re not serious. But if we can’t be conquered, then why should we worry? We should be very worried, because we’re fighting the wrong war. A few generations ago, we would know that—instinctively and experientially, we’d know everything we need to know and pursue it with clear-eyed determination. After fighting World War II, we’d realize how World War III could be avoided.
Sadly, that knowledge has mostly passed from living memory, and we’re left with a dim memory of history that has been distorted and remade into some social quest for world peace. The best illustration of our blindness and lack of gravitas may be an encounter between German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the evangelist Billy Graham.
I was invited to have coffee one morning with Konrad Adenauer before he retired as the Chancellor of Germany. When I walked in, I expected to meet a tall, stiff, formal man who might even be embarrassed if I brought up the subject of religion. After the greeting, the Chancellor suddenly turned to me and said, “Mr. Graham, what is the most important thing in the world?†Before I could answer, he had answered his own question. He said, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is alive, then there is hope for the world. If Jesus Christ is in the grave, then I don’t see the slightest glimmer of hope on the horizon.â€At the end of World War II, the remaining inhabitants of Earth were worn out. There were no winners or losers any longer. The war was not about taking land or spoils. With the Axis powers defeated, there was only starvation, ruin, and hopelessness in Europe. All the weapons mankind has ever produced were used in that war—today we’re just more accurate, but not much else has changed—and at the end of it, only the resurrection of Jesus Christ offered hope.
The combined Herculean efforts of every nation in the world to eliminate hunger, disease, corruption, and evil are doomed to fail. This is not, as secular progressives would tell us, because religion is the problem. Religion is simply the expression of a moral worldview. Secular progressives—even militant atheists—must admit that living in a totally amoral world, where torturing babies is just another personal preference and not evil (because there is no evil), is a world where nobody would choose to live. We must adhere to some definition of evil to make our lives coherent and relevant.
And only one religion among all of them offers supernatural forgiveness. Islam offers eternal life, but no forgiveness—only jihad guarantees a place in paradise. Hinduism and Buddhism offer iterative atonement before finally absolution is obtained by the destruction of self over millennia. Judaism offers atonement through sacrifice: Christ became the sacrifice for all. The singular sign of Jesus’ forgiveness of sin is His resurrection. Without forgiveness of sin, mankind has no hope. Adenauer saw that through the rubble of war.
We are locked in a physical war with Islamists who see their quest for jihad as attainment of their highest fulfillment of Allah’s command. They can only attain paradise through their own sacrifice; by dying while punishing unbelievers for their sin. Christians attain eternal life through Christ’s forgiveness and nothing else, but along with forgiveness is the deposit of love into the Christian’s life. It’s overflowing love, and without the overflow, we are nothing at all (see 1 Corinthians 13).
Followers of Islam are taught that Jesus was a great prophet, but they are not taught He is the Son of God. In fact, such a claim to a Muslim is somewhere between nonsense and blasphemy. Mentioning “son of God†to a Muslim violates their belief that Allah is one god. They are also taught that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are suspect—that the New Testament was tainted and the real revelation of God is more perfectly given by Muhammed. Christians are accepted as monotheistic brothers—even venerated, as long as they don’t preach Christ as the Son of God, crucified and resurrected. That means only unserious, syncretic “christians†are acceptable to Islam. Most of “christian†America qualifies.
Because we’re not serious.
We go to church, listen to announcements, three songs, take up an offering, hear a sermon (three points and a poem), shake the pastor’s hand, and head to lunch. That’s not the Gospel nor is it the power of God. It’s a social club. In liturgical churches, we answer by rote, watch the clock, and if we’re one minute over an hour, we note that to take it up with the deacons. In “seeker-friendly†contemporary churches, we are greeted warmly by hip young people, regaled by singers who gyrate to the music like a rock concert, then “get real†as the turtlenecked, stool-sitting pastor tells us God is here to be our friend.
There’s no brokenness. There’s no repentance. There’s no power. There’s no overflow. There’s no love.
We are making noises and collecting money, but we are like ants bringing in stores for the winter, while the farmer readies the plow to overturn all our work. All for naught.
This war is going to get hotter. The eruptions like Paris are going to catch like embers from a fire igniting a forest. It will spread violence and death around the world. The enemy we face is not of this world, and his goal is to steal, to kill and to destroy. If we arm ourselves with bullets and missiles, the enemy wins.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:1-6).Instead, American “christians†are carnal, argumentative, exalting every worldly thing against the knowledge of God, allowing every fleshly thought to reign in our minds, and rewarding disobedience because it’s hip, cool, trendy, or pleasurable. We claim the body of Christ and the power of His resurrection, but live as if he’s decayed in the grave.
But there is hope. As the prophet Elijah was discouraged and afraid for his life in 1 Kings chapter 19, God said to him, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.â€Â Baal was the god of carnality and idolatry in Israel. If there were 7,000 in those ancient days, there are millions today. And not just in America. Around the world, reports of Muslims knowing Christ through dreams and visions are becoming a daily occurrence. Spiritual renewal and revival in blood-soaked places like Liberia and Rwanda in Africa are real.
God’s sovereign plan will be accomplished in the earth. In Isaiah 55:11, God said that His word will not “return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please. and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.â€Â Many Americans want the benefit of the “prosper†but reject the purpose of the “Word.â€Â There is only one purpose that God’s Word serves: that people repent of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and receive His forgiveness.
God loves us with an undying, immeasurable love. He loves Americans, Syrians, French, equally. He loves men, women, gays, straights, transgenders equally. There are none He wishes to leave behind. There are none He condemns.
But as Christians, we must be serious. We must drop to our knees and repent of our carefree and brazen indifference. We cannot reach a single soul for God without that resolve. All the guns, all the bullets, all the violence, all the closed borders, all the technology and security and vigilance and efforts of mankind cannot win this war.
The jihadists are dead serious and will stop at nothing to win their “paradise.â€Â And the real enemy of our souls is equally serious, although defeated, and he will continue to rain death and destruction on a weak, carnal church.
We must get serious.
Until peoople give up on the delusion of “moderate” Islam, we will not get serious about jihad.
Islam has been at war with everyone else since 622 A.D.
ISIS is following the example of their prophet and his instructions in their book.
According to thier book there can be no peace until there is only Islam.
Or no Islam.
I can’t read these articles with all of these ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ in the text!
This is really ’’’’’’ me off!
Oy vey! This needs to be fixed. Any update on when it might possibly get taken care of so I can read these articles?
Until people pull their heads out of their butt and realize the radical left, not just in this country but around the world, have aligned themselves with radical islam as a path to absolute power, it’s just going to get worse.
"WE" have not yet realized that "we" are at war. "We" are still in denial.
Today it means, Your huddled masses yearning to receive free stuff!
Maybe the French should give the Israelis some slack for having to live with these terrorists.
Every day in Israel Fakestinian terrorists stab with knives just plain folk. Every day they try to run the Jews down using vehicles, climbing up on the sidewalks.
The French and all of Europe try to BDS Israel out of existence.
EU sends money to the PA/PLO despite them quitting the peace process to join up with Hamass to terrorize Israel.
No I don’t feel bad for France, they love their Muzzies so much they treated them so well, they imported them by the Million. How stupid the French, the same people who colaborated with the Nazis to ship Jews to the ovens.
We will. But not for long. Civilized man just isn’t into long term war.
#2 Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, had people killed for insulting him or for criticizing his religion. This included women. Muslims are told to emulate the example of Muhammad.
#3 Muhammad said in many places that he has been "ordered by Allah to fight men until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger." In the last nine years of his life, he ordered no less than 65 military campaigns to do exactly that.
Muhammad inspired his men to war with the basest of motives, using captured loot, sex and a gluttonous paradise as incentives. He beheaded captives, enslaved children and raped women captured in battle. Again, Muslims are told to emulate the example of Muhammad.
#4 After Muhammad died, the people who lived with him and knew his religion best immediately fell into war with each other. Fatima, Muhammad's favorite daughter,... miscarried Muhammad's grandchild after having her ribs broken by the man who became the second caliph.
Fatima's husband Ali, who was the second convert to Islam and was raised like a son to Muhammad, fought a civil war against an army raised by Aisha, Muhammad's favorite wife - and one whom he had said was a "perfect woman." 10,000 Muslims were killed in a single battle waged less than 25 years after Muhammad's death.
Three of the first four Muslim rulers (caliphs) were murdered. All of them were among Muhammad's closest companions. The third caliph was killed by allies of the son of the first (who was murdered by the fifth caliph a few years later, then wrapped in the skin of a dead donkey and burned). The fourth caliph (Ali) was stabbed to death after a bitter dispute with the fifth. The fifth caliph went on to poison one of Muhammad's two favorite grandsons. The other grandson was later beheaded by the sixth caliph.
The infighting and power struggles between Muhammad's family members, closest companions and their children only intensified with time. Within 50 short years of Muhammad's death, even the Kaaba, which had stood for centuries under pagan religion, lay in ruins from internal Muslim war...
And that's just the fate of those within the house of Islam!
#5 Muhammad directed Muslims to wage war on other religions and bring them under submission to Islam. Within the first few decades following his death, his Arabian companions invaded and conquered Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian lands. A mere 25 years after Muhammad's death, Muslim armies had captured land and people within the borders of over 28 modern countries outside of Saudi Arabia.
#6 Muslims continued their Jihad against other religions for 1400 years, checked only by the ability of non-Muslims to defend themselves. To this day, not a week goes by that Islamic fundamentalists do not attempt to kill Christians, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists explicitly in the name of Allah.
None of these other religions are at war with each other.
#7 Islam is the only religion that has to retain its membership by formally threatening to kill anyone who leaves. This is according to the example set by Muhammad.
#8 Islam teaches that non-Muslims are less than fully human. Muhammad said that Muslims can be put to death for murder, but that a Muslim could never be put to death for killing a non-Muslim.
#9 The Qur'an never once speaks of Allah's love for non-Muslims, but it speaks of Allah's cruelty toward and hatred of non-Muslims more than 500 times.
I disagree. 'Modern Man' (like pajama boy) have somehow been convinced that 'proportional force' is the 'nice' way to fight wars. We cannot overwhelm an enemy anymore, lest we look like bullies. Therefore, rathe than a huge force putting down a smaller force quickly and with brutal efficiency, we get long term war, automatically. We finished a massive WWII in 6 years. The situation in tiny Iraq continues after 23 years... because of progressive ideals of 'fairness' and 'winning hearts and minds'. How has that worked for us so far? Has ONE population yet been won over with that 'hearts and minds' nonsense yet? No.
Leftist will learn to kill or be killed.
Leftist numb nuts honestly believe they can ally themselves with radical islam as a path to absolute power then coexist with the savages once they got power because the muslim savages wont be able to survive without them.
No difference than Charles Manson and his “race war”, or even the Weather Underground and their planned race war for this country.
Use blacks to start and win a civil war then when blacks realized they couldn’t run things without white liberals the white liberals would have power.
Exact same strategy has been taken worldwide with muslims instead of blacks.
We worry about collateral damage now. And frankly that’s a good thing. Wasting innocent lives is bad. War is brutish, civilization isn’t. Winning hearts and minds matters. A big part of the problem we’re having now is because we treated these people like pawn in the Cold War, propping up scumbag dictators because they weren’t commies. A lot of the people in ISIS are the 4th generation of their family to hate America. Maybe if we’d put a little thought into who we were backing we wouldn’t have this mess now. And yes population has been won over with that hearts and minds nonsense, in the end THAT’S how we actually won the Cold War.
This is a war and obama and his minions are actively aiding the “D-day leaning” of the jihadists.
In my circle of friends we have former muslims who converted to Christianity. That is a death sentence in some places where they come from. That being said. They openly stated that their families, moderate in nature, actively hated America and Americans, although they possessed property here and visited frequently. They said that level of hatred is normal among them.
“We” still have in our government, fifth columnists who are proponents of Islam.
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