Hostility toward Muslims is so pronounced in this country that a headline on a recent cover of Time virtually screamed off the page, "Is America Islamophobic?" But if the 83 percent of the American people who claim to be Christian were to take the teachings of Jesus seriously, this headline, and the story it referenced, could never have been written.
Jesus never mentioned Muslims for one very good reason: he lived almost 600 years before the birth of Islam. But he had much to say about "strangers." Throughout the biblical text, the term "stranger" refers to people who stood outside the dominant social and religious norms: people who practiced other religions, who came from different nations, or who, because they were "different" in other ways, were often despised and rejected in the public square. By that criterion, Muslims are clearly among the "strangers" in America today, and the hostility directed toward Muslims in recent months has only accentuated that reality.
Jesus never suggested that his followers should fear "strangers," hate them, or reject them, even if those strangers practiced a different religion, and even if they were perceived as enemies. Instead, he pointedly told his followers to welcome them, love them, and care for them. Regarding enemies, real or perceived, Jesus plainly said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Regarding those who practiced other faiths, the gospel of John (4:7-30) tells about a Samaritan woman whom Jesus befriended. Samaritans in the ancient world practiced a religion that was related to Judaism but that the Samaritans claimed was superior to Judaism. In return, many Jews treated Samaritans with contempt. No wonder, then, that when Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water, the woman was shocked and put this question to him: "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" And his disciples were shocked that he would even talk with a woman -- any woman -- regardless of race or religion. But by promising the woman "living water," Jesus offered his disciples a lesson on how to treat "the stranger."
Again, in a world that routinely viewed the poor, the lame, and the blind as "the stranger," Jesus offered this counsel: "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or our kinsmen or rich neighbors ... but when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, [and] the blind" (Luke 14:12-14). And in his most pointed teaching regarding "the stranger," Jesus received the righteous into eternal life because, as he put it, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." But to the others he said, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for ... I was a stranger and you did not welcome me."
In the past few weeks, stories that center on fear and even hatred of Muslims have dominated the American press. But there are other stories, far more important stories, that deserve to be published around the globe.
In Tennessee, for example, construction of the Memphis Islamic Center was not complete, so the Heartsong Church, an evangelical Christian community in Cordova, Tennessee, offered its sanctuary to members of the Islamic Center for their nightly Ramadan prayers. Steve Stone, pastor of that church, explained to a reporter from local television station WREG, "They're our neighbors across the street, and we follow Jesus, who teaches us to love our neighbors." Stone would have been equally correct had he told the reporter that "Jesus teaches us to love 'the strangers.'"
In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Rt. Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, issued a pastoral letter to Muslims in that region on the very day that a pastor in Florida, Terry Jones, had threatened to burn copies of the Holy Quran. Regarding that burning, Baxter wrote, "Please know that we deplore such an act of disrespect. With many other area churches, the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania stands firmly in caring and support of you. ... We are all member communities in the family of God." As a black man, Bishop Baxter knows from experience what it means to be a "stranger," and so his words carry added weight.
The profoundly Christian words and actions of Pastor Stone and Bishop Baxter are regional steps, but important steps, toward resolving the tensions between Muslims and Christians in this country. The Christian community in the United States could make great strides toward healing relationships with their Muslim brothers and sisters if they would only practice on a broader scale what Jesus taught about how to treat "the strangers" in our midst.
Richard T. Hughes is Distinguished Professor of Religion at Messiah College and the author of Christian America and the Kingdom of God (Illinois 2009).
Charles E. Hill: The Conspiracy Theory Of The Gospels
He taught that all those who did not accept his teachings were condemned. See Mark 16:16:
"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
And also John 3:18:
"Whoever does not believe stands condemned already."
And Jesus taught his followers to cultivate an attitude of hostility and open contempt toward all those who disagreed with them. See Matthew 10:14:
"If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town."
And also Mark 6:11:
"And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet, as a testimony against them."
Nor is that all. There's still the Great Commission to deal with: Go ye and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Again, try that with some Muslims and let me know how that turns out.
It's disingenuous to cherry-pick scriptures to support arguments Jesus never could have made (Islam was invented 6 centuries later). The whole story is not nearly so tolerant--and THAT fact is far more consistent with the behavior of Christians over the miillennia than the article would have you believe.
Ephesians 5
5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them..... 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
1 Timothy 5
22Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Matthew 24
Signs of the End of the Age
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.......
26"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out;
These verses in my opinion apply to St. Paul Modern Christianity is based upon the Pauline doctrine of sole belief and inaction. The epistles of St. Paul are full of doctrines entirely repugnant to the spirit of the Old Testament as well as that of the Humble prophet of Nazareth. I can give you 15 contradictions upon request – the single largest one is my opinion is the abolishment of Mosaic Law which Jesus upheld and observed to the fullest.
Response to Timothy 4:
It is indisputably true that Constantine persecuted the early Christians (Ebinionites Nazarenes, Arians) etc who believed in the absolute unity of God and courageously declared the Trinity to be false and erroneous conception of the Diety. More than a thousand esslesistics were summoned to the council of Nicea of whom only three hundred and eighteen persons subscribed to the decisions of the council and these two formed two opposing factions. Constantine abrogated the Sabbath Day which was a direct violation of the fourth command of the Decalogue – Jesus himself was a strict observer of the Sabbath and reprimanded Jewish leaders for failing to do so.
Constantine personifies a regime of terror and fierce war on the Unitarian Christians (gibbons: the rise and fall of the roman empire) which lasted for three and a half centuries until the Muslims established the religion of Allah and assumed power and dominion over the lands trodden and devastated by the Romans.
In the language of the Jew, every righteous person, every
Tom, Dick and Harry who followed the Will and Plan of God, was a SON OF
GOD. It was a metaphorical descriptive term, commonly used among the
Jews (Ahmed Deedat).
"...the Lord hath said unto me, (David) Thou art MY SON: this
day have I BEGOTTEN thee." Jeremiah 31:9
The path for salvation for the people of that particular age was via Jesus – that age is past. The Jews do not see the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies in Jesus or Mohammed and the Christians have given him the status of a deity and abandoned the law and Sabbath and many other aspects of his life altogether.
A new revelation and the final testament has come in the form of the Quran
Let us examine the law of inheritance as in the Old testament:
“ if a man has two wives and one beloved the other despised and each one has a son and if the son of the despised wife is a first born, that son and not the son of the beloved wife is entitled to the birthright” (Duet xxi: 15-17) Is not the law explicit enough to put a silence
to those who dispute the birthright”
Moreover the lands from the Nile to the Euphrates have never been subdued by descendants of Isaac but by those of Ismhael. This is an actual and literal fulfillment of one of the conditions of contained in the covenant.
The most comprehensive work i've read on this subject matter is "Mohammad in the Bible" by the former Revenand David Benjamin Keldali a Roman Catholic Priest.
An excerpt " I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee; and i will put my words in his mouth." If these words do do not apply to Mohammad they still remain unfulfilled. Jesus himself never claimed to be the Prophet. Even his disciples were of the same opinion, they looked to the second coming of Jesus for the fulfillment of the prophecy.
Another quotable passage "The Lord came from Sinair and rose up for Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran and he came with ten thousand of Saints; from his right hand went a fiery law for them". There is no other event in the history of Paran other than the conquest of Mecca that fulfills the above prophecy.
I have not read one rebuttal of the above book. An amazing piece of scholarship by a former Roman Catholic Priest with access to some of the oldest manuscripts. I urge all fellow Christians to read it with an open heart and mind.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
John 14
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
you might want to read the bible instead of some catholic priest to get your salvation.
1 Timothy 4
Instructions to Timothy
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by DEMONS. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
I have read the Bible - there are hints of truth but most of it has been altered by the pen of the Rabbi's, priests and Kings etc. Therefore even to accept its validity is questionable.
Biologically, our bodies respond more quickly to threats than they do to reward because they've been in hostile situations before. That's how we survived so far. Everyone is likely to pay attention to the negative more quickly than the positive, just read a newspaper and see for yourself. What I'm getting at, is that the hatred will spread more quickly than the understanding and the tolerance, and no matter how you treat people now, the deepest markings on their life took place at an early age. I think your sentiments are noble, but there is a point of contention on the horizon that won't be deferred much longer. So it's best to put our minds to dealing with it in the best way possible.
they knew americans would over react.
they knew the muslims would hate us even more in larger numbers.
they knew we would get involvled in unwinable wars with muslims.
they knew the capitalist system in america and its wars for corp profits would got to war for the profits of war.
they knew it would divide this nation which it has like never before except the civil war.
never underestimate your enemy.
this super power will be brought to its knees, not defeated in a war but an economic meltdown which a wealthy nation cannot stand.
hit a capitalist in his pocket book and you have defeated him.
these universal laws of cause and effect may not look like perfection but if one comes to observe very closely and knows history they work to perfection.
be thankful the universe has such laws.
what would life be without these laws?
Think of it this way - Jesus' ransom sacrifice has given, you and I, and all our love ones, the opportunity for a perfect life, in a perfect world, under God's eternal hands-on rulership, for EVER!! Now, on a scale of 1 to 10 what is that worth? You are right, 10 is not high enough, a trillion, trillion would be a better numerical gauge! With this recognition of value added -- think how silly we humans are hanging on to what appear petty in comparison, racial discourse, painful historical hurts, nationalistic differences, etc. the list is endless! The added value for change eclipse everything! Hanging on to all that pain hurts you, and Satan lives the status quo! Why? Because it does not allow us (mankind) to fully take-in God's gift of mercy, forgiveness, and love! I hope this helps! Take care brother!
Except that his very existence is debated.
--sacrificed himself
"Sacrificed" himself to himself
-- our savior,
So we're saved? Nobody is going to hell?
-- to the worse of the worse forms of death (sacrifice) Roman impalement,
Admittedly not nice. But a massage with a happy ending compared to what he has in store for 2 out of 3 people in the world. So, not very impressive.
-- so we (mankind) can be reconciled to our Father,
What are you talking about? I talk to my father all the time.
--and his Father, in the heavens.
So your god "sacrificed" himself to himself to "save" us from himself. But we're still not really saved. And all this when he could have simply forgiven. Silly.
--In other words, Christ took on our debt, "a big time error in judgement, choosing to be equal to god, and aligning ourselves with Satan!"
And when did I do this?
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On the other hand, quite a lot is said about hsospitality to strangers, Sodom and Gommorha primarily, as in, that's all they were about before Santorini destroyed them, rather than God.