A Christian and a Muslim sit down and talk together. Both state that the other’s religion is a religion of violence. They both challenge one another to “prove it”. The Christian spends about 30 minutes citing news report after news report over the last month chronicling Muslim violence. He then spends another 30 minutes citing verses from the Quran, Muslim clerics, and Sharia law which encourage violence. He then offers to provide videos and books from former Muslim’s and historians about the atrocities formerly and currently committed by the authority of Islam. The Christian then turns the discussion over to the Muslim. The Muslim visibly agitated says something about “immoral, arrogant infidels”. Then going all out in his defense of Islam, he reaches back to the Middle Ages to say the Crusades are proof that Christianity is a religion of violence.
Matthew 10:16 – Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
The words from the Biblical Book of Mathew are those from Jesus Christ as he sent his disciples out to share the truths of God. Jesus knew there were many entities which would desire to cause harm to his disciples. Therefore, the disciples were to be wise about the dangers present and simultaneously offer up no harm to any. This encouragement is characteristic of the teaching of the gospel for all Christians. Christians are certainly in a “battle” for the minds and souls of mankind, however, the conflict is engaged on the field of reasoning with words (I Corinthians 1:21), not of war by weapons (John 18:36). The result allows all men the choice to refuse the Christian banner without physical consequence from the followers of Christ. Any individuals past, present, or future who would employ teachings encouraging Christians to engage in physical harm to others to increase the kingdom of Christ are false teachers indeed (Galatians 1:6-10). A clear example of such false teaching would be the Roman Catholic Papal encouragement resulting in the Crusades which had no authorization in scripture at all. Of course, when a discussion of Christian violence comes up, this is the prime example given. Consider the time of the Crusades was when the scriptures were not widely available to the common man. If teachings were distorted, a man had little ammunition for which to refute the falseness. They were easily deceived. Today, it is hard for anyone to point a finger at Christianity and say it is violent. People know better. Every once in a while a cult will pop up with outlandish actions saying it has some sort of tie to Christianity, but when this happens Christians denounce the actions wholeheartedly. Trying to establish Christianity as a religion of violence laughably falls on its face with a lack of evidence.
The objectives of Islam are, on the other hand, quite related to physical conquest. With Islam, religion and government are not separate, but one. Thus, as Islam spreads in a country, its ultimate goal is to take power of the country in complete. This type of mentality was present in Islam from the beginning. The man Mohammed was a pedophile bandit who spread his religion through fear and violence attempting to gain power in any manner possible. The same techniques are employed by his followers today as they work to bring all “infidels” under Sharia law. These attempts around the world have resulted in violence and war. There are many apologists for Islam attempting to call it a religion of peace, yet the facts speak for themselves. A quick view at national/international news confirms the dangers of Islam. Nearly every day violence and deaths are reported around the world with regard to Muslim attacks on non-muslims. The link to terrorist attacks and Islam is 100% at the time of this writing. The internet has made it impossible for Islam to hide its violent face under a veil. Video posted across the net catalogues women who have escaped the horrors of Islam and lived to tell the story. They tell of beatings, abuse, and murder. Live videos of multi-thousand man Muslim rallies and marches from around the world demonstrate violence and chants for the deaths of non-Muslims. Informational videos such as The Third Jihad and Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West have chronicled the devastation being brought by Islam.
Despite readily available information, Americans are not proving to be as wise as serpents in regard to Islam. Sadly, this has been the case from the early days of America. America was established as a Christian nation; meaning it was founded upon Christian principles of freedom as given by God, not that it mandated Christianity upon its citizenry. It left Christianity and any other religion as a choice for man to make, just as God has done. America did not try to prohibit religion. However, early in its history, America was attacked by Islam. The Barbary Powers (pirates) attacked American boats and killed and enslaved American citizens over the timeframe of America’s first two presidents. They did so stating it was mandated by their religion, Islam (they weren’t on a public relations mission to declare they were peaceful at the time). Their attacks were despite the paying of tribute and a plea for peace by America to stop such activity. Appeasement did not work. When Thomas Jefferson became president, he returned force against the Islamic aggressors. He did so until the aggression stopped. It took awhile, but America learned an early lesson about Islam. Islam is destructive and operates in the name of conquest. It is violent and deceptive. From that point on, America should have been wise in regard to violent religion and kept it away in order to protect its citizenry.
1 Timothy 4:16 – Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Faithful Christians should have listened to Paul’s words to Timothy as stated above. If they would have done so, they would have been hollering from the rooftops during the 20th century when thousands of Muslim immigrants poured into the borders of the United States. They would have been warning the government and public about the history of America and Islam. However, the government and the Christians were not and have not been wise. Due to inaction, a massive unarmed invasion occurred and has been occurring for decades. These Muslims were following the same religious guide as the Barbary pirates and yet, they poured into the country without hindrance. Today, they have made significant progress in establishing themselves in America. They are a Trojan horse. Muslims number some 8 million people in the United States. Michigan alone has approximately 490,000 Muslim residents. Of these, there are some 350,000 living in the Detroit area. Strongly embedded are the terrorist cells of Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Hamas, and others. Reaching all levels of society, Islam has even become the dominant religion in America’s prison system. In doing so, a violent religion has enlisted a violent force to its cause. America is in danger and it’s not just on a spiritual front from where that danger is coming.
Why did America let its guard down? (I Corinthians 10:12). Was it arrogance via a sense that America was invincible? Perhaps it was naivety/ignorance thinking that the Muslims had changed? These factors certainly played a roll, but even more so is the role Islamic deception has played (2 Corinthians 11:14). This brings to mind the title of this article and the history shared in the next paragraph. Do you remember the Bhagwan? All was supposed to be peace and love. A foreign hippy group from India dressed in red/orange robes with wooden beads.
In 1981, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and some of his followers traveled to America from India. Originally a philosophy professor, the Bhagwan had become a cult leader in his home country. After arriving in America, he made the town of Antelope, Oregon, his home. He purchased a 64,000 acre ranch and set up a commune. Antelope Oregon was a very small town of about 43 registered voters. The Bhagwan and his followers swiftly outnumbered the residents, took control of the city offices via election and renamed Antelope, Rajneeshpuram. Next, they bussed in thousands of homeless people from around the country. They plied them with booze and drugs to keep them under control. Their plan was to seize control of county authority next. They were thwarted by election officials, causing the Bhagwan to ditch the homeless into nearby Madras, Oregon. The Bhagwan and his followers still wanted control. How could they do it? The county residents outnumbered their group of about 7000 individuals. To accomplish such a feat, they would need to find a way to keep voters home on Election Day. In preparation to do so, they orchestrated the first biological weapons attack against America. It was a test run for a larger plan and involved spritzing restaurant salad bars with salmonella. 750 Americans fell ill from the poisoning. By 1985, the government had woken up, the Bhagwan was deported and criminal charges were filed against some of his fleeing disciples. Found upon his compound were chemical labs, stashes of automatic weapons, plans to poison the county water system, a plan to run a plane full of dynamite into a county building (sound familiar?), and more. A violent religion had been stopped.
Like Islam, the Bhagwan was deceptive and dangerous, but America did the right thing. In dealing with both the Barbary Pirates and the Bhagwan, America learned about its enemy and ridded itself of their aggression. The answer to eliminating such threats is alert, persistent, and consistent responses. This is what should have occurred to the modern influx of Muslims to America. Unfortunately, this has not occurred in regard to Islam. Islam was stopped the first time. America was made aware. Then, when the Islamic threat appeared again, America was not alert. It did not engage a persistent removal of Islam from its borders. It did not act in a manner consistent with its knowledge and prior response. Now the problem is going to require dramatic solutions. If not, violence on a much greater scale than the Bhagwan, than even 9/11, is going to result. Americans will be the victims.
If Christianity were a violent religion, this would be a call for Christians to take up arms and repel the invader. However, Christianity is not a violent religion. Christians are not to take up the sword of death. They are to be as harmless as doves. Their job is to work with the sword of life, the Bible, and convert and teach and preach. That is the call to Christians. However, Christians should also call upon their government. A government’s job is different from that of a Christian (Romans 13:1-4). A government is to punish evil. It is a tool of God against those that would harm those seeking good. A government that stands by and puts its citizens in danger from Islam or any other foreign invader is a shame to itself. Do not be deceived by Islam. Look at their history. Look at their present. Read their Quran. Listen to those who have escaped and tell of the terror of beatings, beheadings, and other tortures from Islam. See the fear in their eyes. Be wise as serpents! Do not close your eyes to the threat of Islam. The mistake will do more than just come back to bite you, it will come back to kill you.