A Small Rant
Hebrews 12:14 – Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
So I was driving home today and heard a few different stories on the radio. The first was about the Westboro Baptist Church and some of their latest “events of faith.” I went to one of their websites and they have statistics, bragging about their numbers. Here are a few:
50,538 pickets have been conducted by this church
463 the number of people God has cast into hell since you loaded this page
0 nanoseconds of sleep that they will lose over your opinions and feelings
6714 Soldiers that God has killed in Iraq or Afghanistan
The next story I heard was about Al Queda and their well-read magazine, Inspire. In most of their magazine issues they share how to be a better terrorist by sharing bomb-making tips or other stuff like that. In their latest issue, however, they spent their time bragging about the Boston bombings and the murder in London. Another thing they wrote about in this latest issue is praise for Allah orchestrating the destruction in Oklahoma.
To say that both of these groups anger me is an understatement.
Both groups hold the Bible in high regard. The Westboro Baptist Church should claim the Bible as their inspired and inerrant love letter from the Lord. Islam holds the Bible in high regard as well, claiming almost all of the tenets of it except for that of the deity of Christ.
So here is my question?
Who removed Hebrews 12:14 out of their faiths? Or how about Romans 12:18? Or Matthew 5:9? 2 Corinthians 13:11? Mark 9:50? Luke 6:27? Romans 12:17? 1 Corinthians 7:15? James 3:18?
But what is scary about this is just how closely those two groups are connected. They both preach a gospel of hatred and fear.
Islam, as a matter of fact, has over 109 verses that call Muslims to war with unbelievers. The Qur’an gives specific directions to kill all infidels and chop off their heads or body parts. Any Muslim that does not join the fight is called a hypocrite and warned that Allah will send them to hell if they don’t join in.
Here are a couple of the Qur’an’s views on violence:
2:216 – Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.
3:151 – Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority
8:12 – I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them
Those are only a couple of the verses that proclaim Muslim violence.
Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is the God of Peace. He even calls us to live in peace. So this makes what Muslims are doing AND what Westboro Baptist Church is doing as wrong and of satan.
You can’t pick and choose which Bible verses you are going to follow. You must accept them all or Christianity is mocked. God will not be mocked!
So, Fred, how should we treat Muslims or people from Westboro Baptist? With love and peace. Be their friends. It is not up to us to condemn anyone for their beliefs. It is up to us to share our testimony. We simply need to show the love that Christ has given us. We are not to accept evil (yes, I believe that homosexuality is a sin and I believe that those in other religions will go to hell) but we are not to send those to hell who have differing viewpoints. We are to simply love them and show them how our beliefs lead to a joyful heart.
Come to think of it, this would be a great way to treat each and every person we come in contact with.
Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
boyradd 