Posted on 10/07/2007 4:50:54 AM PDT by Man50D
President George Bush has repeated his belief all religions, "whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God" – an assertion that caused outrage among evangelical leaders when he said it in November 2003.
Bush made the statement Friday in an interview with Al Arabiya reporter Elie Nakouzi.
Al Arabiya is Al Jazeerah's top competitor in the Mideast.
As the president and Nakouzi walked from the Oval Office to the Map Room in the White House residence, Nazouki asked, "But I want to tell you – and I hope this doesn't bother you at all – that in the Islamic world they think that President Bush is an enemy of Islam – that he wants to destroy their religion, what they believe in. Is that in any way true, Mr. President?"
"No, it's not," said Bush. "I've heard that, and it just shows [sic] to show a couple of things: One, that the radicals have done a good job of propagandizing. In other words, they've spread the word that this really isn't peaceful people versus radical people or terrorists, this is really about the America not liking Islam.
"Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren't religious people, whether they be a Christian who does that – we had a person blow up our – blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City who professed to be a Christian, but that's not a Christian act to kill innocent people.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Actually I do beleive they are attempting to get to the one real and Holy God.....they are just going through the wrong gate.
It seems to me that if God has no trouble warning us against false gods, we shouldn’t be so hesitant to sound the warning either. “Allah,” whether the Muslims believe it or not, is the Devil.
Interesting read and testimony.
>>Most Muslims have been kept from the real word because of the extremists. Those that have been educated in the past have been silenced. I agree, satan has most definately been working overtime.<<
I’ve been reading this thread and thinking.
Since I believe there is one God, then anyone praying to God must be praying to the same God even if they pray for things that are wrong and that He will not grant.
Men can certainly get God wrong and too many latch onto interpretations of the Koran as a replacement for what is ultimately a pretty simple message to treat each other well and to love and respect God and to ask forgiveness in his Son’s name when we do wrong.
I think, just like innocent children, if they are in their hearts attempting to see the true face of God and the only message they are allowed to get comes from a false prophet, they will be given one last chance to accept the correct path when we stand before the throne.
Jdg 2:13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Lev 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through [the fire] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD
Exd 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
And in all [things] that I have said unto you be circumspect : and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
Yep, we were warned about 'other gods' all right.
This is, of course, assuming that they are aware of that they are choosing the wrong God.
Problem with most folks in this country is that we are spoiled rotten. The word of God is everywhere. Easily attainable. In most of the ME..it's forbidden and/or hidden.
It is entirely possible that these people will be declared innocent before the eyes of GOD and be given the choice to accept him when they go before the throne. In the meantime, I suggest that we not give up on over a billion souls.
Our relationship with God is more significant than our prayers to Him.
He is immutable.
Think about how He reveals this to the Israelites of the Old Testament. Inside the Holy of Holies was the Arc of the Covenant. The Arc contained the broken tablets of the Law of Moses, Aaron’s rod that budded and a pot of manna.
The Arc had a Mercy Seat placed on top, upon which were two golden cherubim facing one another. The two Cherubim represent God’s Holiness. One represented His Perfect Justice, and the other His Perfect Righteousness.
When we pray to God, His perfect justice demands perfect righteousness. He cannot in His immutable nature, have any relationship with anything sinful by His perfect justice.
He has provided a way for any and every man to have relationship with Him, through faith in Christ, because that faith has been found to be righteous, because it is one and the same faith as exhibited by Christ Himself on the Cross.
All true faith in from God, but not all faiths are true.
People get misdirected thinking His Holiness depends upon our thinking. On the contrary, the only way any man can have a prayer received by God is through faith in the salvation He provides.
One can say we pray to the same God, but without the proper protocol, i.e. through faith in Christ, those prayers are not heard by the Father. It is also not fully witnessing the magnificent simple gift He has provided by attempting to first make a Muslim believe we are basically the same by denying the fundamental difference between faith through Christ and any false faith. Such an approach is likely to affirm those who do not understand Christ, rather than introduce them to true faith.
BTW, a common ploy in antichristian deception is to convince believers that we have commonality with unbelievers regarding our accessibility to God. This is a calling card amongst unbelievers to share each others arrogance. I don’t doubt many unbelievers feel less threatened by this approach. The real threat doesn’t come from Christ, though, but from the thinking process which is removed from any and all faith through Him. When one sugar coats the Gospel to the point of not delivering the Gospel, and further encouraging others to linger in false faith, one is simply acting either out of spiritual rebellion, or seeking worldly acceptance over any relationship with god through faith in Christ.
Ultimately yes..this would be a bad witness...but, remember, these people have been propagandized to believe that we hate all Muslims. To denounce their religion as heretic is exactly what the extremists want.
Bush is accknowleging that everyone is seeking God. It's a simple concession but it is not a lie or a deception since there is only one true God. He purposely did not witness his own religion which he actually follows as the only true path. Why would he need too? It is what it is. Now if Bush were to start following Islam...I would be ever so slightly worried about his Christian witness.
>>When we pray to God, His perfect justice demands perfect righteousness. He cannot in His immutable nature, have any relationship with anything sinful by His perfect justice.<<
Really? I believe God has a relationship with sinners ,giving many opportunities for forgiveness.
But they don’t honor the God of Abraham; they reject the Old and New Testaments. They reject the old by claiming that Ishmael, not Isaac, was to be sacrificed by Abraham. They reject the new in that they say Jesus was only a man.
Having been given the Scriptures, how can they be seen as honoring the same God? Their Koran is in direct contrast with the Scriptures.
What’s more, I believe (though I am no scholar, and will yield if I’m wrong) that Allah is capricious and not bound by either free will or natural law. This is a key difference between the Judo-Christian. Jesus showed God as a loving Father, who we could come to know through his creation. Islam means ‘submission’.
Isn't that what Bush said? That's what I heard. There is one God and every monotheist religion prays to the same one.
Now, if one group wants to think that their God orders them to kill others, that has nothing to do with religion or God. It is what man does to the concept of God.
Both the Koran and the Bible talk about infidels and can be interpreted to condemn non-believers. It is how man implements those passages that matters. Most Christian faiths have abandoned violence (even though almost all used it in the past). Islam is just stuck in our Dark Ages because nobody gave them a bloody-enough nose in face of their violence.
Hence my point. Throughout the years, every major religion has had men who bastardized what that religion really stands for and used it for personal gain, power, etc.
All major monotheist religions have far more in common with each other than anyone wants to admit (because THE OTHER GUYS are evil).
>>Allah commands his minions to kill and die, to enslave and plunder, and to wreak vengeance and havoc for him.
Yahweh God came to Earth as Yahshua to die for us.
NOT the same God.<<
Instead of there being another God, I find it more likely that those who kill and enslave and plunder in the name of God, whatever they call him have either misunderstood him, been given false information about his wishes or are deliberately choosing to act against His wishes.
That's why we're in big trouble.
The Republican party has taken a hard left turn, and they think we're going to stay on the bus.
I'm not going down that road with the Republican party.
The wealthy left-wing of the Republican party comes back:
"Would you rather go down the road with the democrats in charge?"
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
But sometimes it takes "tough love" to straighten out a wayward child.
There is a large liberal segment of the Republican party that is every bit as evil,
as the democrats. They've always been there, and always will be there.
Reagan's time suppressed them. The liberal Bush administrations have seen them come to the fore.
They must again be shackled for the Republican party to be the party of limited government,
low taxes, spending restraint, the moral highroad and looking out for America FIRST.
And that would be my point. Do you say its another god, or say they aren't honoring God? There is a valid argument either way, but I prefer the latter, because it doesn't confuse the subject.
Not everyone has the same beliefs.
No, relative to what they want, who they are, where/when they were born, their parents’ beliefs, etc.
Great points. Thank you for the correction. I may be to forward on my tend to criticize him. Thanks.
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