First of all, did you know that the name Islam means "submission" and a Muslim is one who submits because they adhere to the doctrine that we are just God's slaves who cannot know an unknowable and impersonal God, who also is not a loving God as Christians believe? We believe that he that loves not, knows not God, for God is love--as 1 John 4:8 says. Muslims believe in a "religion of the sword", as it has been called, and their usual methodology is not to persuade people but to force them to convert with the threat of death or impose their faith on them; for they are entitled to kill an infidel in their so-called holy war or jihad against the infidel or non-Muslim. They adhere to the doctrine that "tomorrow belongs to Islam."
I realize some more moderate ones interpret jihad spiritually and simply believe they have to be actively involved in spreading their message. They call it proselytizing when a Christian tries to convert a Muslim and this is forbidden by Fundamental Islamic law or Shari'ah law, that is practiced in some nations where you are not even allowed to make mention of Christianity or legally hold a prayer meeting or Bible study.
To understand Islam you must go back to the seventh century when Muhammad made his flight to Medina to flee those in Mecca who disapproved of his alleged revelations, starting their calendar in AD 622. He claimed to have these revelations and they are depicted as epileptic fits and convulsions. Tradition, and not the Koran or Qur'an, says these revelations were from the angel Gabriel, but the Koran gives contradictory and conflicting reports. In the seventh century, Sabianism was the predominant religion of the Arab tribes headed by shieks with absolute sovereignty, and they worshiped the sun god or female god and the moon god or male god. Allah was the name of the male moon god and was preexistent to Islam--it is not another name for God as we know Him.
The five pillars of Islam, or requirements to be a Muslim, are as follows: Saying the affirmation, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet," who is superior or superlative to all previous ones and is the last one for all mankind); the praying of the salat five times a day on a mat facing Mecca (and this is more a recitation than prayer, because they are not conversing with God--this was another custom incorporated into their faith from Sabianism); the giving of 2.5 percent or 1/40th of the income as almsgiving to the poor; fasting during the month of Ramadan (also a carryover from Sabianism); the required once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca for every able-bodied convert (to appease the local merchants); and the optional sixth one is jihad or dying and going beyond the call of duty in the name of Allah. Ironically, the only way they can be assured of their some seventy virgins in a paradise of "wine, women, and song," is to die a jihad, but they must refrain from indulgence in this life (i.e., wine, women, and song).
Catholics believe tradition is of equal authority to the Scripture since the Council of Trent (1545-46), but Christianity has not incorporated pagan religion into their faith, which would be syncretism. Admittedly they celebrate Christmas on Mithra's birthday, but this is not a requirement for salvation, but only tradition. One could arguably equate saying of the Rosary with the salat because they are both recitations, not prayers. There is no legitimate comparison between the five pillars of Islam with the ordinances of Christ or of our way of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Islam does not believe in women's rights (they are property and are mentally inferior to men), nor in any other traditional Western rights such as freedom of the press, assembly, or speech. They see geopolitical advantages to their faith and believe "tomorrow belongs to Islam," in which the end justifies the means (it is now the fastest growing religion). They will settle for nothing less than world hegemony or domination (except the most moderate followers). Their values are still in the seventh century, including dress, and punishment by the old "eye-for-an-eye, tooth for a tooth" philosophy--for instance, they still stone adulterers and cut off hands and refuse to let girls get an education. The most dangerous philosophy is that they believe America is the Great Satan and it is their mission to obliterate Western Civilization, which is founded upon democratic principles and human rights--their nations are mainly run by despots, though they may theoretically be democracies by design. There are over six million of them in the States and most of them are not radical, though some metro areas have become hotbeds for terrorist recruiting, and most Muslim organizations are taken over by radicals.
The worst sin to them is shirk, or believing in more than one God--of which they accuse Christians of or being polytheistic. That sin is unforgivable and there is no space for tolerance, a virtue unknown. Basically, their religion is fatalistic and God whimsically and capriciously decides their final outcome as to going to heaven or hell (this fate is called Kismet and they resign themselves to anything that happens and anything they perpetrate as being the will of Allah). It is a works-based faith (your good deeds must outweigh your bad ones) that never gives one assurance of the mercy of God--that is why they never stop praying for it--they don't understand and deny the concept of grace (a Christian concept and teaching).
The thing that makes them ignorant is that they believe the Bible is corrupt but the Koran or the Qur' an (message) is without error in Arabic. Actually, it is allegedly filled with plagiarism, being the "best and most beautiful book on earth" (they insist that a man couldn't write this)--but there is no evidence of corruption in the Christian text with over 5,000 Greek ones to examine! God has shown that He preserves His Word.
The odd thing is that they believe Christ was born of a virgin, sinless, performed miracles, and ascended into heaven, and is coming again to establish worldwide Islam while asserting that He is only a prophet and not divine and didn't die on the cross--some believe Judas died in His place. They believe the man Jesus died but His Spirit lived on and went to heaven. The reason for not accepting the crucifixion is that it is ignominious and repugnant to them and they cannot see how God could be defeated by men. Islam's empire is founded upon force and politics, but Christ's on compassion, love, and freedom--not ignorance.
There is no comparison between the sinless Christ and Muhammad who had many flaws, including killing tens of thousands and raiding caravans--Blaise Pascal has said that what Muhammad has done, any man can do; what Christ has done, no man can do. Yes, their traditions in the Hadith and Sunna (both regarded as authoritative and inspired) report miracles, but these are written much later after the fact and are not worthy to be compared to the work of Christ--he actually was asked to do one and said, "God hath certainly power to send down a sign."
What makes them all the more dangerous is that their religion is not about faith or salvation, but has geopolitical considerations, incentives, and promises to people who have a grudge against society and want their piece of the pie, no matter how they get it. They don't care how they achieve their ends (the ends justify the means), and will clearly use any means necessary to achieve them (the radical fringe movement influencing today's concerns), but Jesus clearly said that His kingdom is "not of this world" and is invisible--you must be born again to see the kingdom of God--a kingdom reigning in hearts. Many of the moderate Muslims are in sympathy with radicals, if not supportive indirectly--they lack a clear anti-terrorist voice or anti-hegemony teaching. The Muslim world is slow and hesitant in uniting (though there is some recent progress) to condemn ISIS, for example, and even terrorism.
In the final analysis, they claim Islam fulfills Christianity, the way Christianity does Judaism; au contraire, it replaces it and repudiates our faith (they hold no respect for these faiths) and it holds no reverence for our Bible because they think it's corrupt, even without any evidence. They don't evangelize but impose their religion on the vulnerable by force, or by any means necessary. To them, Christ only pointed the way to Muhammad, the last and final word of Allah (not another name for the God Christians believe in, but a tribal name from the days of Sabianism in the Arab world.
Most teens today actually believe that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all pray to the same God under different names! In summation: There is a vast difference between the ethics of Islam that portray murder, pillage, and rape in the Koran, and the power of love conquering evil in Jesus--viva la difference! They see Muhammad as the exemplar and superlative guide to mankind, despite his flaws.
The biggest delusion that radical Muslims are under is that if they die as a suicide bomber that they are martyrs for Allah. The way they wage an aggressive war is not jihad, but murder. They are the opposite of martyrs--they are murderers and will be judged accordingly on Judgment Day. They have rejected the way of love that is found in Christ and engage in a terror of hate and hate mongering. A martyr dies because he believes and is persecuted for his faith, not someone who murders others for not believing, by definition, not opinion. Soli Deo Gloria!
I realize some more moderate ones interpret jihad spiritually and simply believe they have to be actively involved in spreading their message. They call it proselytizing when a Christian tries to convert a Muslim and this is forbidden by Fundamental Islamic law or Shari'ah law, that is practiced in some nations where you are not even allowed to make mention of Christianity or legally hold a prayer meeting or Bible study.
To understand Islam you must go back to the seventh century when Muhammad made his flight to Medina to flee those in Mecca who disapproved of his alleged revelations, starting their calendar in AD 622. He claimed to have these revelations and they are depicted as epileptic fits and convulsions. Tradition, and not the Koran or Qur'an, says these revelations were from the angel Gabriel, but the Koran gives contradictory and conflicting reports. In the seventh century, Sabianism was the predominant religion of the Arab tribes headed by shieks with absolute sovereignty, and they worshiped the sun god or female god and the moon god or male god. Allah was the name of the male moon god and was preexistent to Islam--it is not another name for God as we know Him.
The five pillars of Islam, or requirements to be a Muslim, are as follows: Saying the affirmation, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet," who is superior or superlative to all previous ones and is the last one for all mankind); the praying of the salat five times a day on a mat facing Mecca (and this is more a recitation than prayer, because they are not conversing with God--this was another custom incorporated into their faith from Sabianism); the giving of 2.5 percent or 1/40th of the income as almsgiving to the poor; fasting during the month of Ramadan (also a carryover from Sabianism); the required once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca for every able-bodied convert (to appease the local merchants); and the optional sixth one is jihad or dying and going beyond the call of duty in the name of Allah. Ironically, the only way they can be assured of their some seventy virgins in a paradise of "wine, women, and song," is to die a jihad, but they must refrain from indulgence in this life (i.e., wine, women, and song).
Catholics believe tradition is of equal authority to the Scripture since the Council of Trent (1545-46), but Christianity has not incorporated pagan religion into their faith, which would be syncretism. Admittedly they celebrate Christmas on Mithra's birthday, but this is not a requirement for salvation, but only tradition. One could arguably equate saying of the Rosary with the salat because they are both recitations, not prayers. There is no legitimate comparison between the five pillars of Islam with the ordinances of Christ or of our way of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Islam does not believe in women's rights (they are property and are mentally inferior to men), nor in any other traditional Western rights such as freedom of the press, assembly, or speech. They see geopolitical advantages to their faith and believe "tomorrow belongs to Islam," in which the end justifies the means (it is now the fastest growing religion). They will settle for nothing less than world hegemony or domination (except the most moderate followers). Their values are still in the seventh century, including dress, and punishment by the old "eye-for-an-eye, tooth for a tooth" philosophy--for instance, they still stone adulterers and cut off hands and refuse to let girls get an education. The most dangerous philosophy is that they believe America is the Great Satan and it is their mission to obliterate Western Civilization, which is founded upon democratic principles and human rights--their nations are mainly run by despots, though they may theoretically be democracies by design. There are over six million of them in the States and most of them are not radical, though some metro areas have become hotbeds for terrorist recruiting, and most Muslim organizations are taken over by radicals.
The worst sin to them is shirk, or believing in more than one God--of which they accuse Christians of or being polytheistic. That sin is unforgivable and there is no space for tolerance, a virtue unknown. Basically, their religion is fatalistic and God whimsically and capriciously decides their final outcome as to going to heaven or hell (this fate is called Kismet and they resign themselves to anything that happens and anything they perpetrate as being the will of Allah). It is a works-based faith (your good deeds must outweigh your bad ones) that never gives one assurance of the mercy of God--that is why they never stop praying for it--they don't understand and deny the concept of grace (a Christian concept and teaching).
The thing that makes them ignorant is that they believe the Bible is corrupt but the Koran or the Qur' an (message) is without error in Arabic. Actually, it is allegedly filled with plagiarism, being the "best and most beautiful book on earth" (they insist that a man couldn't write this)--but there is no evidence of corruption in the Christian text with over 5,000 Greek ones to examine! God has shown that He preserves His Word.
The odd thing is that they believe Christ was born of a virgin, sinless, performed miracles, and ascended into heaven, and is coming again to establish worldwide Islam while asserting that He is only a prophet and not divine and didn't die on the cross--some believe Judas died in His place. They believe the man Jesus died but His Spirit lived on and went to heaven. The reason for not accepting the crucifixion is that it is ignominious and repugnant to them and they cannot see how God could be defeated by men. Islam's empire is founded upon force and politics, but Christ's on compassion, love, and freedom--not ignorance.
There is no comparison between the sinless Christ and Muhammad who had many flaws, including killing tens of thousands and raiding caravans--Blaise Pascal has said that what Muhammad has done, any man can do; what Christ has done, no man can do. Yes, their traditions in the Hadith and Sunna (both regarded as authoritative and inspired) report miracles, but these are written much later after the fact and are not worthy to be compared to the work of Christ--he actually was asked to do one and said, "God hath certainly power to send down a sign."
What makes them all the more dangerous is that their religion is not about faith or salvation, but has geopolitical considerations, incentives, and promises to people who have a grudge against society and want their piece of the pie, no matter how they get it. They don't care how they achieve their ends (the ends justify the means), and will clearly use any means necessary to achieve them (the radical fringe movement influencing today's concerns), but Jesus clearly said that His kingdom is "not of this world" and is invisible--you must be born again to see the kingdom of God--a kingdom reigning in hearts. Many of the moderate Muslims are in sympathy with radicals, if not supportive indirectly--they lack a clear anti-terrorist voice or anti-hegemony teaching. The Muslim world is slow and hesitant in uniting (though there is some recent progress) to condemn ISIS, for example, and even terrorism.
In the final analysis, they claim Islam fulfills Christianity, the way Christianity does Judaism; au contraire, it replaces it and repudiates our faith (they hold no respect for these faiths) and it holds no reverence for our Bible because they think it's corrupt, even without any evidence. They don't evangelize but impose their religion on the vulnerable by force, or by any means necessary. To them, Christ only pointed the way to Muhammad, the last and final word of Allah (not another name for the God Christians believe in, but a tribal name from the days of Sabianism in the Arab world.
Most teens today actually believe that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all pray to the same God under different names! In summation: There is a vast difference between the ethics of Islam that portray murder, pillage, and rape in the Koran, and the power of love conquering evil in Jesus--viva la difference! They see Muhammad as the exemplar and superlative guide to mankind, despite his flaws.
The biggest delusion that radical Muslims are under is that if they die as a suicide bomber that they are martyrs for Allah. The way they wage an aggressive war is not jihad, but murder. They are the opposite of martyrs--they are murderers and will be judged accordingly on Judgment Day. They have rejected the way of love that is found in Christ and engage in a terror of hate and hate mongering. A martyr dies because he believes and is persecuted for his faith, not someone who murders others for not believing, by definition, not opinion. Soli Deo Gloria!