Not About Hate

Can we have a heart to heart? I know that many of my posts seem "hateful" to some who are too open minded for their own good. But when evil, perversion, & injustice is exposed by truth- some people can't help but react with anger which leads to hate. Can you not honestly see- that one who takes delight in beheading someone is awful? What about when an innocent victim of rape gets criminalized for "adultery" & then dies from her punishment of 101 lashes? People don't WANT to hate others. In reality, Westerners just want to be left alone. You do your thing and I'll do mine so long as we don't conflict, harm, or inconvenience each other. But the truth is simply that- TRUTH. One can try to sugar coat but it is what it is.

As a Christian, I am trying to reconcile what Jesus taught & apply it to how I view, feel, & treat people who live by a 'truth' that allows sexual abuse, perversion, injustice, violence, etc. Some people really do 'hate' the people of Islam. But me? I'm angry. But I'm also deeply grieved & desperately cry out to God for the return of Jesus.

I have to remind myself that we do not wage a war against flesh & blood, but against principalities & powers of darkness. I have to remember that there is a real enemy called the 'father of lies' that is behind deceiving millions of people. I have to remember what Jesus said as he hung on that crucifix...as he, being God, became man to take upon himself OUR sin....right before HE GAVE up his spirit....."Father forgive them for they not know what they do."

I was on google searching something & off to the side was an ad that said "How to Convert To Islam." So I clicked on it. Regarding sin, this is what Islam teaches:

With the pronunciation of this testimony, or “Shahada”, with sincere belief and conviction, one enters the fold of Islam.

Upon entering the fold of Islam purely for the Pleasure of God, all of one’s previous sins are forgiven, and one starts a new life of piety and righteousness. The Prophet said to a person who had placed the condition upon the Prophet in accepting Islam that God would forgive his sins:

“Do you not know that accepting Islam destroys all sins which come before it?” (Saheeh Muslim)

When one accepts Islam, they in essence repent from the ways and beliefs of their previous life. One need not be overburdened by sins committed before their acceptance. The person’s record is clean, and it is as if he was just born from his mother’s womb. One should try as much as possible to keep his records clean and strive to do as many good deeds as possible.

How did one have forgiveness of sins BEFORE Islam? I mean....Jesus came 600+ years way before Mohammed. And Jesus NEVER mentioned "Islam" was the way to have forgiveness of sins. Since Muslims "believe" in the 'Torah' (I heard one Muslim scholar say in a debate w/ a Christian) how did the JEWS have forgiveness of sins since Islam was not around? It's also interesting that in Islam, they too have the concept of being "born again."

But look what else I found:

“Whoever testifies that there in none worthy of being worshipped but God, Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Prophet, and that Jesus is the Slave of God, His Prophet, and His word which He bestowed in Mary and a spirit created from Him; and that Paradise (Heaven) is true, and that the Hellfire is true, God will eventually admit him into Paradise, according to his deeds.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

I agree that there is NONE worthy of being worshipped but THE GREAT I AM. Who is beautifully triune as God the Father, Jesus the Son, & The Holy Spirit. If an atom is able to manifest as 1 particle that comprises of both a negative energy & positive energy being held together by a special force, then the Trinity is possible.

And here is what broke my heart:

“We did not send the Messenger before you without revealing to him: ‘none has the right to be worshipped except I, therefore worship Me.’” (Quran 21:25)

This conveys that all forms of worship, whether it be praying, fasting, invoking, seeking refuge in, and offering an animal as sacrifice, must be directed to God and to God alone. Directing any form of worship to other than God (whether it be an angel, a messenger, Jesus, Muhammad, a saint, an idol, the sun, the moon, a tree) is seen as a contradiction to the fundamental message of Islam, and it is an unforgivable sin unless it is repented from before one dies. All forms of worship must be directed to God only.

While I won't be praying to a saint, idol, sun, moon, or tree- I will be to Jesus, who is the mediator between God & man.

Jesus says:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-10

Matthew 5:43-45 (New Century Version)
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.' But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.

Jesus has made it clear to us that GOD will vindicate. He will separate the wheat from chaf:

John answered everyone, "I baptize you with water, but there is one coming who is greater than I am. I am not good enough to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out."
Luke 3:16-17

So no, I don't hate. I'm trying to love those WHO DO HATE. I don't excuse their barbaric actions. It angers me. But I even take risks in writing about truth in this blog while living in the Middle East. And part of that truth is that even though some of us "Christians" want to hate, we CANNOT hate. But that doesn't mean we can't stand up & defend ourselves, our families, and our faith. I for one will stand for truth even if......well....ya know....(don't wanna jinx myself lol)....