Sorry, I agree with what Franklin Graham apparently said: the people with whom we deal are the “real thing”, not necessarily their religion’s teaching.
Look, Christians are the same way: claiming to be a follower of Christ is a far cry from actually DOING it in practice. Not every claimant of Islam follows it the same way—and that is to our benefit, whereas Christianity’s claimants HARM the world by not staying true to His words.
Seems as though if we used the reasoning you’re espousing, then Christ died for everyone but the Muslims, who have to be exterminated. Such a thought is anathema to the Gospel and to good sense.
Are we at war with Islam, and is it a false religion? Absolutely. I propose we revoke the breathing rights of every terrorist on the planet. But is the Muslim host of the aformentioned Christian ministry a terrorist just by definition of his religion? No.
If a Muslim says he believes in the Koran (Islam’s war manual), then you have to realize that he is your enemy whether you like it or not. I have a friend (American) who married a man from Algeria back in the ‘70s. He came to this country to get an Electrical Engineering degree. He helped actively in raising their three children, and was a pretty good husband. In all respects, he would not be considered a Muslim at all except by his heritage.
I think there was a time when you could say that Muslims who immigrated to the West were not a threat to anyone (except for their very bad driving skills and they’re not the only ones that fit that stereotype). Many were in fact trying to escape the extremist fundamentalists in their native countries,longing for freedom, an education, and a more prosperous life. As long as the West was willing to fight the terrorist elements in bloody battles, they were held at bay.
When the Western leaders (post-colonial times) decided to collaborate, mainly for the oil, then all bets were off. Arafat could only rise in a climate of fear from the West. The warring element of Islam will not only kill the Infidels, but they will kill literally any Muslim who is not fully compliant with Sharia. So, bottom line, the gas station owner in South Florida might well be a good guy or not. He obviously isn’t fearing for his life so far - that may be a very scary clue.
Yeah, it always comes to this. Illogic in the service of name-calling when some one senses he has no argument. So I'm a bad Christian and genocidal into the bargain? I'm a bad Christian because I don't recognize that someone who rejects Christ as The Savior is saved by Christ?
And I'm genocidal because I'm wary of people who revere and follow a “prophet” who spread his “religion SOLEY by the sword, who PERSONALLY raped and slaughtered with his own hands and called for the slaughter of all others who refuse to “submit” to Islam, and who have to the present day driven out all others WHERE EVER they have gained a majority?
Are people who recognized the Communists for the America hating threat that they were and are “genocidal” as well?
Christ died for anyone who would follow Him. Anyone who wants to CAN follow Him. But Christ can't help ANYONE who turns their back upon Him.
“But is the Muslim host of the aformentioned Christian ministry a terrorist just by definition of his religion? No.”
I think you haven’t recovered quite enough. You are letting your PC get the better of you. You miss a big point. With Muslims, any Muslim who may live next door to you, because of how their religion teaches, such as lying to “infidels” (that’s us), he/she may be a good person or could just as equally be a terrorist.
I don’t want to live amongst people whom I have to guess as to whether their intentions are good or evil. You could I suppose say this about anyone, but I trust my fellow Americans of just about any other major religion much much more than I do an outsider group of Muslims who refuse in general to assimilate, who owe their allegiance to their war-based religion before any State, and who cannot be trusted to be speaking the truth to me; I have to guess about their intentions.
We have a fifth column living in this country, whose intentions are as likely malevolent to our way of life as not. Their Sharia law is despicable, their attitude toward women repulsive, and their propensities towards Jihad a clear and present danger. You tell me who the good guy Muslims are as versus the bad guys. Can you?
Europe thought they too could do the “Christian” thing with Moslems... but they did not do so until after they themselves left the Christian faith and standards and strove to become socialists in their thinking.
If this nation continues to turn it's back on the Christian faith it was founded on....it will no longer have the discernment to tell the difference between good and evil. Which is why we see that which was once not tolerated now not only tolerated but encouraged. When it comes to Islam there is no middle ground when it comes to them assimilating...they never will.