Why Western Countries Cannot Defeat Terrorism
I tend to get in trouble when I write political posts, but I hope you will see that in essence this is a Christian message, rather than a political one. That is actually the main reason that current Western governments cannot defeat Islamic terrorists—they fail to acknowledge that the battle is ultimately spiritual.
I’m sure Christians around the world share in the sadness and frustration when yet another terrorist blows up innocent people, and our governments respond with condolences and extra security. If only they recognised that they are fighting a spiritual battle and turned instead to God in prayer, things could be so different.
I had thought that the arrival of Mrs May to the Prime Ministerial position in England and the appointment of Vice President Pence in America might signal some form of change in tactics. Maybe even a collective humbling and a seeking God, as they both profess to be Evangelical Christians.
However, events of the last few days indicate that there will be no sudden reversal of policy in our respective nations, or calls to prayer. This despite the fact that current protocols are clearly failing and nothing else has worked. In England, the threat level is at critical, the highest possible: armed police and military are patrolling the streets to protect us, and yet still we are defiant.
Important people appear on TV to offer their heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims. Then there are promises that this will never be allowed to happen again. Followed by the guarantees to learn the lessons for the future. Next, the endless discussions about what has happened, how and why it happened, who was involved. Sadly predictable. Only this time, I’m noticing that people are starting to admit that they don’t have the answers.
These things have their place, of course. It is right that we mourn the victims and seek to help the families of those injured or killed. Any of us could find ourselves in this situation and we should remember that it is only by God’s grace that we are not. We can also try to investigate what has happened and try to prevent it happening again. But, with anything else in life, a thorough investigation would look at every possible angle. This is where the authorities seem to be falling short, as they refuse to believe that spiritual warfare should be a serious consideration.
For the first time today, I actually heard some politicians and commentators dare to suggest that Islamist ideology is the problem. They were immediately shut down with the usual reminders that mainstream Muslims don’t share the extremist’s views. We do need to be careful here, at the risk of alienating a growing percentage of our populations. We need Muslims on-board to root out the terrorists in their midst.
The problem is that certain interpretations of the Muslim’s Holy Book, the Quran, do lead to extreme behaviour. Within the Quran are the encouragements for a violent Holy War (Jihad) against all those who resist the Islamic faith (infidels.) (I’m not going to quote the verses here, a simple Google search will reveal them for those that care to look into it.) These instructions come with a promise of eternal life in heaven as an enticement.
This is a serious temptation—Muslims cannot gain assurance that they will be saved without committing Jihad. They are reliant on the will of Allah at the entry point to heaven, in the same way that Catholics believe their fate will be determined in a place called Purgatory. According to their respective teachings, their good and bad deeds will be weighed and their afterlife destination decided at the point of death and not prior to this, but Jihad is a free entry pass.
With this in mind, we should consider it a blessing that the vast majority of Muslims choose to interpret the Quran in a peaceful way. Not to acknowledge the potential of the Islamic Holy Book to incite violence, however, is a serious error. Political correctness should not stand in the way of a proper investigation into the ideology that leads to these crimes.
Our governments cannot fight extremism with human weapons because they are fighting the devil himself. He is present in the minds and hearts of extremists and he lures people to extremism. He cannot be stopped with conventional methods—only using spiritual ones.
Our leaders may say that their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. How many of them are actually praying, rather than just offering the assurance that they are? How many of them even believe in the God they claim to be praying to? How many believe that it will make a difference? How many are trusting Jesus for their eternal salvation and therefore have the assurance that God will actually hear them?
It’s time for our governments to stop talking about learning the lessons and increasing security. Our leaders need to stop relying on themselves and earthly capabilities. It’s time for them to humble themselves and call our nations back to prayer. Then we will see what God can do with nations who once again are trusting in and relying on Him instead of leaving Him on the side-lines or relegating Him to a dark corner.
This message may seem hopeless—we cannot defeat terrorism, and it will continue. The opposite is actually true for a Christian. We can know that whatever happens, God is in control and has a plan. Even when evil seems to prevail and terrorists blow themselves up, we can know that there will be justice one day.
Unlike other faiths, Christianity assures us that we can know now where we will spend eternity. We don’t need to wait for a distant deity to decide or for karma to kick in. The Bible tells us in Romans 10 vs 9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.”
The Bible assures us that all of the events on earth, good and bad, are recorded carefully by a Holy, Perfect, Righteous, Just, Good, God. Jesus will one day return to earth and gather all those who believe in Him for their eternal reward. All who have rejected Him will sadly be lost to hell, forever.
Let us remember that this is a spiritual battle and let us have hope as we pray for Jesus’ return.
I’m sure Christians around the world share in the sadness and frustration when yet another terrorist blows up innocent people, and our governments respond with condolences and extra security. If only they recognised that they are fighting a spiritual battle and turned instead to God in prayer, things could be so different.
I had thought that the arrival of Mrs May to the Prime Ministerial position in England and the appointment of Vice President Pence in America might signal some form of change in tactics. Maybe even a collective humbling and a seeking God, as they both profess to be Evangelical Christians.
However, events of the last few days indicate that there will be no sudden reversal of policy in our respective nations, or calls to prayer. This despite the fact that current protocols are clearly failing and nothing else has worked. In England, the threat level is at critical, the highest possible: armed police and military are patrolling the streets to protect us, and yet still we are defiant.
Important people appear on TV to offer their heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims. Then there are promises that this will never be allowed to happen again. Followed by the guarantees to learn the lessons for the future. Next, the endless discussions about what has happened, how and why it happened, who was involved. Sadly predictable. Only this time, I’m noticing that people are starting to admit that they don’t have the answers.
These things have their place, of course. It is right that we mourn the victims and seek to help the families of those injured or killed. Any of us could find ourselves in this situation and we should remember that it is only by God’s grace that we are not. We can also try to investigate what has happened and try to prevent it happening again. But, with anything else in life, a thorough investigation would look at every possible angle. This is where the authorities seem to be falling short, as they refuse to believe that spiritual warfare should be a serious consideration.
For the first time today, I actually heard some politicians and commentators dare to suggest that Islamist ideology is the problem. They were immediately shut down with the usual reminders that mainstream Muslims don’t share the extremist’s views. We do need to be careful here, at the risk of alienating a growing percentage of our populations. We need Muslims on-board to root out the terrorists in their midst.
The problem is that certain interpretations of the Muslim’s Holy Book, the Quran, do lead to extreme behaviour. Within the Quran are the encouragements for a violent Holy War (Jihad) against all those who resist the Islamic faith (infidels.) (I’m not going to quote the verses here, a simple Google search will reveal them for those that care to look into it.) These instructions come with a promise of eternal life in heaven as an enticement.
This is a serious temptation—Muslims cannot gain assurance that they will be saved without committing Jihad. They are reliant on the will of Allah at the entry point to heaven, in the same way that Catholics believe their fate will be determined in a place called Purgatory. According to their respective teachings, their good and bad deeds will be weighed and their afterlife destination decided at the point of death and not prior to this, but Jihad is a free entry pass.
With this in mind, we should consider it a blessing that the vast majority of Muslims choose to interpret the Quran in a peaceful way. Not to acknowledge the potential of the Islamic Holy Book to incite violence, however, is a serious error. Political correctness should not stand in the way of a proper investigation into the ideology that leads to these crimes.
Our governments cannot fight extremism with human weapons because they are fighting the devil himself. He is present in the minds and hearts of extremists and he lures people to extremism. He cannot be stopped with conventional methods—only using spiritual ones.
Our leaders may say that their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. How many of them are actually praying, rather than just offering the assurance that they are? How many of them even believe in the God they claim to be praying to? How many believe that it will make a difference? How many are trusting Jesus for their eternal salvation and therefore have the assurance that God will actually hear them?
It’s time for our governments to stop talking about learning the lessons and increasing security. Our leaders need to stop relying on themselves and earthly capabilities. It’s time for them to humble themselves and call our nations back to prayer. Then we will see what God can do with nations who once again are trusting in and relying on Him instead of leaving Him on the side-lines or relegating Him to a dark corner.
This message may seem hopeless—we cannot defeat terrorism, and it will continue. The opposite is actually true for a Christian. We can know that whatever happens, God is in control and has a plan. Even when evil seems to prevail and terrorists blow themselves up, we can know that there will be justice one day.
Unlike other faiths, Christianity assures us that we can know now where we will spend eternity. We don’t need to wait for a distant deity to decide or for karma to kick in. The Bible tells us in Romans 10 vs 9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.”
The Bible assures us that all of the events on earth, good and bad, are recorded carefully by a Holy, Perfect, Righteous, Just, Good, God. Jesus will one day return to earth and gather all those who believe in Him for their eternal reward. All who have rejected Him will sadly be lost to hell, forever.
Let us remember that this is a spiritual battle and let us have hope as we pray for Jesus’ return.
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Purgatory is "part" of heaven.Anyone in Purgatory has been saved, but nonetheless has some attachment to or temporal penalty to pay.
"58As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”"
Luke 12: 58 - 59
Thanks Peter, although that Scripture seems to be being applied out of context?!On what grounds do you assert that?
Our salvation through Jesus is free,
"They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, 'It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.'"
The main point I was trying to make about Catholics is that they don't have absolute assurance of salvation.
Huh? And what does that have to do with what you said?
And, anyway, thinking we had it would be a sin against hope. "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?"
I agree with the spiritual aspect of this information but no Governments have not done what can be done to fight this battle. Coupled with prayer must be action, and basic common sense.In many ways, politicians keep dancing around the elephant in the room. I also urge you to do a google search and find the stories of multiple terrorists who were first flagged by intelligence agencies and security as a threat to nations YET...they were allowed to continue to enter the country before committing atrocities. For the past 2 decades governments have instead bowed to 'diversity' which is ravishing and devastating areas across Europe. The half of these stories are not even reaching the ears of those who only rely on MSM for their news. These types of problems among others experienced a spike when politicians and those more concerned about social justice began to Lax on immigration policies. There is so much more to be said on this issue than my simple commentary. BUT YES there is more that can be done. The 'more' is being hindered because many politicians and journalists are continuously avoiding even speaking about the elephant in the room to avoid "offense" and if it is spoken about it, it is quickly dismissed as treachery.
I am just curious about something here. You say that Muslims holy book can be interpreted in a violent way. David Koresh and Jim Jones immediately came to mind. They were convinced they were "Christian" saviors so where did they get their ideas from? By the way, I DO have Muslim friends and you are misunderstanding the word "jihad". A google search does not suffice. It is meant to mean the internal struggle everyone has to be a good person and not be tempted by evil. Not the way that you seem to be interpreting it. I would advise you to contact an Imam (like a minister) who is knowledgeable and truly good (not Wahabi please, they are the ones who have an extreme view of Islam and are centered in Saudi Arabia). Also, I would advise you to try to read a book to understand how misinformed young people are drawn in the wrong direction. Did you ever hear about Mubin Shaikh? He has written a book on how and why he started going down the wrong path. Look up his name on Goodreads. His book is there. He is the one who was responsible for bringing down the infamous Toronto 18 terrorist plot. Mubin started out by going very close to becoming a recruit to evil himself but thankfully an Imam in Pakistan realized what was going on and taught him that the ones "guiding him" didn't have a clue what Islam is and is not and how to interpret the Quran. In short, before making a statement about things like "jihad" please make sure that you are well informed from all angles and not just from a google search. Other than that, I quite agree that a different approach is needed which may well include prayer. Another idea that other experts have mentioned is that they need to find a way to root out these "lone wolfs". Everyone needs to pray regardless of their religion.
You are talking to average Muslims but have you actually spoken to a scholar? You need to be aware of the books you have read as well. Unless they are written by a scholar they are irrelevant. Yes, some people can interpret them in the wrong way but that can be done in many religions. Don't forget David Koresh, Jim Jones, and Westboro Baptist Church. I won't mention Sikh but it happens there as well. Talking to average Muslims is not enough. They do not know their religion enough. How do I know? I did convert to Islam in 1999 and found them very misinformed. The problem with Islam is that there are no solid heads of the religion so everyone interprets it the way they want to. I do not listen to a word anyone says (Muslim) but I go immediately to a scholar (imam and again never wahabi. They are extremists). Instead of reading books (again there can be misinformation), it would be best to consult a good scholar who has studied Islam and the Quran extensively. They are the experts. Google is not a good suggestion. It leads to many websites that may be misinformed as well. I remember trying that and there is so much misinformation on there. Second hand information that is open to interpretation is not good enough. The biggest problem with Islam itself is that there is no head of the institution. I mean the Pope for Catholicism and the Head of the Church of England. You even have Muslims dividing themselves into different groups (Sunni/Shia/Bahai etc) and yet they rely on the knowledge taught to them which is sometimes from people who are not trained. I personally stay away from mosques. There have been groups of scholars (the ones who issue fatwas and I don't mean the one in Iran. He is not qualified) and they have spoken up against the violence. They need to step up, get organized and educate Muslims. The extremists are saying they are doing it in the name of Islam but they are wrong. There is something in Islam called strong and short hadiths. The strong are to be a guide. One of them says if you are walking and you find a branch on the road that could hurt the person walking behind you then you have to move it out of the way so the person behind you do not get hurt. Not a Muslim person walking behind but a person walking behind. Another one is that when Mohammad was sitting with one of his friends a funeral went by them and he stood up to pay his respects. The friend whispered that it was a Jewish funeral but Mohammad answered that he would stand a pay respect to a fellow human being who has gone to face God. These extremists are no more Muslim or representatives of Islam than Jim Jones or the Westboro Church are representatives of Christianity. They have no right or the honor of calling themselves Muslims at all. The worst way to learn about the Quran and a possible connection is through a website search. The best way is to actually go up to a qualified Imam who has studied the Quran and is a scholar for first hand information on how to interpret their holy book.
Natalie wrote: "Peter wrote: "Purgatory is "part" of heaven.Anyone in Purgatory has been saved, but nonetheless has some attachment to or temporal penalty to pay.
"58As you are going with your adversary to the ..."
Thanks Peter, although that Scripture seems to be being applied out of context?! Our salvation through Jesus is free, we cannot pay the price ourselves otherwise there would have been no need for Jesus to die in our place.
The main point I was trying to make about Catholics is that they don't have absolute assurance of salvation......they find out when they die where they will go.
reply | flag *
It would obviously seem "out of context" to someone who had been raised in a tradition that treated the idea of purgatory as anathema. To someone raised in such a tradition, i.e., 90% of all Christians who have ever lived, it is very straightforward.
Protestants actually have a "hidden" idea of purgatory.
For example, if pressed, I am sure that you will acknowledge that (a) nothing tainted by sin can enter into the presence of God (See Revelation 21:27; 22:3, 14-15) and (b) most saved Christians are not perfectly sanctified at the time of their death.
If pushed, in my experience, Protestants will acknowledge that there is sanctification that occurs after death, albeit at that point cognitive dissonance kicks in.
See Protestant Jerry Walls book on Purgatory for more. ( Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation
by Jerry L. Walls )
A lot of Protestants simply drop sanctification out of their practical theology and make justification do all the work. (See Justification: God's Plan & Paul's Vision
by N.T. Wright )
As for the notion that Catholics don't know where they will go, this is not true. Catholics know that if they die in a state of grace, they will go to Heaven and that if they die in a state of mortal sin, they won't.
Catholics are not presumptuous, however, about their destiny, unlike a lot of Protestants who seem to be very certain about where they and everyone else will spend their eternal destiny. Catholics tend to look at that kind of certainty as blinding pride that appropriates the role of God.
Presumption eliminate the Christian virtue of hope. (See http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3021.htm)
Mary wrote: And, anyway, thinking we had it would be a sin against hope. "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?" Excellent point, and one that I have repeatedly thought of, and mentioned in my last comment.
I've always had a deep suspicion about the presumptuousness of the Protestant claim that they KNOW they are going to Heaven.
I've always wondered, what happened to "hope" as a Christian virtue?
When we know that we are going to be paid on Friday, can we say that we "hope" to be paid on Friday?
Likewise, this approach ironically is Pelagian, i.e., works righteous, as a practical matter. What it boils down to, quite often, is a believer in this doctrine saying: "I have put my faith in Christ and I will get my salvation" as if salvation were like putting quarters into a vending machine.
Recently, my Aquinas group went over the article on presumption, which is a vice opposed to the virtue of hope:
//But as to the hope whereby a man relies on the power of God, there may be presumption through immoderation, in the fact that a man tends to some good as though it were possible by the power and mercy of God, whereas it is not possible, for instance, if a man hope to obtain pardon without repenting, or glory without merits. This presumption is, properly, the sin against the Holy Ghost, because, to wit, by presuming thus a man removes or despises the assistance of the Holy Spirit, whereby he is withdrawn from sin.//
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3021.htm
Natalie wrote: "The Scripture relates to court hearings here on earth, what makes you think there should be a wider application or that it should lead to thinking there will be a place called purgatory....No, it isn't. The use of court hearings is metaphorical .
There are numerous verses that support salvation by faith alone.
There are a number of verses which can be interpreted in support of that, in isolation from all other verses.
The verse you quote is referring to perseverance of the saints.
So what? It clearly states that we must suffer to be saved.
Once someone is saved, they are always saved and will persevere in the faith.
Nope. That is not what the Bible teaches, which tells us to hope and that such hope is not seen.
They are being exhorted to continue because the cost of following Jesus is difficult. It is not a Scripture about salvation but about discipleship after one is saved. All true Christians will experience persecution and hardship at one level or another as we are swimming against the worldly tide.
This makes no sense at all. If a Christian is saved regardless, he doesn't need to be exhorted to anything.
I was making the point that Christianity is the only faith that offers assurance for the here and now. The Bible teaches that we can know now for sure that we will be saved in the future."
No, it doesn't. A Christian is promised HOPE not assurance.
Veronica wrote: "By the way, I DO have Muslim friends and you are misunderstanding the word "jihad". A google search does not suffice. It is meant to mean the internal struggle everyone has to be a good person and not be tempted by evil.."That is one interpretation of it. However, it clearly can not be universally applicable because in one passage the Qu'ran exempts the blind, the lame, and the poor. That is because they can not commit the war that is called for.
Natalie wrote: "Mary wrote: "" in the same way that Catholics believe their fate will be determined in a place called Purgatory. "This is not what the Catholic Church teaches. At all."
Sorry Mary if that isn't ..."
If you are sorry that it isn't correct, why have you not edited your post to remove it? Especially given that it is gratuitous?
It is all about self-sovereignty or God-sovereignty.
The Bible, Old Testament Judaism, and Christianity are the only things in all of human thought and experience that make that distinction.
As Abraham walks from the city of Haran towards Canaan…with each step he takes God is displacing the normative life Abraham would otherwise have lived in Haran…with a higher life-script Abraham could never have dreamed up in his wildest imagination.
No other worldview has this…not Islam, not Buddhism, not Hinduism, and certainly not atheistic materialism.
There are dozens of scriptures in the New Testament that talk about the salvation assurance for Spirit-born Christians.
This has to be the case in order to set up the conditions for the transition from the old covenant…where God calls people to become prophets and kings and deliverers…to the new covenant where every believer will know God from the least to the greatest.
No rational Christian would pick up their cross and follow Jesus into a risky journey of faith if their eternal salvation was contingent upon and in jeopardy upon the quality of our personal performance. No one would take that risk…and God would not expect us to.
The shift from self-sovereignty to God-sovereignty is the most difficult thing any human being can do…God knows this Himself from personal experience…see Jesus the Son of God in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42).
The new covenant…following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…allows every Spirit-born Christian to experience a slice of this distinctive God-sovereignty that we see embedded in the life-scripts of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Ruth, Hannah, Esther and Mordecai, Daniel, Peter, and Paul…to name but a few.
I am not saved one week, then lose my salvation for a few days, then become saved again for a few more weeks.
I can confidently enter into a risk-filled adventure of faith (and am in one) having the real possibility of the falsifiability of Gods plans and promises for me…and the inevitability of my own failures along the way…with the scriptural and inner assurance of my salvation in-tact so that I can pick up my cross and follow Jesus anywhere (David’s Psalm 23).
Natalie is correct about the lack of assurance of salvation in Islam. In Islam, salvation is based on our good deeds…plus the will of Allah. This is just another version of self-sovereignty…plus some future element of unknown determination.
It is easy to lump together Islamic terrorists, David Koresh, Jim Jones, the Crusades, and the Inquisition as moral equivalents.
Muslims claim that a violent interpretation of the Koran does not represent their true religion…and point to past bad actors and bad actions by so-called Christians for a corroborating likewise argument.
But my point in this response comment is that Muslims are still stuck in self-sovereignty…salvation being based upon our own good deeds according to our performance…plus the will of Allah on the judgment day.
Biblical narrative stories of faith transcend above all of this back-and-forth debate because these comparable misdeeds all occur in what I like to call the zone of worldly conventional normalcy and thinking.
Biblical narrative stories of faith transcend far above the conventional because they all contain the cross of Jesus Christ…God displacing our way with His higher ways and plans.
This simply does not exist in Islam…or in any other form in any worldview.
This in my opinion makes a compelling argument that the Bible has a divine origin.
And it places the biblical narrative stories of faith…by reason of the utter unconventional nature of the cross of Christ…as contrary to humanism as can be…and entirely different from self-sovereignty as night is from day…far above critical reproach.
The Bible, Old Testament Judaism, and Christianity are the only things in all of human thought and experience that make that distinction.
As Abraham walks from the city of Haran towards Canaan…with each step he takes God is displacing the normative life Abraham would otherwise have lived in Haran…with a higher life-script Abraham could never have dreamed up in his wildest imagination.
No other worldview has this…not Islam, not Buddhism, not Hinduism, and certainly not atheistic materialism.
There are dozens of scriptures in the New Testament that talk about the salvation assurance for Spirit-born Christians.
This has to be the case in order to set up the conditions for the transition from the old covenant…where God calls people to become prophets and kings and deliverers…to the new covenant where every believer will know God from the least to the greatest.
No rational Christian would pick up their cross and follow Jesus into a risky journey of faith if their eternal salvation was contingent upon and in jeopardy upon the quality of our personal performance. No one would take that risk…and God would not expect us to.
The shift from self-sovereignty to God-sovereignty is the most difficult thing any human being can do…God knows this Himself from personal experience…see Jesus the Son of God in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42).
The new covenant…following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…allows every Spirit-born Christian to experience a slice of this distinctive God-sovereignty that we see embedded in the life-scripts of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Ruth, Hannah, Esther and Mordecai, Daniel, Peter, and Paul…to name but a few.
I am not saved one week, then lose my salvation for a few days, then become saved again for a few more weeks.
I can confidently enter into a risk-filled adventure of faith (and am in one) having the real possibility of the falsifiability of Gods plans and promises for me…and the inevitability of my own failures along the way…with the scriptural and inner assurance of my salvation in-tact so that I can pick up my cross and follow Jesus anywhere (David’s Psalm 23).
Natalie is correct about the lack of assurance of salvation in Islam. In Islam, salvation is based on our good deeds…plus the will of Allah. This is just another version of self-sovereignty…plus some future element of unknown determination.
It is easy to lump together Islamic terrorists, David Koresh, Jim Jones, the Crusades, and the Inquisition as moral equivalents.
Muslims claim that a violent interpretation of the Koran does not represent their true religion…and point to past bad actors and bad actions by so-called Christians for a corroborating likewise argument.
But my point in this response comment is that Muslims are still stuck in self-sovereignty…salvation being based upon our own good deeds according to our performance…plus the will of Allah on the judgment day.
Biblical narrative stories of faith transcend above all of this back-and-forth debate because these comparable misdeeds all occur in what I like to call the zone of worldly conventional normalcy and thinking.
Biblical narrative stories of faith transcend far above the conventional because they all contain the cross of Jesus Christ…God displacing our way with His higher ways and plans.
This simply does not exist in Islam…or in any other form in any worldview.
This in my opinion makes a compelling argument that the Bible has a divine origin.
And it places the biblical narrative stories of faith…by reason of the utter unconventional nature of the cross of Christ…as contrary to humanism as can be…and entirely different from self-sovereignty as night is from day…far above critical reproach.
To Peter and Mary...good posts...but can I humbly add a point.
When Saul/Paul meets Jesus Christ as the Messiah revealed on the road to Damascus...at that point in time Paul is saved...he has eternal life...Paul knows from that day forward that Jesus is the Savior.
As we read through the books of Acts and see all of the challenging things Paul went through in order to establish the new churches in the Greco-Roman world...but also to inform the writing of his New Testament epistles...it is unthinkable that Paul's salvation was in doubt in the slightest...that somehow he would come up short on the Judgment Day...according to some measurement standard of his "works" as a missionary evangelist that fell short of expectations.
Paul's sins were and are covered completely by the blood of Christ on the cross...without anything else needed or added by Paul in any way. Paul's risky adventure of faith...combining the mysterious blend of God's sovereignty and man's free-will...unique to the Bible...is made possible by this reality of the assurance of his salvation.
If anything needs to be added to the blood of Jesus on the cross...for our salvation...then to that extent the door is opened slightly for a works salvation...Christ's blood plus our good performance. This is an un-biblical concept.
This is a point about the nature of biblical faith that is missing in Christendom today. The radical skeptical criticism of atheists attacking the Bible over the past three or four centuries...especially the Old Testament...has undermined the credibility of the biblical narrative stories of faith to the point that many people in Christian circles have lost sight of what a biblical journey of faith is.
Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
This describes a gap in time or in a promise made.
But in a God-composed journey of faith life-script that we see in the Bible...the end-point of the gap is always outside the reach of human imagination...much less the ability to resolve.
Abraham and Sarah cannot produce Isaac no matter how much great sex they have.
Joseph cannot make himself governor of Egypt...this is unthinkable as a foreigner.
Moses cannot deliver the Israelites from Egypt.
David cannot make himself king.
Peter the fisherman cannot make himself the leader of the early church.
Paul becoming the premier Christian missionary in the first-century is as far outside of worldly conventional normalcy and thinking as is imaginable.
My point is that the blood Jesus shed on the cross...that completely covers our sins...enables Christians to pick up their cross and follow Jesus into a Psalm 23 reality that must have the starting premise of a sure and secure salvation.
Sorry for the length of this comment.
When Saul/Paul meets Jesus Christ as the Messiah revealed on the road to Damascus...at that point in time Paul is saved...he has eternal life...Paul knows from that day forward that Jesus is the Savior.
As we read through the books of Acts and see all of the challenging things Paul went through in order to establish the new churches in the Greco-Roman world...but also to inform the writing of his New Testament epistles...it is unthinkable that Paul's salvation was in doubt in the slightest...that somehow he would come up short on the Judgment Day...according to some measurement standard of his "works" as a missionary evangelist that fell short of expectations.
Paul's sins were and are covered completely by the blood of Christ on the cross...without anything else needed or added by Paul in any way. Paul's risky adventure of faith...combining the mysterious blend of God's sovereignty and man's free-will...unique to the Bible...is made possible by this reality of the assurance of his salvation.
If anything needs to be added to the blood of Jesus on the cross...for our salvation...then to that extent the door is opened slightly for a works salvation...Christ's blood plus our good performance. This is an un-biblical concept.
This is a point about the nature of biblical faith that is missing in Christendom today. The radical skeptical criticism of atheists attacking the Bible over the past three or four centuries...especially the Old Testament...has undermined the credibility of the biblical narrative stories of faith to the point that many people in Christian circles have lost sight of what a biblical journey of faith is.
Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
This describes a gap in time or in a promise made.
But in a God-composed journey of faith life-script that we see in the Bible...the end-point of the gap is always outside the reach of human imagination...much less the ability to resolve.
Abraham and Sarah cannot produce Isaac no matter how much great sex they have.
Joseph cannot make himself governor of Egypt...this is unthinkable as a foreigner.
Moses cannot deliver the Israelites from Egypt.
David cannot make himself king.
Peter the fisherman cannot make himself the leader of the early church.
Paul becoming the premier Christian missionary in the first-century is as far outside of worldly conventional normalcy and thinking as is imaginable.
My point is that the blood Jesus shed on the cross...that completely covers our sins...enables Christians to pick up their cross and follow Jesus into a Psalm 23 reality that must have the starting premise of a sure and secure salvation.
Sorry for the length of this comment.
I was making the point that Christianity is the only faith that offers assurance for the here and now. The Bible teaches that we can know now for sure that we will be saved in the future. All other faiths including Islam, Catholicism etc teach some form of works or good deeds as necessary for salvation. But, if our salvation was dependent on these works, then Jesus' death was an insufficient sacrifice which renders the whole plan of God absurd...."Hello, Natalie – in your response you have implied (perhaps inadvertently) that Catholicism teaches something different than what the Bible teaches. The Catholic Church (which first compiled the Bible) teaches that we are saved by faith in Jesus' divinity, death, and resurrection... and that faith without works is dead. I, too, had once misunderstood that Catholics believed they advanced through works, like jumping through hoops; now I understand that outward signs merely demonstrate the faith and relationship that burns within the heart.
Purgatory is a place of cleansing, or sanctification, for Christians who are saved from the second death.
From your original post, the ensuing discussion has punctuated the fact that a human response to evil is often bogged down by our entanglements to religious affiliations. Thus, not only is secular government ineffective in stopping terrorism, so is organized Christianity seemingly ineffective in either transforming government or becoming a cohesive unit intent on halting evil, including stopping the most vulnerable in society from being neglected or killed!
It's interesting to analyze the global response... you are right that most countries and individuals have passive or reactionary suggestions. A further step in security is the U.S. limited travel ban, akin to a move toward isolationism. Most of us professed Christians already follow an isolationist course by not getting involved... except by praying about it.
Thank you for starting this discussion and for reminding us that we must do more to prepare for the spiritual realm of battle... and for being the hands and feet of Christ where we allow Him to lead us.
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This is not what the Catholic Church teaches. At all.