“Christians need to unite in the face of such challenges rather than continuing the endless intramural food fight over religious differences among us.”
Such a “unity” founded upon nothing at all except a name certainly cannot stand. The difference between those of us who believe in the sufficiency of God’s grace to save, and those of you who deny it, is a huge gap that cannot coexist. I would say that it is creates such a different effect on the heart of man, and is such a different world view, that it divides us into two separate religions entirely.
Gospel purity, and the true worship of Christ, is of higher importance than a farcical unity against a common enemy. When it comes down to it, it is God who is actually in charge, who raises up some nations and brings down others. There is nothing man can do that can resist the will of God, and nothing we can do to get anything of ourselves. “... what hast thou that thou didst not receive?” (1 Co 4:7). To say that we must unite in order to defeat Islam, instead of asserting that it is God who controls our fates and can defeat Islam with just an army of 300, like in Gideon’s day, is to deny the providence and almighty power of God.
As for me, I will prefer to keep what I know to be true, and not be unequally yoked with those who deny the essential truths of Christianity. Compromise is a terrible sin.
Remember that Jesus prayed for the unity of all who believe in HIM.
I seem to remember reading how a dozen or so men armed with little more than sandals,robes, and walking sticks were able to stand and even convert virtually the entire world, founded on a name. Of course they truly believed in the power of that name.
While God, all by Himself, can accomplish anything without help, one who believes that God wants us to sit around like mushrooms awaiting our "fate" is likely misreading and misapplying Scripture. We ought not sit back in lazy spectatorhood while "Sharia Law" ravages our civilization.
Assuming that you did not grow up speaking Arabic, remember that the US has European roots and that you owe a debt of gratitude to God's servants: Pius V, Don Juan of Austria and King Jan Sobieski. They and most of Europe asked and they received. God COULD certainly have achieved the same result without them, but history records that He accomplished the preservation of the Judaeo-Christian civilization of Europe (and thus of the US) through their earthly efforts.
St. Paul did not sit idly around the old homestead speculating that there was just nothing he could do to spread the Faith. And a good thing too!
Just as there were Saxon Protestants among the Catholic Sobieski's forces, so today there are plenty of Christians of all denominations ready to unite to resist and defeat the "jihad." You can catch the action on TV from the comfort of your living room or read the updates on Drudge and we won't resent your survival through the efforts of those willing to set aside differences as necessary to preserve civilization. You need not thank us when it is over. We are used to carrying passive free riders.