Friday, May 25, 2007

“Utter Destruction”: a “Do-it-Yourself” Project


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Through the Hebrew Scriptures, the “Lord of hosts” (Isa. 9:6) tells us that someday: “…I shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; Lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction” (Mal. 3:24/4:6). The “fathers” of monotheism are the Hebrews; the “children” are the Christians and Muslims — along with all of “God’s children,” regardless of their beliefs.

The “fathers,” through the Hebrew Scriptures, were the first to speak of the promised Messiah, who will serve as the “…ruler in Israel…” and he shall be “…great unto the ends of the earth” (Mic. 5:3). Under the Messiah’s rule, the Israelites, who had become “a curse” among the nations, will then become “a name and a praise,” and there will be “...peace without end...The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall accomplish this” (Isa. 9:6/7).

In other words, Judaism identifies the Messiah by his deeds, which he will successfully execute through “the zeal of the Lord of hosts.” Obviously, when Jesus lived in Israel, he did not perform the prescribed deeds, since there is no “peace without end,” and the Jews are still cursed the world over. Therefore, regardless of the “children’s” beliefs, the “fathers” have stood firm in their denial of “the Messiah, Jesus,” as Muhammad identified Jesus (Women 4:171). In daily life, it has been that denial that has kept the Jews “a curse and a reproach” (Jer. 44:12)

For 2,000 years, “the children” have cursed and killed “the fathers” whenever they’ve felt “inspired” to cleanse their neighborhood, city, or nation of Jews. These days, however, all nations have become so accessible and modern weaponry so powerful, some Muslims have become convinced they can finally make “God’s religion reign supreme” (The Cow 2:193). To supplant Judaism and Christianity with the “ultimate truth” expressed through Islam, those Muslims believe they could righteously use the weapons of mass destruction that would annihilate “God’s enemies” (including “the great Satan,” as they speak of the United States).

It’s tempting for outsiders to think of those Muslims as only “a fringe group of fanatics,” over which the world will surely gain control before they do any “real damage.” But, in the populous Muslim community, the persons who believe it their sacred duty to “drive Israel into the sea” constitute a sizable “fringe group.” To be sure, all Muslim nations do not openly clamor for Israel’s demise. Still, the rest of the world has no reason to expect Muslims to war against Muslims, merely to prevent a biological or chemical attack against “the Zionists,” their most immediate and mutual enemy. That attack, alone, would launch a nuclear war.

If we truly seek to avoid that war, Jews, Christians, Muslims — and all of God’s children — urgently need to enlarge our understanding of the God revealed by all the Prophets, from Abraham through Muhammad. Only through our improved understanding can we begin to turn our hearts to each other — and distance ourselves from the “utter destruction” we now know how to create as a “do-it-yourself” project!

(Some of the above is excerpted from my book: “Of Promises and Previews.”)

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The Essence of Islam


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Muhammad told the world that God is God and the Messiah is nothing more nor less than God’s servant. But Muhammad unequivocally identified Jesus as the Messiah. Thus, Muhammad contradicted Judaism in its absolute rejection of the "Messiah, Jesus" (Women 4:171). And he contradicted Christianity, which, by Muhammad’s time, had officially identified Jesus as the Second and coequal Member of a Holy Trinity of Gods.

Nowadays, however, Muhammad’s confirmation of Jesus as the Messiah isn’t an Islamic teaching Muslims religiously convey to the world. In fact, the most publicly heard Muslims don’t even mention it! Evidently, they consider it an insignificant subject compared to the Koran’s directive to reward evil “…with like evil” (Counsel 42:40) — the teaching they practice with such devotion, outsiders could perceive it to be the primary message of Islam!

Friday, May 11, 2007

Answering "Anonymous"


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For today's post, I've decided to publish my answer to an "Anonymous" comment made on the article below: "A Difference Between Humans and Ants." I'm printing this as its own entry simply because I think it's a good way to call attention to the article and to the comment!

First, though, thank you, Anonymous, for pointing out the gross error I made by misprinting Hitchens’ name in the article. I’ve corrected it, which means future readers will not see the error you mention, but that doesn’t matter, compared to the need to correct it.

Of course, as you suggest, Anonymous, all of our beliefs about God can be seen as "manmade." (BTW, “manmade” is a dictionary approved word, though you think it must be two words.) But, to countless believers, there IS a difference between the beliefs derived from the Prophets — who tell us God instructed them — and the beliefs taught by religious clerics who INTERPRET the Prophets’ messages. To be sure, you may not believe that God sent messages to the Prophets, so, to your mind, their teachings are as "manmade" as any other religious beliefs decreed by the organized religions, but billions of "believers" have accepted at least one of the Sacred Books as “God’s Word.” I am urging people to learn about God and the promised Messiah from all three Sacred Books. Those teachings can settle the arguments about Jesus that have caused "believers" to hate and kill each other for thousands of years. And I contend that the only way we can avoid the Religious War that has already begun and could end with a nuclear winter is by learning from ALL the Prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If you are interested in hearing my arguments in more detail, so you can agree with or dispute them, I suggest you visit my website: www.ofpromisesandpreviews.com