Another Year of Nothingness

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I suppose another year of people killing each other in God’s Name was not actual “nothingness,” but it was not “something worthy,” which means 2006 could be seen as another “nothing” year.

Of course, I’m wishing for an enlargement of our religious understanding in the coming year. But, if I don’t sound enthusiastic about it, I suspect the reason is obvious. I’d have to be an absolute dreamer to anticipate our religious “makeover,” and while I’ve “dreamed” through all these years that perhaps, someday, people will “catch on,” I’ve never been convinced it will happen! Still, if the Lord God does not inspire us to improve our understanding, then He must be willing to let us envelop the earth in the “gross darkness” (Isaiah 60:2) of a nuclear winter, and I must accept that. It’s just that I have to keep trying to awaken us, in the hope that just maybe………………….

In the meantime, I do want to call attention to the web site: www.bismikaallahuma.org. I’ve been talking to some pleasantly argumentative Muslims there, on a post titled: The Soul of Hajj. Originally, I posted my comment there about Muslims transforming the world if they believed Muhammad, and I’ve received some interesting responses. Not that anyone has encouraged my ideas!! But they have been courteous and informative and that is refreshing. So, I suggest you try the site and I wish the world a wiser New Year.

Christians and Muslims: Two Peas in a Pod

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During one of Muhammad’s personal conversations, preserved by his Companions, he revealed his accurate perception of the future. Muhammad warned his people that they would follow the same degenerate path tread by Christians and Jews: “Ye will follow them that were before you span by span and cubit by cubit until if they went down the hole of a poisonous reptile ye would follow them down.” (“Muhammad, his life based on the earliest sources”, Martin Lings.)

In keeping with Muhammad’s prediction, Christians and Muslims share a history of poisonous pride and deadly arrogance. For example, they’ve each proclaimed themselves “the only true believers” on earth; they’ve repeatedly engaged in Religious Wars to destroy each other; they’ve persecuted “outsiders” who resist their Christian or Muslim “saviors”; and most certainly, they each anticipate their own exclusivity in Heaven! (The list could include far more historical parallels, and if you’d like to mention them, please do.)

Actually, the Hebrews, as the first monotheists, were the first to behave in ways that bore no resemblance to their Prophets’ teachings. For instance, more than a few Hebrew kings openly practiced idolatry, and many Israelites welcomed those kings. Under their reign, people were free to worship the gods of Syria, which were known to enjoy watching humans mate on hilltops! Such “heathen” practices eventually got the Jews expelled from their promised Holy Land. Ever since, the Jews have worshiped God, Alone, firmly believing, as Moses said, that He will forgive them and fulfill His promises to them. Among the unfulfilled promises is the seldom mentioned prophecy that someday the Jews will become “…a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth” (Zeph. 3:20), the same “peoples” who have arrogantly scorned the exiled Jews!


Shortly after the Jews’ exile, Christians began to argue about their own religious leaders and rules. But, when Christians strongly disagreed, they divided into sects that killed each other — as some were still doing in recent history, even as Muslim sects are still killing each other. Moreover, from early in their mutual history, Christians and Muslims engaged in crusades to conquer the Holy Land, which they each arrogantly proclaimed was theirs, alone!

In more recent history, uncountable Christians were supporters of the Nazi Holocaust, to eradicate Jews and other “inferior people” — a most “unChristian” endeavor, strongly supported by uncountable Muslims. And today, “militant Muslims” are determined to “drive the Jews into the sea,” or “wipe Israel off the map,” as the current ruler of Iran likes to describe his goal.

Through the Koran, Muhammad tells Muslims who are wise enough to listen: “...men have divided themselves into factions, each rejoicing in its own doctrines. Leave them in their error…” (The Believers 23:53–54), and wait for God to “…judge their disputes on the day of resurrection” (The Cow 2:113). Moreover, Muhammad reminds believers “…to endure with fortitude and to forgive is a duty incumbent on all” (Counsel 42:43).

Obviously, countless Muslims haven’t followed Muhammad’s teachings, any more than countless Christians have “turned the other cheek” to their “evil” enemies (Matt. 5:39). But, ironically, the Jews have constantly “turned the other cheek” to their persecutors and some have even expressed forgiveness of them, while they’ve silently refrained from arguing with Christians and Muslims and have never been known to kill their fellow Jews whose religious practices differ from their own. So, it can be said that the Jews practice Christianity and Islam, while Christians and Muslims appear to be two peas in a pod!

If Muslims Believed Muhammad,They Could Transform the World

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Through the Koran, Muhammad tells Muslims to "Say: We believe in God and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, to Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and what was given to Moses and Jesus and the prophets. We discriminate against none of them" (The Family of Imran 3:84).

Another time, Muhammad warns Muslims against drawing “…a line between God and His apostles, saying: 'We believe in some but deny others....’" (Women 4:150).

About 3,400 years ago, before the Hebrews had even entered the "Promised Land," Moses warned his people of a future day, when they would be "…driven out [of the Land] to the farthest parts under heaven…" (Deut. 30:4). But Moses also assured the Israelites that God "...will have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you" (Deut. 30:3).

If, today, Muslims truly believed Muhammad, they would believe "what was given to Moses." And they would rejoice in the resurrection of Israel as Moses foretold. Instead, countless Muslims, "believe in some [prophets] but deny others," while they prepare to "wipe Israel off the map.”

In other words, if Muslims believed the Prophets who preceded Muhammad and drew no “line” between them, they would humbly admit to God and the world, "We have been wrong to fight against Israel." And an astonished world would behold Israel's deadly enemies evidencing incredible faith, unmatched by Jews and Christians throughout their bloody history!

If militant Muslims and their supporters renounced their ignorant rejection of Israel and transformed themselves into peaceful believers in Abraham’s God, astounded Jews and Christians would be hard-pressed to renounce their own ignorant dismissal of Muhammad as a “false prophet” and Islam as a “false religion.”

Then, Jews and Christians, following the Muslims’ unique example, could finally abandon their own erroneous manmade teachings about “the Messiah Jesus” (Women 4:171) and embrace Muhammad’s messages about him, which Jews and Christians have always scorned — the very messages that could create peace among all “believers.”

If Muslims believed Muhammad….

The Colors of Hate

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We’re told that Iran is now preparing to enlarge the Nazis’ “dress code for Jews,” by ordering Jews to wear a yellow stripe on the front of their clothes while Christians wear a red badge and Zoroastrians display a blue cloth. That is one colorful prelude for a nuclear war that will envelop the world in “gross darkness” (Isa. 60:2).

I suppose some Muslims agree with the Iranian government’s desire to identify and thereby “protect” Muslims from interacting with “infidels,” through a rainbow of colors on their streets. But I’m sure not all Muslims approve, which means the rest of us have yet another way to differentiate between “friendly” Muslims and “hateful” ones — an impossible task that will cause even more personal misery to all involved.

Still, while the United States is trying to eliminate its own “white, black, brown, yellow and red” skin prejudices, Iran is ready to bring us an enlarged and colorful display of superiority, based on religious beliefs. What a preoccupation with color hatreds embrace! But when the prophesied “darkness” envelops the world, because too many people refused to enlarge their own understanding of God, no one will be able to see skin colors or cloth badges, to identify who is inferior! And I suspect that all who survive will be grateful for the sound of any human voices, without thought of anyone’s “color.”

The Script for World War III

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Some people are already speaking of the current "war against terrorism" as our “third World War.” But those who lived through the Second World War know that combating today’s armed terrorists, scattered throughout the world, drastically differs from fighting national armies. Yet, dead is dead, in large or small battles, and the script for a “more traditional” World War has finally been unveiled by Iran.

We’ve now been told that when the Iranian armed forces are ready and able, they will attack Israel with the intention of utterly destroying it. That attack will serve as the opening salvo of an unmistakable “Third World War,” which will undoubtedly include the use of weapons of mass destruction. A “nuclear war” would ultimately deprive the world of sunlight and moonlight, and “darkness shall cover the earth,” as the Prophet Isaiah foretold (Isa. 60:2).

So, Iran has given us the script for the fulfillment of prophecies, though, until it happens, the opening cast and the opening acts could change. But that doesn’t mean the War won’t happen! It must erupt, as long as there are believers in the One and Only Lord God who “draw lines” between the Prophets, believing some and rejecting others, exactly as Muhammad warned Muslims, and all believers, NOT to do (Women 4:150)!

For example, many Muslims and even some Christian sects do not believe the Prophets who foretold the resurrection of Israel by the Jews, the descendants of the Biblical Hebrews. So, some people, somewhere, are going to start the war that ends in “gross darkness,” simply because Jews, Christians, and Muslims are each absolutely convinced that their “family,” alone, knows the absolute truth about an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Power. Moreover, each “family” knows that everyone who does not believe as they do is just plain wrong! That’s a “fitting philosophy” for a nuclear war, since it gets right down to the “nucleus” of religious belief and behavior: “I’m right; you’re wrong. Believe it or I’ll kill you.”

And while skeptics and heathens might finally be recognizing that their existence is severely threatened by “believers,” they won’t even try to enlarge their own understanding and thereby influence the beliefs that are preparing to end the world as we have known it! Why should they, when they “know” they’re more right than any monotheist? So, a whole world of “right” people are going to set the world on fire — and prove the Prophets right, which is not, in itself, wrong for them to do. But all that horror just isn’t necessary — as the Prophet Malachi explained (Mal. 3;24/4:6), if we had the intelligence to turn our ears and our hearts to ALL the Prophets!

The Resurrection of Palestine

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The Columbia Encyclopedia tells us that the word, “Palestine,” comes from the word “Philistine.” When the Philistines moved to the land of Canaan, they settled along the Mediterranean coast, in the area we now call the “Gaza Strip.” The Philistines were an exceptionally united people. They built five major cities, including Gaza, and created a powerful federation. As testimony to their strength, the whole region became known as “Palestine.”

More than 3,000 years ago, a people known as “Hebrew Israelites” conquered Canaan/Palestine, and renamed the land “Israel.” As a tiny nation that worshiped One invisible God, the Hebrew society's values and customs differed from its neighbor nations that worshiped more than 2,000 visible gods. Still, for all its uniquness,Israel survived for over 1,000 years.

Through the Hebrews, the world received the Ten Commandments, which tell men to love God and to “...love your neighbor as yourself...” (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). If, tomorrow, every human being suddenly began to “love” his neighbors the world over — and, therefore, refrain from doing to anyone what he would not want done to himself —the world as we have made it would instantly change. Yet, it’s hard for us to even imagine that loving world, much less imagine it materializing tomorrow! Nevertheless, if you are among the persons who say, “People will never change” or “The world will always be the same,” you’re forgetting that we can now wreak the prophesied “utter destruction” (Mal. 3:24/4:6) on our world! You’re also totally dismissing the Messiah who, we’re promised, will reign over a world thoroughly cleansed of man’s hateful doings.

Before the Hebrews had even entered Canaan/Palestine, Moses spoke of a time when God would grow weary of their continual disobedience, and they would be “...driven out [of the land] to the farthest parts under heaven...” (Deut. 30:4). Then, they would become “…an oath and an astonishment and a curse and a reproach” (Jer. 44:12), a prophecy we’ve definitely seen fulfilled! But Moses also assured the Hebrews that eventually God “...will have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you” (Deut. 30:3). After that, they will become “…a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth” (Zeph. 3:20) — a prophecy we have yet to witness!

Atheists who, with arrogant certainty, dismiss the Prophets as liars or dupes can deeply offend believers. But people who call themselves “believers,” while arrogantly annulling God’s unwelcome messages about Israel's restoration, could be even more offensive to God. For, as Muhammad told us, “...who is more wicked than he who gives no heed to the revelations of his Lord when reminded of them?” (Adoration 32:22).

The Prophet, Isaiah, warned, “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isa. 5:21). Muhammad explained, “They draw a line between God and His apostles, saying, ‘We believe in some but deny others.’” And Jesus cut to the quick of our problem in one sentence: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25).

The Hebrew Scriptures foretold ancient Israel’s eviction, and the same Scriptures promised that someday Israel would be resurrected. No where on earth does a single line of any religion’s Scripture foretell the resurrection of a nation called Palestine!

A “Catch Up” Session

Today, to help new visitors quickly understand what I’m “getting at,” I’ll summarize some previous posts, beginning with my first entry:

“Let’s Hear It From the Koran”
When Islam emerged as the third monotheistic religion, Muslims, obeying Muhammad, became dedicated to reducing the number of “unbelievers” in the world, by peacefully introducing Islam to idolaters — or by killing them if they broke their peace treaties. Today, “extremist” Muslims devoutly believe it is time to cleanse the earth of all unbelievers. And they now identify “unbelievers,” or “infidels,” as everyone who does not strictly adhere to their particular “version” of Islam, an identification that includes all Jews, Christians, heathens, skeptics and even some of their fellow Muslims.
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To Begin With, We Must Choose our Weapons
During the war in Afghanistan, some Muslim extremists left a message for everyone, everywhere, on a blackboard in a school where they had trained. They warned us: “We will continue our jihad until the end of the world.”

Because the extremists sincerely believe that God is “with them” in their jihad,their "struggle", to convert or destroy all infidels, they will use whatever weapons they must to accomplish their goal. Therefore, they WILL use nuclear weapons, if needed and when they are able, even if those weapons will ultimately destroy the world as we have known it. After all, they perceive the destruction of today’s “degenerate” world to be their “holy duty,” which they must accomplish one way or another. So, the rest of the world’s population must now “choose their weapons.”

We could try to eradicate an ever-growing coalition of religious fanatics, scattered anonymously throughout the world, by using the conventional tactics and weapons of war. But, to succeed, we’d have to identify and destroy all of them before some of them acquire the nuclear weapons they are willing to use! That method doesn’t look promising.

Or, we can use nuclear weapons against nations that support the extremists, while desperately hoping we won’t destroy the world in our frantic effort to keep them from doing it!

OR, in this time of unprecedented danger, the world can answer the religious fanatics with an unprecedented understanding of religious teachings!
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What Am I Doing?
In effect, I am telling the clerics of Judaism, Christianity and Islam that their divisive interpretations of their own Holy Scriptures have incited every Religious War throughout monotheism’s history, including today’s “Holy War.” All the while, the teachings of the Prophets, themselves, provide a unified knowledge.

The Prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, whose messages are preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Christian Bible and the Koran, provided knowledge of the Lord God of Abraham and the Messiah He promised to send us. The combined teachings of all three Books could greatly enlarge our understanding of our omnisicient, omnipotent, omnipresent Creator. But the clerics of each religion have never combined those teachings. Instead, they’ve each interpreted their own Prophets’ messages and declared their interpretations, alone, to be “the truth, as best man can know it.” The “truth,” however, as the clerics see it, has only managed to persuade Jews, who traditionally believe in a coming Messiah, to reject Jesus as the Messiah, which makes Christians hate Jews, which convinces Muslims that Islam has supplanted both religions, which incites Jews and Christians to hate Muslims!
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The Coming War, Part II
Ironically, the essence of monotheism’s never-ending argument is concisely expressed in two of Muhammad’s teachings. First, Muhammad denounced the Jews for denying “the Messiah, Jesus.” Second, Muhammad severely warned the Christians: “Do not say three…God is but one God…The Messiah Jesus does not disdain to be a servant of God” (Women 4:171-172).

Jews and Christians have not only argued over the Messiah’s identity, they have despised each other because of their opposing beliefs about the “One God” or a “Trinity.” But both “families” became enraged by an “illiterate camel driver” who dared to correct their beliefs about Jesus. Forever after, both the Jews and the Christians, each for their own reasons, have imperiously dismissed Muhammad and his religion as “frauds.” And forever after, the Muslims have hated Jews and Christians.
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Of Course I’m Dreaming
The Prophets described a world bathed in “...blood and fire and pillars of smoke...” (Joel 2:30); a time when “...the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light...” (Matt. 24:29); when “...darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the peoples...” (Isa. 60:2). In other words, a time we can now recognize as the “nuclear winter” that scientists tell us would follow a nuclear war.

But the Prophet Malachi offered a “way out.” He told us that if “the fathers” and “the children” turn their hearts to each other, God will not “…smite the land with utter destruction” (Mal. 3:23-24/4:5-6.) The “fathers” of monotheism are the Hebrews and their descendants, the Jews. The “children” of monotheism are the Christians and Muslims.

Yet, deliverance from a nuclear holocaust does not have to depend solely on the proud, self-satisfied “fathers” and “children” of monotheism. If enough skeptics and heathens would acknowledge the looming fulfillment of monotheism’s most horrifying prophecies, they would reconsider their total rejection of the Prophets. If, then, they embraced the God Who precisely foretold what could now befall us, their “conversion” would severely shake the self-satisfaction of the “know-it-all” believers of all three religions — including the “fanatic” Muslims!

Muslim extremists are not ignorant, unthinking people! They sincerely believe it is time for the world, as we have made it, to end. And they could be right.

The Prophets spoke of an “end of days,” but we have no reason to believe the world will physically end, since there are also glorious prophecies of God’s “kingdom” on earth. So, we can reasonably anticipate the end of the hate-filled “days” we have known throughout human history. And it now appears it could be the “hateful Muslim fanatics” attacking the “hateful Christians and Jews” who will bring on “the end!” Yet, we’re also told we can end these days without horrific destruction — and I dream of that happening, though my common sense tells me it won’t! Still, I’d rather dream of awakening us than sit idly and watch it happen.

To the 12 Students Who Are “Willing”:

A commentator on my last post, speaking for “12 students” of Christianity, didn’t leave a name. But I’m hoping those students epitomize many students of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in their willingness to listen to what all the Prophets tell us about God!

To be sure, I realize that those “12” are probably more unique than typical of “believers.” But I’m sort of hoping the students are young! Lately, I find myself “wishing” for youth to hear me, because, too often when I speak of a nuclear war and its winter aftermath to “older people,” especially my fellow “seniors,” they don’t want to even think of the war that could be coming. Youth must be more realistic — and even the “middle-aged,” since they know it could really happen to them. We “seniors” like to believe we won’t be here to endure it!

In truth, every single one of us urgently needs an understanding of the Muslim “fanatics” and the “Holy War” they believe they must wage against we “infidels,” as the extremists describe everyone who does not embrace their faith. But the word, "Islam," means “submission to God,” and in one way or another, billions of people try to lovingly ”submit” to Him, regardless of the Name they use for Him and their particular religion. So, I’ll keep on dreaming that the young, the “in between,” and even the old will not be afraid to learn about God from all the Prophets. We have nothing to lose by trying to improve our understanding, except a little of our time, which, after all, isn’t ours to keep anyway!

Of Course I’m Dreaming!

In a comment on my last post, a fellow blogger, Daniel Morgan, (see my Links) said that if I really think I can make people “…be more inclusive in their religious views…you're dreaming.”

Yes, for years I’ve “dreamed” that enough people will enlarge their understanding of God and His messages, by believing all the Prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. By so doing, we could avoid the fulfillment of the most dreaded prophecies.

For example, the Prophets foretold a world bathed in “...blood and fire and pillars of smoke...” (Joel 2:30); of a time when “...the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light...” (Matt. 24:29); when “...darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the peoples...” (Isa. 60:2). In other words, the time of the “nuclear winter” that scientists tell us would follow a nuclear war.

But the Prophet Malachi offered us a “way out.” He told us that if “the fathers” and “the children” turn their hearts to each other, God will not “…smite the land with utter destruction” (Mal.3:23-24/4:5-6.) The “fathers” of monotheism are the Hebrews and their descendants, the Jews. The “children” of monotheism are the Christians and Muslims.

Although some clerical interpretations of the Hebrew, Christian and Muslim Scriptures have divided believers and driven them to kill each other, the Prophets’ combined messages can inspire our urgently needed “change of heart.” Some Prophets, however, each in his own way, appear to say that the world will definitely suffer a “...great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21). That ominous prophecy implies that too many believers will ignore Malachi’s advice and refuse to turn their hearts to the persons they “know” should be hated!

But it isn’t only current “believers” that could help. If enough skeptics and heathens would acknowledge the pending fulfillment of monotheism’s most horrifying prophecies, they could reconsider their total rejection of the Prophets. If, then, they embraced the God Who precisely foretold what could now befall us, their “conversion” would shake the self-satisfaction of the “know-it-all” believers of all three religions — including the “fanatic” Muslims!

Muslim extremists are not ignorant, unthinking people, blindly obeying their clerics! They sincerely believe it is time for them to cleanse the earth of “unbelievers,” and thereby end the world as we have made it. Therefore, they consider it their God-given duty to do whatever is needed to make the world “Islamic,” which includes the use of nuclear weapons. And, in a sense, they could be right!

Certainly, the Prophets spoke of an “end of days,” (Dan. 10:14; Isa.2:2), which does not mean the world will end, but we will be done with the hate-filled “days” we have known throughout human history. It now appears that it could be the Muslim fanatics who will bring it on! But we can end these days without horrific destruction — and I dream of that happening, though my common sense tells me it won’t. Still, I’d rather “dream” of awakening us than sit idly and watch it happen.

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I'm taking a moment to digress from my "theme," to suggest that visitors to this site take a peek at the sites I've listed as Links. The Links represent a very diverse group of "bloggers," presenting all manner of opinions very opposite mine! I believe if you'll thoughtfully read them, you could find that I am approaching our very real and urgent world crisis with ideas that are extremely unique--which is what we must have in this unique time in human history!

Never before have humans been threatened by a worldwide "nuclear war," and all the chaos it will produce. We need to "get smarter" about the God Who explicitly warned us of this time, through the Hebrew Prophets, who also told us how to avoid the destruction. You have nothing to lose by contemplating the subject except a little of your time--which, after all, isn't yours to keep anyway! And which, after all, may not last much longer if we won't learn enough to persuade the "Muslim fanatics" to rethink their own beliefs.

Monotheism in a Small Nutshell

To counter the extremist beliefs of today’s “religious terrorists,” we need the wisdom and courage to improve our own religious understanding. To accomplish that, we first need to recall some elementary historical facts.

The Hebrew Prophets delivered messages to their tribesmen, which they tell us came from the One and Only unseen but omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent “Lord God,” introduced by a man named Abraham. But the Hebrews were never instructed to seek converts to their faith among their heathen neighbors, who avidly worshipped more than 2,000 “visible” gods. So, Abraham’s unseen God was scarcely noticed by anyone outside the tiny Hebrew nation of Israel.

Around 1400 years after Moses delivered the laws that still govern the Hebrews, the Christians emerged from among Israel’s small population. Unlike the Hebrews, the Christians were distinctly told to “spread the word,” and, ever since, they have never ceased to reveal God to an attentive worldwide audience. The early Christians not only succeeded in converting uncountable heathens to a belief in One God, they also introduced mankind’s Messiah, a “visible Being,” to whom the heathens, accustomed to worshiping visible gods, could readily relate.

About six hundred years later, Muhammad did for his tribesmen in Arabia, what the Christian missionaries could not accomplish there. He persuaded numberless heathens, who had completely rejected Christianity’s messages, to believe in Abraham’s “Lord God.” But, while delivering the messages that became the Koran, Muhammad chastised both the Jews and the Christians for their erroneous interpretations of their own Sacred Writings. In short, he unequivocally refuted the divisive teachings that still incite Jews and Christians to scorn and hate each other.

Specifically, Muhammad’s messages established the absolute validity of the “Messiah Jesus.” And he clearly rebuked Judaism’s clergy for rejecting Jesus as the fulfillment of the Hebrew’s traditional belief in a coming Messiah. But, Muhammad also rebuked Christianity’s clergy, which, by Muhammad’s time, had long since officially identified Jesus as the Second Member of a Holy Trinity,“God, the Son.” That “title” still disgusts Jews and Muslims, who remain solely dedicated to the One and Only, invisible “Lord God” of Abraham. In reality, throughout Christianity’s history onto today, some people who identify themselves as “Christians” reject the concept of Jesus as “God Incarnate” and acknowledge him solely as the world’s promised Messiah, recognized by the first Christians, before their clergy “enlarged” his identity, centuries later.

In those few paragraphs, we have the most essential messages of the three religions. So, everyone who believes in Abraham’s Lord God, and believes that Jesus is mankind’s Messiah, and believes that “the Messiah does not disdain to be a servant of God” (Women 4:172), as Muhammad described Jesus, is essentially a Jew, Christian and Muslim, though they might not acknowledge it! But, their religions “practices” can differentiate them from their fellow believers, if that’s important to them! We’ll discuss some of those religious practices next time.


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To Begin With, We Must Choose our Weapons

In the beginning, there was the World Trade Center horror. Then came the war in Afghanistan. During that war, some Muslim “fanatics” left a message for everyone, everywhere, on a blackboard in a school where they had trained. They warned us: “We will continue our jihad until the end of the world.”

If you are wise, you will believe they mean what they said! Phrases in the Koran tell us that someday everyone in the world will be a “Muslim.” The word “Muslim” means “one who submits” to God’s Will. Therefore, Muhammad’s words in the Koran can simply mean that someday everyone in the world will believe in and submit to the Lord God of Abraham. But, to the “fanatical” sect of Muslims, it means that everyone in the world will worship God exactly as they do. Today, that rapidly growing sect honestly believes it is their God-given duty to establish an “Islamic world.” To do so, they must cleanse the earth of infidels. They define “infidels” as everyone who does not worship God as they do, which includes Jews, Christians, and even some of their fellow Muslims.

Because the fanatics sincerely believe that God is “with them” in their “Holy War” to convert or destroy His “enemies,” they will use whatever weapons are needed to accomplish their goal. Therefore, they WILL use nuclear weapons, when they are ready and able, even if those weapons would ultimately destroy the world as we have known it. After all, destruction of today’s world, one way or another, is their “sacred goal.”

So, the rest of the world’s population now has to “choose their weapons!” We can try to kill an ever-increasing horde of religious fanatics, scattered throughout the world, by using the conventional tactics and weapons of war, in the hope we can destroy enough of them to end their threat BEFORE they acquire the nuclear weapons they are willing to use. But, killing fanatics who are sincerely eager to die in “God’s cause” will definitely breed more fanatics seeking to become martyrs.

Or, we can fight them with nuclear weapons, wherever we can find them, before they can retaliate in kind, while hoping we don’t destroy the world in our frantic effort to keep them from doing it.

OR, the world can answer their thinking with new, improved ideas!
In my next post, we’ll begin to examine the “new, improved” thinking that could actually persuade the fanatics to rethink their own beliefs!

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Correcting an Omission!

When I posted my comments about the Sabbath yesterday, I completely forgot to “tie them into” our discussion of the coming nuclear war. I suppose it was because it is so “natural” for me to talk about the beliefs shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. So, I forgot to mention how crucial to peace it is for enough “believers” to embrace all three religions in matters of real importance, especially God Himself!

Consequently, I now must try to “make up” for my lapse. If we’re going to “turn our hearts to each other” to avoid a nuclear war, as the Prophet Malachi said we must do (see my post "Choose For Yourself" on 10.29), we need to become acquainted with at least some of the teachings about God, revealed by the Prophets of the three religions. And for reasons not worth your time to read, I happened to begin with the Sabbath, observed by Jews, Christians and Muslims. I’ll speak more about those commonly held beliefs in the coming days.

On Being a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim

Years ago, a new acquaintance, while visiting my home, noticed numerous copies of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Christian Bible, and the Koran stacked near my desk. Knowing nothing of my writings, she asked, “What IS your religion?” I answered, “I am a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim.” She stared at me for a moment and then said, “My God, you are religious!” I enjoyed her response, since others have reacted to my religion’s “title” with a disgusted shrug — or worse! I told her, “Yes, I am religious, but not in a way Jews, Christians and Muslims would acknowledge!”

For instance, I celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday, not because I blindly favor Judaism, but because it is the seventh day of the seven day week that God established, and He decreed it a day of “rest” (Exodus 20:9-10;Deuteronomy 5:13-14). In truth, I’ve never understood how Christians and Muslims can take a different day of the week as the Sabbath —- especially when the "Messiah Jesus” also celebrated the Sabbath on the seventh day!

Of course, I realize that Christians and Muslims have simply listened to their clergies -- those “devout" authorities who "piously" wanted to separate their own “precious flock” from the “disgusting Jews." So, they took it upon themselves to negate God’s words and establish a different day as the Sabbath! Their arrogance is incredible! But I’m grateful that God gave us a Sabbath, and I’m grateful that I finally became smart enough to observe it, because I’ve found it a great help to put all thoughts of my “earthly labor” out of my mind one day a week. It’s wondrously refreshing.

Choose for Yourself!

FIVE PARAGRAPHS TO MAKE ALL "BELIEVERS" WISER -- OR MORE HATEFUL. CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF!

The Hebrew Scriptures introduced the world to the One and Only Lord God of Abraham. The Christian New Testament introduced the world to the promised Messiah. The Koran, while introducing uncountable heathens to the God worshipped by Jews and Christians, also delivered Muhammad’s corrections of the Hebrew and Christian clergies, whose erroneous interpretations have provoked ever-lasting hatred among believers in the same God.

Specifically, Muhammad denounced the Jews for denying “the Messiah, Jesus” (Women 4:171), whose arrival was first foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures (Isa. 11:1-10). But Muhammad also severely warned the Christians: “Do not say three…God is but one God…The Messiah Jesus does not disdain to be a servant of God” (Women 4:171-172).

Throughout their mutual history, the Jews and the Christians have scorned and hated each other, because of their opposing beliefs about the “One God” or a “Trinity.” But both “families” became enraged by an “illiterate camel driver” who dared to correct their beliefs about Jesus, derived from their clergies’ “official teachings.” Forever after, both the Jews and Christians, each for their own reasons, have imperiously dismissed Muhammad and his religion as “frauds.” And forever after, the Muslims have hated the Jews and the Christians.

And there we have the real basis of the coming war, which, if we let it happen, will ultimately end all wars! But the end will come with the horrific misery of a dark, cold “nuclear winter,” which Hebrew and Christian Prophets precisely described (Joel 2:30, Isaiah 60:2, Matthew 24:29). Yet, a Hebrew Prophet also told us that we could avoid “the darkness,” by turning our hearts to each other (Malachi 3:24/4:6).

Of course, that will not happen, as long as Jews and Christians remain determined to revere the erroneous interpretations made by their clergies! And as long as Muslims remain convinced, by their clergies, that they have utterly supplanted their erroneous predecessors, though that belief, in itself, bespeaks their own severe error, which Muhammad never taught — in spite of how some Muslim clerics interpret his words!

A Detour From the Coming War to Speak of "Gay Marriage" in New Jersey

Innumerable rules have been attributed to the Lord God of Abraham, which were actually concocted by the official clergies of assorted organized religions, seeking to interpret God’s "intentions." But the rules of marriage, practiced throughout all predominantly monotheistic societies (which represent a huge portion of the world’s population) were delivered by Moses, who is recognized as the author of the first Book of the Hebrew Scriptures. Moses told us he derived his knowledge directly from Abraham’s Lord God. Yet, in reality, throughout history, some Christian and Muslim men, seeking multiple wives, have imposed their own interpretation on Moses’ explicit directive: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24).

Frankly, when I was young and unaware of ancient history, I wondered why God, through Moses, bothered to spell out the "marriage rules" so explicitly. Nowadays it’s become obvious. Marriage, as God defined it, is not marriage as "modern society" sees it (which, I now realize, the omniscient Lord God foresaw)! Today, many people seek to make "marriage" a financial arrangement between any two persons who want to establish a legally recognized domestic relationship, while declaring their exclusive devotion to each other. For the present, that ‘devotion" still only concerns two people, but their sex is no longer a factor. In a few years, perhaps we’ll adopt another practice from our human history, by making "marriage" a legally recognized relationship among any number of people, as polygamists assert it should be. In fact, men could even adopt the ancient practice of keeping young boys for their sexual pleasure. And. to make ourselves truly "modern," women might also keep a few young boys around!

So, New Jersey’s officials seek to return us to the "good old pre-Mosaic days"— though, for the moment, they’ve refrained from naming their new law "marriage." They’ll leave that decision to the citizens of the state. But every single person who votes for it will be helping mankind return to our ancient "era of ignorance." In truth, they will be so ignorant, they’ll think that what they’re promoting is an excellent example of "modern thought!"

The Coming War, Part One.

An Introduction to the"End of the World," As We Have Known It

Before examining the "coming war," as I said I would in my last entry, I’ve spent the last week reading "numberless" sites that reveal the current religious thinking and behavior of monotheists around the world. Most of the "talk" boiled down to the same old stuff: Some Muslims devoutly believe it’s time to make the world Islamic, but others don’t; Christians are busy seeking their "personal salvation" and telling others how to do it; and the Jews, as usual, are trying to survive and waiting to see what God has planned next, for them and the world.

At the end of this entry, I’ll post some URLs of informative sites, so you can see for yourself what various people are saying these days. But, incredibly, all the sites — including the most "religious" — left me amazed by their absolute silence concerning the HEART of the three religions and the HEART of their disputes: The Lord God of Abraham and His most important promise.

Long ago, the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Lord God of Abraham foresaw mankind’s inevitable "need" and promised to send us a "Savior." The Prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam spoke of that promise. But the manmade interpretations of those "Messianic" messages incited the hatreds that have produced our long history of "Religious Wars" and have now brought us within "sight and sound" of a nuclear "showdown."

I suggest you visit these particularly informative sites, before I begin to discuss my challenging solution to our "urgent problem."

http://kashmiri-nomad.blogspot.com/
http://the-american-israeli-patriot.blogspot.com/index.html
http://thelamp.wordpress.com/

Ready, Willing and Able

Again, Sam asks interesting questions in his comment on my preceding post. To begin with, Sam (and everyone else who reads this), needs to understand that because "Moses said so," does not mean that ONLY the Jews need to embrace the messages he delivered about homosexuality and other human behavior! The tiny tribe of Hebrews delivered the most unique and significant message, which told mankind that there is only One Creator of the universe. That message eventually brought forth two other religions, Christianity and Islam, both dedicated to the same Lord God introduced by the Hebrews. Christianity and Islam’s huge populations have enabled knowledge of the Lord God and His messages to become known throughout the world.

Moses brought a message condemning homosexuality, but it was a brief directive among myriad others. I discussed the subject for a few days, only because it became a topic of national interest due to the alleged behavior of a U.S. congressman. But it’s time to move on, and Sam obviously shares that opinion, by asking what homosexuality has to do with Muslim extremists wanting to kill "us," and with Christians who are eagerly awaiting the "rapture."

Homosexuality has nothing to do with Muslim extremists who believe they must make the world "Islamic," and Christians who are inwardly rejoicing because they believe the Apocalypse is on the horizon, which will be their personal salvation. To be sure, the Muslim fanatics appear to be willing — though not yet able— to start a nuclear war, which would produce "apocalyptic" destruction. The Christians are sure they will be saved beforehand — because their clergy told them so. And the Muslims think they’re going to succeed in converting or killing all "unbelievers," because their clergy tells them it is their "God-given duty." But both religious "families" are ignoring the Hebrew Prophets who foretold a different story! So, if our daily news does not produce some other news to distract me, we’ll focus on "the coming war" in the days to come! I hope you’ll join us.

Helping Us Be Human!

Sam asks what my discussion of homosexuals has to do with debunking God and learning from each other’s religions.

Moses was the first to bring us God’s "rules and regulations." Among the myriad rules Moses delivered was the warning that men should not "…lie with a male as with a woman." Such acts, we’re told, are an "abomination" in God’s sight (Lev. 18:22). That means, as our dictionaries tell us, God "detests" homosexual acts. Animals do it; but humans, we’re told, were made in God’s image, and we’re supposed to image Him. not "ape" animals.

The condemnation of homosexuality is not a questionable rule concocted by clergymen. It is a God-given, plain and simple directive for all humans. So, if we're tempted to act like animals, we must call upon our human ability to control ourselves--and our God-given knowledge of what we need to control!

Gays and Taxes!

The blog I recently visited, http://blog.myspace.com/liberalmedialiesuncovered , proved to be a very unique experience, since, to my surprise, I could wholly agree with its very explicit description of political "liberals," (in Part One of its two part series). But, I have to add, there is plenty of fault to be found with conservatives, as well!

In fact, I’m so tired of Republicans and Democrats blaming practically everything bad that happens in the world on the opposite party. Such self-centered concentration, in a world suffering from enormous religious conflict, can be downright scary!

Fortunately for me, I don’t scare easily, as my friends can testify. For instance, they frequently hear me speak very "matter-of-factly" about the nuclear war that’s coming (if we don’t enlarge our religious understanding, which I don’t expect enough people to do). The very mention of a nuclear war scares them. But, time after time, they "open the door" to the subject, by commenting on how Republicans are "escalating terrorism" by keeping our troops in Iraq, or how Democrats will pull us out of Iraq, which will embolden the terrorists to attack us "where we live." And both political parties are now playing the "blame game" about the North Koreans’ nuclear test.

After such remarks, the next thing my friends hear is me, talking about a nuclear winter, again! I know they wish I wouldn’t, but I don’t choose to resist the "invitation."

As it’s been throughout our political history, candidates from both parties are talking about what they’ll do to help our personal income and similar domestic subjects. But, these days, the more we concentrate on ourselves, the better it works for the "Muslim extremists," who prefer that we think about which candidates will raise our taxes, or work against legalizing abortions, or fight to legalize "gay marriage." That way, we’ll have less time to think about which nominees don’t care if Israel is demolished.

We won’t be thinking about gays and taxes after the terrorists escalate their "holy war" to "cleanse the earth of unbelievers" — which they will eventually escalate, because too many people will not enlarge their own religious beliefs enough to inspire the "fanatics" to enlarge theirs!

As always, I urge you to read: "Of Promises and Previews: Urgent Old Messages for a New Millennium."

More About Our Old Ways

In a comment on a previous post, Sam objects to what he saw as my inference that homosexuals "recruit" people to their lifestyle and they are "more likely" to be pedophiles.

I don’t think "recruit" is the right word. Homosexuals, like all males and females, try to "seduce" persons to whom they’re attracted. So, like their "straight" counterparts, they often pursue a person who has "caught their eye," in whatever ways fit their own personality, in the hope they can lure the person into a relationship.

For an example of casual sexual attraction,when I was a weekly patron of a hairdressing salon, it became monotonously commonplace to hear my male homosexual hairdresser say of someone who came into the shop, "He’s gay, but he won’t admit it." According to my lifelong observations, many homosexuals like to believe that someone they find attractive is "one of them." And when someone attracts them, they would like to "awaken" that person, if necessary, to his/her "real" sexual identity! So, in the long run, they will try to seduce people into joining their lifestyle, and since they see nothing wrong with their lifestyle, why wouldn’t they? But for those of us who believe Moses, we see them encouraging others to commit an abominable act—and we don’t think it’s wise for people to commit "abominations."

And yes, I am suggesting that homosexuals could become pedophiles more readily than "straight" adults, simply because a suspension of "self-control" in one vital area makes us more prone to forego self-control in other circumstances. For instance, if we steal something we want without being caught and without feeling regret, we're not only more prone to steal again when tempted, but we become more likely to yield to other temptations to "cross the line" of "moral" behavior. That doesn’t mean that every homosexual is a potential pedophile. But "self-control" is a habit that every person must develop to live peacefully among his fellowmen. When it comes to sex, however, we’re especially prone to suspend our self-control and, if we’re inclined, embrace the ancient sexual practise that Moses warned against, when he gave us rules that distinguished humans from all other animals!

The Good Old Days!

Homosexuality, for all the relatively new "public" talk about it, is "nothing new" in the world! It was commonplace everywhere before Moses brought the message that condemned it. If anyone reading this—whether you are homosexual or "straight"—is willing to take the world back to those "pre-Mosaic" days, I’ll say this for you: You are definitely making progress! But whether you'll like the world you recreate is something you really need to think about!

The "Trouble" With Homosexuality

The "Trouble" With Homosexuality

Because a man named Foley has made this subject a "front-page" story (www.latimes.com), I’d like to put in my "2 cents."

Homosexuality is "immoral" in Judeo-Christian-Muslim societies, which, like it or not, represent at least half of the world’s huge population. And it’s "immoral" simply because Moses, quoting God, said it was. In fact, he told us God calls it an "abomination." To be sure, not everyone agrees with God on this subject, even if they consider themselves "believers." But the indisputable truth is that homosexuality is a "dead end" for human existence, since homosexuals cannot procreate. And our existence depends on procreation!

So, there we have it—when a man "lays down" with a man, or a woman with a woman, what they’re seeking is sexual satisfaction (and if they’re "lucky," they get it). But, in reality, we don’t need to be sexually satisfied to accomplish things that help our loved ones or ourselves live "happily" (though it can certainly help an individual’s personality).

In addition, homosexuality is sort of "contagious," in the sense that someone can try it, like it, and eventually encourage others to join the party! In other words, if we forego self-control, we’re liable to learn that members of our own sex know more about "satisfying" us than the opposite sex knows, and if we perceive "great sex" as a vital component of our personal life, we’re hooked!

Once we’ve tossed out our own "self-control" in sexual matters, an easy way to find a "homosexual mate" is to pursue the young, who usually are still learning "self-control," and not very good at it! But do humans really need self-control in all situations? Why shouldn’t we just let ourselves "follow our natural instincts?" I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on this, before I go on with my own.

What Am I Doing?

In a comment, Nick asks (somewhat rudely) what I think I’m doing!

I am telling the clerics of Judaism, Christianity and Islam that their INTERPRETATIONS of their own Holy Scriptures have caused every Religious War throughout monotheism’s history, including today’s "holy war" waged by extremist Muslims, which now promises to end with nuclear explosions! Those "official" interpretations set the three religions against each other from the start of their mutual history. The Prophets, whose messages are recorded in three Holy Books, revealed the Lord God of Abraham and the Messiah He promised to send us. The clergies’ interpretations of those revelations made Jews reject Jesus, which made Christians hate Jews, which convinced Muslims that Islam had supplanted both religions, which made Jews and Christians hate Muslims.

What has all that accomplished? The chances are that the more "religious" you are, the more you believe some clerics’ interpretations! But, together, those clerics have provoked the "holy war" that we read about in today’s news.

What can we do about it? We can begin by listening to the actual teachings preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, and the Koran. Together, they reveal our Creator. But, singly, they leave much unsaid—while encouraging deadly self-satisfaction!

The Day of Atonement

Although I identify myself as a "Jew, Christian and Muslim," I am primarily speaking of my acceptance of the teachings about the Lord God, as the Prophets of the three religions revealed Him. That means I’m not concerned with the myriad "rules" for social conduct, which differ from religion to religion. What people should not eat and similar "directions" for daily life pertained to the particular society to which the Prophets originally spoke (though the Ten Commandments are upheld by all three religions). So, I don’t observe every Holy Day the individual religions recognize. But, to honor the religion my parents taught me, I do observe the Holy Days of Judaism — and tomorrow is a big day in the Jewish calendar.

Yom Kippur is the day when Jews are told, by their clergy, to abstain from food and water, so they can better concentrate on their spiritual life. I used to fast, but these days the doctor told me I’ve gotten too old to do without nourishment, which is okay with me! That, however, has made me more conscious of the fact that fasting was never mentioned by Moses, when he conveyed God’s message about atoning for our past transgressions. Moses simply told the people to "…afflict your souls…" (Lev. 23:27). The clergies decided that one way for the rich and the poor, alike, to afflict their souls was to refrain from bodily nourishment. I see the point, but, as a manmade rule, I don’t consider it mandatory. Regretting our sins by asking forgiveness from God and our fellowmen, and truly believing that God forgives us for our acknowledged mistakes, only requires absolute sincerity! Which is not as easy as it sounds. Remembering our errors takes tremendous mental effort—and ACTUALLY believing that God forgives us is an awesome experience!

Inspirations and Creative Thoughts: Debunking Pope Benedict's speech on Islam and Prophet Muhammad

Answers!

Even while prominent people are telling the world that we must fight the "Muslim extremists" with new "ideas," not military weapons, we hear nothing new being discussed! For instance, I ended the previous entry with two questions, but I haven’t received any answers. The questions were: After all these centuries, are we ready to learn from ALL the Prophets? Or are we only ready to kill each other on a large enough scale to wipe out our past?

I suspect that most people, whether they are Muslims, Christians, Jews, members of heathen religions, agnostics or atheists, won’t even consider enlarging their own beliefs, much less altering their negative opinions of other beliefs! And that reaction to the "new idea" of "learning from all the Prophets" makes the answer to the 2nd question an emphatic YES, whether people would actually express it aloud or not. In short, if we won’t enlarge the beliefs that have always made people hate and kill each other, sooner or later, the narrow beliefs we cherish are going to erupt in a nuclear war.

It amazes me to hear people in the United States casually talking about how nuclear weapons are bound to be used "over there, one of these days." They speak as though "over there" has nothing to do with them. But clouds of smoke from a nuclear attack in the Middle East won’t stay "over there!" And nuclear "fallout" will encompass the earth. I don’t know if such thoughts are also being voiced in other nations, but the way people speak of it here — as though it won’t really touch them — is horrifyingly unrealistic. Where oh where are the people who are willing to pursue new ideas, to try to avoid a full-fledged 21st century "Holy War?"

Don’t Convert. Expand!

"Mark" asks how he can get started "dealing with the crazies" in a "different way," without giving up his religion and without having to "kill anyone."

It certainly seems that life would be much simpler if we could just kill all the so-called "crazies" and go on with the endless verbal fights and hatreds we had, before the "fanatics" began to tell the world to "convert or die." The truth is, Muslims have been using that "battle-call" on individual groups throughout their history. But now they can speak to the whole world via television, so everyone is finally hearing them!

I will answer Mark and the people he calls "crazies" with the same advice—because it holds true for both sides of this explosive argument! I urge you to EXPAND your understanding of God by listening to ALL the Prophets. (The quickest way to do it is to read my book, "Of Promises and Previews: Urgent Old Messages for a New Millennium.")

If you will become acquainted with all the Prophets, you’ll learn:

The Prophets of Judaism introduced the world to the One and Only Creator of everything, the Single Source of all the energy in the universe.

Jesus and his disciples introduced the world to the promised Messiah, who will, eventually, rule the world with wisdom and justice, which humans are finally beginning to realize we simply aren’t able to do for ourselves!

Muhammad introduced billions of idolaters to the Lord God (which Christian "missionaries" could not persuade). But, he also corrected the erroneous interpretations of the Jewish and Christian clergies. The Jewish clergy had refused to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and the Christian clergy was calling Jesus "God." Of course, those "corrections" only made Jews and Christians hate Muhammad and call him and his religion "frauds."

The question is, after all these centuries, are we ready to learn from ALL the Prophets. Or are we only ready to kill each other on a large enough scale to wipe out our past!

Comments on my previous posts ask, in effect, why I think that everyone, especially believers in Abraham’s God, need to improve their religious understanding, when, in reality, it’s the "crazies" who lack understanding and need to be "eliminated." But how can nations "eliminate" a widely dispersed, unidentifiable, rapidly-growing "army" of "fanatic Muslims," who believe it is now their "holy duty" to convert the world to their beliefs and destroy the "unconverted?"

Before this "nuclear age," the idea that some people could actually destroy "all unbelievers" would have been too ridiculous to seriously contemplate. Today, "the crazies," armed with enough weapons of mass destruction — AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO USE THEM — could destroy the world as we have known it. Although many "righteous Muslims" would also die in nuclear attacks, if they are "true believers" they are going directly to Heaven, so their deaths cannot deter the attackers!

The only way to effectively combat such beliefs is with "improved beliefs." If enough people the world over embraced the enlarged understanding provided for us by ALL the Prophets, from Abraham through Muhammad, the Muslim "extremists" would hear them! Although you might think that idea is "beyond reasonable expectation," nothing else the world can do will persuade the "fanatics" to reconsider their "mission." Of course there’s no guarantee that even an improved understanding of God will do the job! But thinking we can kill all of them before they set the world on fire is fatally self-deceiving.

Bin Laden—Is He Dead or Alive?
What difference does it make? As I sit here on this Sunday morning, it honestly makes no difference to me whether he is dead or alive, and I’m not understanding why people are so focused on news about him. Terrorism is so much "vaster" than that one man, why should we assign a large number of soldiers and "intelligence people" to pursuing him? If anybody thinks they can explain it, I’d be glad to hear from you.

A Comment on a Comment
In a posted comment on Muslim fanatics, by a man named Eric, I was asked: "So how do we reason with them so they will stop trying to kill us."

To successfully "reason" with others requires others to "listen to reason." In the case of today’s religious terrorists, they can hear nothing "reasonable" in arguments for "tolerance" of other religious beliefs. That means, no matter the reasoning offered, the Muslim extremists will not suddenly decide "to live and let live." Nor will killing them in large numbers discourage others from joining their "cause," because devout fanatics are truly not afraid to die, while performing their "God-given duty" to cleanse the earth of "unbelievers."

In short, the "reasonable" idea of promoting tolerance of all religions has never even begun to produce worldwide tolerance! So, it isn’t tolerance we must strive for! What we urgently need is a greatly improved knowledge of the God that Jews, Christians and Muslims have been fighting about throughout their mutual history. That "improved understanding" is the only reasoning that could "move" the terrorists—but it would also have to move YOU. Are you ready for that, or do you think that only the terrorists should improve their beliefs?

Let’s Hear It From the Koran
In my first post, I’m "jumping into" the current troubles surrounding the Pope’s speech, in which he addressed the Muslims’ long history of violence while pursuing their "convert to Islam or die" doctrine. To understand that doctrine, I believe "outsiders" need to hear some instructions that Muslims receive from the Koran.
For example, the Koran unconditionally denounces idolatry. Muslims are told, "Idolatry is more grievous than bloodshed." Therefore, Muslims should "Fight for the sake of God those [idolaters] that fight against you...Slay them wherever you find them...." "Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God’s religion reigns supreme." But, the Koran adds, "...do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors" (The Cow 2:190,191,193).
Furthermore, Muslims are explicitly forbidden to attack "...those idolaters who have honoured their treaties with you...." "So long as they keep faith with you, keep faith with them. God loves the righteous" (Repentance 9:4,7).
Muslims are also told: "When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly...Had God willed, He could Himself have punished them; but He has ordained it thus that He might test you..." (Muhammad 47:4).
Hence, from the start, the Muslims became dedicated to reducing the number of unbelievers in the world, by peacefully introducing them to Islam or by killing them if they broke their treaties. Today, the "fanatic" Muslims devoutly believe it is time for them to cleanse the earth of all unbelievers. They define "unbelievers," or "infidels," as everyone who does not adhere to their particular "version" of Islam, an identification that even includes some of their fellow Muslims and certainly all Christians and Jews. How do you think the world should address this very real "problem?"