Posted on 11/23/2001 7:18:23 AM PST by RealGem
Can we distinguish between Islam and Christianity?
By John J. Abele
November 23, 2001
Recently, Franklin Graham, son and religious successor to the legendary Billy Graham, caused a furor when he said: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."
The politically correct and the multiculturalists became unhinged. They criticized him and everything he stands for, from every direction. Of course, relatively few people are qualified to make such comparisons, and I am not one of them. You need not be a divinity scholar, however, to see th at the actions, beliefs and proclamations of Muslims are in no way similar to the beliefs of Judeo-Christians, and particularly those of the United States.
Our nation was founded by WASPs, white, Anglo Saxon Protestants. They were initially from England, and were followed by Irish, Scots, French and others from western Europe. Their ideas were in conflict with the official religions of their country of birth, so they fled to North America where they believed they would be free to exercise their Judeo-Christian beliefs.
From the very beginning, political as well as religious leaders, spoke and wrote about the God they believed in. The United States was founded by these men, and there is abundant documentary evidence to support this
The Pilgrims were Protestants, who rejected the institutional Church of England. They believed that the worship of God must originate in the inner man, and that forms of worship prescribed by man interfered with a true relationship with God. The Separatists used the term "church" to refer to the people, the Body of Christ, not to a building or institution. As their Pastor John Robinson said, "(When two or three are) gathered in the name of Christ by a covenant made to walk in all the way of God known unto them as a church ."
"That all the People may with united Hearts on that Day express a just Sense of His unmerited Favors: --Particularly in that it hath pleased Him,by His over ruling Providence to support us in a just and necessary War for the Defense of our Rights and Liberties; ...by defeating the Councils and evil Designs of our Enemies, and giving us Victory over their Troops --and by the Continuance of that Union among these States, which by his Blessing, will be their future Strength & Glory." --Samuel Adams on behalf of the Continental Congress, November 3, 1778, calling for a day of Thanksgiving during our Revolutionary War
"The Pilgrims came to America not to accumulate riches but to worship God, and the greatest wealth they left unborn generations was their heroic example of sacrifice that their souls might be free." --Harry Moyle Tippett
The first national Thanksgiving Proclamation, issued by the revolutionary Continental Congress on November 1, 1777, expressed gratitude for the colonials' October victory over British General Burgoyne at Saratoga. It was authored by Samuel Adams, the man the other Founders turned to for reasoned statements of liberties as God's blessings, its one sentence of 360 words read in part: "Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received...together with penitent confession of their sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor; and their humble and earnest supplications that it may please God through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance...it is therefore recommended...to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feeling of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor... acknowledging with gratitude their obligations to Him for benefits received....To prosper the means of religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth 'inrighteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost'."
When independence from England was achieved, and a Constitution written and ratified, freedom of religion was included. It was clearly stated in the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
At the time the Constitution was written, I doubt that there were any people in the United States who called themselves Muslims. In fact, very few if any even knew there were such people. There were still very few until WW II, when American military men were stationed, and fought all over the globe.
After that war the influx of Muslims, Buddhists, Confucians, and a host of other people with other religions started to immigrate to the United States, in ever increasing numbers. The Constitution guaranteed their religious freedom, and slowly but surely, they started to impose.
Muslims come to the schools in the United States by tens of thousands a year. I would imagine that the number of Americans who go to an Arab country to study could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Simultaneously, they say and do things which clearly show that they, as Muslims, have an inherent hatred of America and Americans. What benefit do we derive from this exchange?
The Muslims who come to the United States as immigrants, and those who become citizens, have no intention of integrating into the existing society They demand special considerations and special privileges - and usually get what they want. Americans have been taught that to do otherwise might be considered racist, and there is nothing worse than that.
No person can live in the United States and not be constantly reminded that we were founded as a Christian nation, and we remain one. You need money to live, and the dollar bill is a constant reminder. Benjamin Franklin believed that no man could create a nation alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything. "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on our currency. The Latin above the pyramid on the dollar, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, "God has favored our undertaking." The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, "a new order has begun."
I have not read the Koran, and I doubt that I will, but there are enough quotes easily available to provide an overview. I think that Franklin Graham said it very well: "The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."
That's not God you've been bowing down to, a_Turk. That's Algore.I really do appreciate a good sense of humor. And I'd be in Afghanistan to avenge 9/11 if I did not have to raise my two sons..
No, I haven't. I have three kids and a wife who would suffer if I did. And I don't see any virtue in inflicting my sanctimony on others. I still have a long way to go to be a good Christian. But I rest in the faith that as long as I accept Jesus Christ as my God, confess my sins, repent, and strive to live by God's way, I will be forgiven.
You don't understand Christianity. Wherever your "understanding" of Christianity came from, it obviously is not from reading the Bible. So therefore what you "understand" is irrelevant. I assume you're a Muslim, and your "understanding" of Christianity comes from what Muslims teach.
Uh, gee, Yuh, I gotta go now...(Whew--That was close!!!You are a bit pompous dont't you agree? Am I to sit here all day and ignore my boys? I am a parent first..
You do a disservice to both religions when you suggest the two religions can be reconciled.Don't presume to do any religion any favors by giving (bad) advice. God does not need you, you need God.
What about actions?That's the problem. What kind of Christian would a murderer make? The terror acts are those of infidels. People who call themselves Muslim.
And then too, there are a multitude who just don't say anything at all...in public at least. Who knows what they say behind the doors of their mosques?
You will find worthless ignorant people wherever you go.Love you buzzard, you said it. Don't judge Islam by the actions of a few Muslims..
Yeah, no sh*t, Turk.
And you can usually tell who they are because they draw judgments about a whole nation based on the behavior of one old lady.
a: try to tell me my religion and
b. try to kill me and my countrymen or
c. kill Christians and other non-muslims...
Other than that, I never did have a problem with muslims.
Being a Christian, it would never occur to me to go out and conquer unbelievers, or envy them their success, or whatever putrid pathology infects the moslem world.
kangharue:
Yeah...it's talking about the arab pagans of 6th century arabia.
Bob:
I'm curious at this point. How many times do the words "fight" and "kill" appear in the Quran, as opposed to the number of times the word "pray" appears?
kangharue:
I don't know Bob. How many times does the Old Testament say to kill women and children? AT LEAST the Quran is talking about defensive wars..the OT was not.
kangharue:
That's a hadith. The Quran actually talks about people who believed, then didn't believe:
Those who believe, then disbelieve, then again believe, then disbelieve and then increase in disbelief, Allah will never forgive them nor will He guide them to the right way. (4:137)
The verse is about people who see religion as just a form of earthly convenience. There is nothing in the Quran about killing apostates. In fact, this verse even indicates that there were people switching sides quite frequently.
kangharue:
What are you talking about? I was talking about something completely different...related to people who, when faced with facts, dismiss them. You're trying to turn that into some kind of statement about your unprovable religious beliefs.
kangharue:
Is this the extent of your debating skills?
kangharue:
Your mistake is looking at this wonderful thing we have in our secular US...called religious freedom....and assuming that it's somehow "Christian". It's not. When Christianity had political power it was anything but free. Even in Greece today..where the Church has considerable power...the constitution forbids proselytization. Of course, this is really only enforced on those attempting to proselytize someone out of the Orthodox Church. Come here and try to preach the "born again" stuff.
kangharue:
Educate yourself. Islam expanded its RULE. Religious minorities had a kind of second-class, but protected status. They were free to live, worship etc...provided they paid the "jizyah". You know, this is something even Islam's critics acknowledge. You need to read a bit more.
kangharue:
Christians where? Have you ever lived in a Balkan state? Don't assume that what you see in the largely secular, Western world...is Christian. It's a result of stripping religion of its power.
Or else an "urban planner." Yeah, that's the ticket. You're a socialist "planner," right?
kangharue:
And this is supposed to be an answer to what? Actually, I'm a multimedia designer.
hinckley:
Like that authoritarian moslem stuff. Make a million ignorant pilgrims walk around a big black rock like it's important or something
kangharue:
What are you talking about Mecca for? Was that a topic of discussion?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.