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CBN.com – The following are excerpts taken from a statement issued by Osama bin Laden's spokesman.
Abu Ghaith opened with a line from the Koran instructing Muslims not to take Jews and Christians as their leaders, saying that would make them part of them.
Allah (Islamic god) says fight, for the sake of Allah and to uphold the name of Allah.
The American interests are everywhere all over the world. Every Muslim has to play his real and true role to uphold his religion and his nation in fighting, and Jihad is a duty.
I want to talk on another point, that those youths who did what they did and destroyed America with their airplanes did a good deed. They have moved the battle into the heart of America. America must know that the battle will not leave its land, Allah willing, until America leaves our land, until it stops supporting Israel, until it stops the blockade against Iraq. The Americans have opened a door that will never be closed. (JP)
PRAYER OF CHRISTIANS
"He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." (Revelation 7 & 8)
Pray to the one who has the key of David, Yeshua, and that He will shut the door of terrorism in our lands.
FAST FACTS
TRUTHS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
Jesus said, "They will know you are Christians by your love.". How can you love someone who belongs to a religion whose goal is to kill and forcibly convert Christians? Simple, be like Christ Himself. He loved the very people who took His life.
Start by agreeing with a Muslim on basic concepts: Yes, Allah is the god of Islam, just not the Lord God of the Bible; sure Mohammed is Allah's prophet, but not a prophet of the Christian faith, and the Koran are the scriptures of Islam, but Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
Here are 10 things you should know about the Christian faith and Islam that will help you effectively share the Lord Jesus Christ with Muslims. Start by agreeing on the authority of scripture [point #1] and then you can quote passages from the Bible when witnessing to a Muslim.
1 - Muslims believe that the Bible is corrupted
Muslims have been taught that God took the real Scriptures away because Jews attempted to manipulate the content for their own interest. They believe God then provided humanity with the Koran as the true Word of God. This helps explain Muslim hostility to Christianity and why they don't read the Bible.
However, the Koran itself quotes Old and New Testament truths and the belief in and reverence for the Christian Bible is an article of Muslim faith. The Bible itself is one of the most reliable books written in history.
The fact is that Christians today possess early accurate copies of the Bible and these agree in all essentials with the Bible translations we have today. It was not corrupted either before Mohammed's time or since and Mohammed himself clearly stated that the Bible was the Word of God, "revealed to you from your Lord."
2 - The Koran Reveals That Allah Is Lower Than His Creation
Twenty-four times in the Koran Allah swears by something other than himself: the angels, the winds, a mountain, a star, the sky, the sun and so on.. It is sort of like going to court as a witness and instead of swearing on the Bible or even the Koran, you would swear to tell the truth based on the authority of say, a fig tree or the earth. In the Bible, the Lord God swears by Himself, the I Am.
3 - Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God
Yet, the Koran actually asserts that Jesus had the ability to create the attribute that belongs to God alone.
"O People of the Book! commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah anything but the truth. Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, was a Messenger of Allah, and His Word and a Spirit from Him." [Quran 4:171]
4 - Muslims deny that Jesus was crucified or was resurrected from the dead
The Bible teaches that Jesus was crucified, not out of any weakness, but to save people from destruction and provide forgiveness for sin. Old Testament prophecy [Isaiah 53] 1,000 years before Jesus' crucifixion proves that it was in God's plan, not an incidental event. Even the Koran speaks about three prominent days in the life of Jesus:
"Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive." [Surat Maryam 19:33 MPT]
The Bible mentions about 500 eyewitnesses who saw the risen Jesus. [Acts 2:22-24]
5 - Islam believes it is the only true religion.
Islam teaches that it is the only true religion. The Koran commands Muslims to battle with believers in other religions.
"Fight People of the Book (Christians and Jews), who do not accept the religion of the truth (Islam), until they pay tribute (penalty tax) by hand, being inferior." Surah 9:29.
6 - Islam blocks the way for Muslims to convert to other religions
Muslims have never been given the right to convert. If they do, they can be punished according to the apostasy rule, which states that such a person should be punished by death.
Mohammed said "Whoever changes his religion, kill him." (Al Buhkari Vol.
9:57)
Resisting Islam is met by amputation:
"punished by death, crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet." (Surah 5:33)
The Bible, however, in sharp contrast, teaches believers to "go into all the world and preach the good news of salvation and make disciples of all peoples." (Matt 28: 18-20) Christians are even expected to be persecuted and to die for this cause. (Matthew 5:11-12)
However, many Muslim countries are tolerant of Christians and allow churches and other expressions of Christianity to exist. We hear in the press and media about all the extreme incidents of intolerance but many Muslim peoples and countries are tolerant and helpful to Christians.
7 - Christianity is based on faith not works
The Bible teaches that sinful humans can only approach a holy and just God through the provision of a substitionary sacrifice in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus and a confession of his Lordship, we come into a personal relationship with the loving God of the universe
"The word of faith is this: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10: 8-10
"For by grace are you saved through faith, and it is not of yourselves, not of works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9
8 - The Bible teaches about the God of love who gives joy and peace
These concepts are completely unreal to Muslims. There is no sense of intimacy, just a God who is a judge and measures out rewards or punishments. Muslims view God as transcendent, a being we cannot really belong to or call, "Abba! Father!" [Galatians 4:6]
"But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us." [Romans 5:8]
9 - The Bible teaches salvation by grace
Islam openly confesses salvation by works. The concept of grace and of sin and the need for divine redemption is entirely absent from Islamic theology. It makes God into an object of human manipulation and control: I can manipulate God by doing what He wants, then in turn He will let you do what you want.
"For by grace are you saved through faith, and it is not of yourselves, not of works, so that no man can boast." [Ephesians 2: 8,9]
10 - The Bible teaches that men and women are equal before God
Christianity allows for women to have an equal place before God: "there is neither male nor female before him." Jesus said there is no marriage in heaven. Nowhere, does the Bible condone any form of mental or physical cruelty to women, but considers marriage a high and holy institution.
Islam allows men to marry up to four wives at a time, and permits verbal divorce. However, the vast majority of Muslim men only have one wife.
"As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them, refuse to share their beds, beat them..." (Surah 4:34)
A final thought: Begin by praying and asking God to give you His love for the lost and unsaved. Start witnessing and sharing right where you are: to a neighbor, a co-worker, and a family member. Then seek out Muslim businesses and organizations in your area. Look for ways to befriend them and use their services in your community. The Lord will give you opportunities to become friends. Finally, read more. Go to your local Christian bookstore or church library and get books on witnessing in general and witnessing to Muslims. The Lord Bless you and multiply your efforts.
Read more of Scott's commentaries.
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