Fear and Trembling

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” - Jesus (John 6:47, NKJV) Many in the world do not have a firm knowledge that they will go to heaven when they die. Some have a vague trust in their idea of a God who may honor their faith and may not. Some have only the hope that, when God judges the world, He will find that their good works outweigh their bad. Some have not yet reached the point in their thinking that they can acknowledge a God who judges or a heaven that they can go to (Many posts on this blog lay out reasons for believing in both.). We can know that we are on the way to heaven if we have faith in Jesus. This faith is a confident assurance that what Jesus says about how to live life is true. This assurance brings us to a knowledge that we have not, even for one moment, lived free from sin; that is, we have done things that God tells us not to do or failed to do things that God tells us to do. This knowledge of the right path leads to rep...

Osama Bin laden is dead. Since the rest of the internet is buzzing with opinions on that death, I thought I would weigh in. First, this is not the end of global terrorism. Like the Hydra of old, when one head is chopped off, two more take its place. We still need diligence in our fight against global terror. U. S. and allied Armed Forces still need our prayers. We still need a strong military and intelligence community. We have not yet cut off the Hydra’s immortal head. Second, the way to get to the ‘heart of the matter’ is with Christian missionary efforts. We must reach the people who make up those societies and population segments that produce terrorists . To tell a story I have told here before : Early in the twentieth century, Baptist evangelists preached through rural Mississippi and Alabama with such effectiveness that moonshiners could no longer sell their whiskey: All their customers were getting converted! In desperation, the whiskey sellers hired two men to murder on...

Thanks to Nightmares and Dreamscapes for the link to a video about the son of a Hamas leader who converted to Christianity .

Check out a pointed post on Hamas from a guy who lives in Israel. He is an America, married to an “Arab girl,” and his opinion is worthy of respect. He has half a chance of being unbiased.

The quotes below are from Dalia Mogahed in an interview with Warren Larson (“Islam According to Gallup: Analyst Dalia Mogahed says it's time to rethink what we think we know about Muslims.” posted 11/14/2008 09:04AM at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/november/26.38.html?start=1 ). Dalia Mogahed is a “senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies,” and her comments are based on a standard scientific survey that covered “90 percent of the global Muslim population.” How do you respond to conventional wisdom that says the Qur'an espouses violence? First, [violent] verses have a historical context and must be understood and interpreted in a specific way. Second, if the Qur'an espouses violence, then we should have a greater percentage of Muslims involved in violence. Violence is usually politically, not religiously, motivated. Third, terrorist sympathizers or the "cheering section"—the 7 percent who are politically radicalized—...

Stand to Reason gives a link to a World Magazine article on the persecution of Christians in Iraq . Here’s an excerpt: As a result, over 2 million Iraqis—about 25 percent of them identified as Christians—have fled to neighboring countries, mostly Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. (View the map.) Judging from extensive conversations with Iraqis living in Jordan and Syria, few want to go home. While at least 40,000 Iraqis have been killed in fighting, random violence, and terrorism since the U.S. invasion in 2003, these refugees are the Iraq War's living casualties—psychologically damaged from the prolonged terrorism, afraid of the next text message or the letter on the doormat, and helpless before a fearful future. The most appalling thing that I hear about the Iraq war is the notion that Christians were better off under Saddam Hussein than under the current government. It breaks my heart that my friends are going to Iraq to get shot at so that we can let the new government we h...

I found a very interesting article in this month’s edition of Mission Frontiers Magazine (September-October 2008 – The U. S. Center for World Missions – 30:5). “Today’s Iranian Revolution: How the Mullahs Are Leading the Nation to Jesus” by Krikor Markarian reports that a cultural revolution is underway in Iran that could re-shape the Muslim world. This cultural revolution is sparked by the breakdown of government under the Shiite sociopolitical system. Here’s a section of the article: … In the year 2000, Christian satellite broadcasting began beaming the gospel to almost every home in Iran. This was made possible by the fact that millions of satellite dishes had been illegally smuggled into Iran by corrupt members of the same government that had outlawed them. The Christian satellite programs became a lifeline for the church in Iran. Much more, when the Iranian people learned that the government was trying to scramble the broadcasts, they became an overnight sensation. Recent nationwi...

The Ministry of Reconciliation blog gives an article on Egyptian women and their fight against Female Circumcision. More should be said about this horrible practice and about the Islamic nations which allow it!

Stand to Reason’s Blog relates the story of a Hamas Leader's Son named Mosab Hassan Yousef who has become a Christian. The FOXNews version is here . Here’s a quote from Yousef: When I studied the Bible carefully verse by verse, I made sure that that was the book of God, the word of God for sure, so I started to see things in a different way, which was difficult for me, to say Islam is wrong.

Christianity Today ran a great article for their June edition on an apologist named Jay Smith (The short internet version is here .). This article gives us a glimpse into the life a very direct, confrontational person who confronts Muslims with the grace of Jesus Christ. I don’t know much about Smith yet, but I will learn more. I appreciate direct communication. Not all aspects of the Christian message are positive. Here’s a part of the CT online article. Smith calls on Christians to match the passion of Muslims. "I was never commissioned to go and die," Smith says. "Most people ask me, 'Aren't you scared for your health? Aren't you scared you're going to be killed?' "So what? Yes, probably I will be killed. I told my wife I'll probably die before she does. If I were to die, there would be 10 or 20 people to take my place willingly." Smith has several You Tube videos, and you can find a sample here .

I am trouble by the attitude that many members of my church have toward Muslims. Many have the notion that it is impossible to convert a Muslim to the Christian faith. I would like to share some links to converts who give the lie to that notion. Here are some links to Christian converts from Islam. Note that some of them use false names because they fear for their lives. Abdul Saleeb (See here , here , here and here .) Sam Solomon (See his papers here and his story here and here .) Ergun Caner (See here , here and here .) Lastly, Christ converted me. He delivered me from trying to earn my own way into heaven, and He overwhelmed me with His wonderful grace. If he can save an America, nominal-Christian like me, He can save anyone.

The TimesOnline runs a story that surprises me. Here’s part: Church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation, research published today suggests. The fall - from the four million people who attend church at least once a month today - means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially unviable. A lack of funds from the collection plate to support the Christian infrastructure, including church upkeep and ministers’ pay and pensions, will force church closures as ageing congregations die. In contrast, the number of actively religious Muslims will have increased from about one million today to 1.96 million in 2035… I wonder how Christianity would far in Britain if it were more conservative? See the full article here .

I don’t always keep up with the news, and I missed a big one here. Here’s a portion: It has long been known that variant copies of the Koran exist, including some found in 1972 in a paper grave at Sa'na in Yemen, the subject of a cover story in the January 1999 Atlantic Monthly. Before the Yemeni authorities shut the door to Western scholars, two German academics, Gerhard R Puin and H C Graf von Bothmer, made 35,000 microfilm copies, which remain at the University of the Saarland. Many scholars believe that the German archive, which includes photocopies of manuscripts as old as 700 AD, will provide more evidence of variation in the Koran. It’s interesting to see another article on the subject. For a summary of other issues with the Koran’s transmission, see here .

'They Want Jesus Instead' is an article from Chuck Colson that outlines some hopeful trends in the Muslim world. The text is here . See more information on conversions to Christianity for Islam here .

Thanks to Debbie for a link to an article h ere . The article highlights the plight of women in Islamic society. This is a list of legal cases tried an sentenced in Saudi Arabia, a country supposedly friendly to our interests in the Mid-East. See more information on the life of women under Islamic rule here .

Recent conversations with John on this blog reminded me of an article I had seen a couple of years ago called “The convert” by Cal Thomas. The full text of the article is here . An excerpt follows. …[Sam] Soloman was brought up in the Islamic tradition and became a "recruiter," which he says is something like an assistant teacher. One of his responsibilities was "brainwashing people in the Koran." He tells me "The suicide bombers go through stages, and the most important stage is not when they blow themselves up. The most important stage is conforming them to the [Muslim] ideology. Once they are conformed to the ideology, the rest is easy. That is the role I had." …Mr. Soloman is in double trouble. Not only did he abandon Islam and the terrorists' objectives, he has become a Christian, which has marked him for death… Mr. Soloman speaks with knowledge, credibility and conviction. He has memorized large sections of the Koran and tells me, "There...

“I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That’s what I believe.” – President George W. Bush in an October 4, 2007, interview with Al Arabiya, as quoted in “Modern Reformation,” Volume 17, Number 1, January / February 2008, p. 4. “I have spoken clearly about my belief that -- I pray to the same God as a Muslim prays…” – President George W. Bush, White House News Release My respect for George W. Bush’s intellect just went down several notches. Given the notable differences between Allah and Yahweh , not to mention the difference between Jesus as God or Jesus as an inferior prophet , I cannot see how a comment like that can be intellectually viable .

Book Discussion - “The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South” by Philip Jenkins I’m discussing the book “The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South” by Philip Jenkins with the ACFAR blog (see here ). I find that book to be very encouraging so far. Here’s one of my comments from this post . We’d welcome your discussion. Words in quotes are from the excellent chapter summary and commentary here . “If we see the importance of apologetics in America and the West, then how much more important is it in the rapidly growing South?” I don’t think the America church sees the importance of apologetics. We seem to be too busy trying to council everyone on their psychological issues, give them practical advice on how to live, playing the type of music the people in our area like, and promising people prosperity on the basis of their faith. At least it seems the Southern Hemisphere church is arguing about the right issues. I pray we can have ...

Thanks to Infidels Are Cool for some interesting quotes of the Koran here . Careful at this site though, it’s a political issue with it. The only way, in my opinion to confront Islam is to convert them to Christ and let Him worry about changing their lives.

There is no other religious leader like Jesus Christ. I do not have a respect for authority in and of itself. In general, I don’t care what a person’s position is, I will respect them only if they are worthy of respect. Just because his title is “boss” doesn’t mean that I will blindly follow his directives or do what he says. I do not care how many titles a person has, I will only listen to their teaching if I am convinced they are intelligent and trustworthy. That’s why Christ’s credentials as a teacher are so important to me. What makes a good teacher? I submit the following: His teachings are true, and he can prove it. He follows his own teaching. He cares for those he teaches. His teachings make a difference in the world. (Please note that I do not think a person must be male to be a good teacher. I use the masculine pronoun out of convention.) We have an accurate set of historical documents that describe the events of Christ’s life . Christ showed up on earth claiming to be God , ...