The road ahead - we are the ones who need to carry the message

Submitted by Maggie4Life (Australia), Sep 27, 2006 at 02:42

Last night I was at my regular Scripture study, where I am doing St. Paul's letter to the Romans. We have reached one of the most controversial chapters in that letter (chapter 3). The subject matter of St. Paul's letter, plus material found in the Wisdom Books is very relevant in how we understand the present crisis. We are in a crisis because we are involved in an undeclared war on one side. The western countries have not acknowledged that Jihad means war, not just holy war, and definitely not "holy" the way that a Christian understands the word holy.

During the discussion, I made some veiled comments regarding the behaviour of the Islamics referencing their eternal destination. One of the participants is under the impression that even if these dogs commit murder-suicide, they could be judged worthy of going to heaven depending upon the intentions of their heart.

My personal reaction to this particular understanding is anything but tolerant these days. I guess I am becoming more strident since the personal attack on Pope Benedict. As I see it, when Christians are involved in dialogue with Muslims, there is always the possibility that the Muslims are indulging in double talk. I do think that we are beginning to see ample evidence that there is indulgence in double talk. In fact I see it on this list, as well as on Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch.

My personal view happens to be that such a view is in fact incompatible with all of the teachings about salvation in the Scripture. The Wisdom literature, plus the Psalms state categorically that the wicked will be punished. In discussing this subject with a priest this morning, he seemed to support the notion that God will look at the intentions of these people, and especially the state of the heart. Perhaps I am judging too much, because the photographs that I have seen show me people who are ugly from the inside out. Those ugly faces of men and women chanting their obscenities regarding Christians, Jesus, and especially Pope Benedict indicated to me that these are people that are not inclined towards God. I must clarify here that my thoughts are not to be taken in the most general way, because my thoughts are related to the Islamo-facists, and not to the good Muslims who do in fact seek God (yes, they do exist, and there are some who are regular readers on this site).

Putting aside my own personal reactions, I have to admit that there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to educate our friends and colleagues about the hidden dangers of Islamofacism. The person who made the remark is not alone and that is downright scarey to me. I look at this from the point of view that the persecuted need some form of comfort, and from Scripture we read about the way in which the Hebrew sought comfort with God. They also believed that those who would lie in wait, determined to trap and kill them would get a just reward in eternity. Most people overlook this Wisdom literature but for the non-Catholic, it really is worthwhile making the effort to have a read of the Book of Wisdom, and then Proverbs. If we did not think that God's justice involved punishing those who are wicked towards them, then what would be the point of believing in God, and that we can enter into Heaven in the after life.

We need to spend more time spreading the Gospel message. At the present time, the Islamofacists do seem to have the upper hand because in countries where there is Sharia, no one is allowed to read the Old Testament, or the New Testament (I am breaking this up to indicate the Jewish and Christian perspective). The Islamofacists, through their reading of the Koran are more or less aware of some of the Christian beliefs, however, their knowledge is marred by the fact that Mohammed was influenced by a Christian heresy, plus Jewish thought. He was also influenced the practice of paganism that continued to flourish during the life of Mohammed. This is why Islam is such a mixture of religious practices. We can point to their belief system, especially to Ramadan, and point to the way that many take fasting very seriously. If you compare that to the Catholic season of Lent, plus the way in which the usual Protestant suspects continue to tell lies about Lent and Easter, it becomes obvious that Muslims do attempt to follow the laws of God that are written in their hearts. However, the Islamofacists see Ramadan as an opportunity to cause more mayhem, and to inflict harm upon others.

In other words, if we understood the practices of Ramadan as well as say the season of Lent, then we should have a talking point when confronting Muslims. We could compare these two periods of fasting and alms giving, The Jews also periods of fasting, and of alms giving. Therefore we do have a similarity that needs further exploration. My aim here is to suggest that we take the time to learn, not for the sake of conversion, but for the purpose of rebuttal.

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