Paradoxically, hatred and tolerance are teaming up to take eternal life from Muslim people. Jesus said - and we
say it with tears - "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see
life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). In other words, nominal Christians, devoted Muslims, pious
Hindus, faithful Buddhists, orthodox Jews, devout animists, sincere agnostics, secular atheists - everyone who
does not hold fast to Jesus Christ as the supremely valuable Son of God and Savior - will
perish and not have eternal life. "He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not
life" (1 John 5:12).
Whatever obscures this message for Muslim people obstructs their way to eternal life. For them Christ is a
prophet, but not the divine Son of God who said, "Before Abraham was, I
am" (John 8:58). For Muslims Jesus is
not the Savior who died for their sins and said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Unless Muslims - and all others who deny Christ's deity - hear and embrace the
good news that "the fullness of deity" dwells in Jesus (Colossians 2:9), they will be without eternal hope. This
has always been true, but today things are different. Two seemingly opposite forces gather to block the gospel
from Muslim minds.
First, there is the fire of hatred, fanned by the flames of September 11. Second, there is a twisted tolerance fed
by the fear of man.
My son called me from Chicago to say that one of his Muslim friends had been beaten on the street. No reason.
He just looked like one of "them." The spirit of revenge against Muslims in our nation these days is indiscriminate.
Rage boils just beneath the surface. This is not the way of Christ. He calls his people to suffer for the sake of
love, not seethe with the fire of hate. "Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in
his steps. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted
to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:21-23).
Hatred from Christians keeps Muslims from seeing the superior worth of Jesus Christ. The spirit of revenge
sends the false signal that Christ is not an all-sufficient, all-satisfying Savior. We justify our own little jihad, and
seek our satisfaction by injuring the adversary. But true Christians treasure Jesus above vengeance, and do not
rob Muslim people of truth and hope in this way. Christians would rather suffer to show the supreme worth of
Christ. They crucify the craving of hate in their own hearts. They long for Muslims to see Jesus for who he really
is. They know that eternal life is at stake - for both.
In reaction against indiscriminate hate there is now a stampede to pluralism and twisted tolerance. If Muslims
are hated, then let us call ecumenical gatherings, and let us all praise the virtues of Islam, and the wisdom of
Allah and the goodness of Mohammed. But let no one speak the intolerable and indispensable truth that Jesus is
the only way to God.
Once upon a time tolerance was the power that kept lovers of competing faiths from killing each other. It was
the principle that put freedom above forced conversion. It was rooted in the truth that coerced conviction is no
conviction. But now the new twisted tolerance denies that there are any competing faiths; they only complement
each other. It denounces not only the effort to force conversions, but the very idea that any conversion may be
necessary for eternal life. It holds the conviction that no religious conviction should claim superiority over another.
When Muslims are protected from hate with this "tolerance," they are cut off from eternal life. And what
promises deliverance proves to be death. If, in the name of this new tolerance, we are forbidden to say of
Jesus, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we
must be saved" (Acts 4:12), then eternal life is concealed and we are cruel.
Therefore let us open the door of life for all Muslim people by renouncing hate, showing love, conquering fear,
commending the King of the universe, Jesus Christ, and suffering willingly, if we must.
Praying with you for a stunning breakthrough,
John Piper
"Christianity is Life, Islam is Death"
Berbers Embrace Christianity
By Charles Colson
Since the early 1990s, an estimated 100,000 Algerians have died in a
civil war that pits the Algerian government against Islamic extremists.
The extremists have targeted not only the government and the military,
but also anyone expressing what they call "non-Islamic" views, like
journalists and foreigners.
As you might expect, at the top of their list of targets is Algeria's
Christian community. In 1996, seven Trappist monks were kidnapped and
then beheaded by Islamic militants, an act that Pope John Paul II called
"despicable." Less than three months later, as if to emphasize their
disregard for world and Christian opinion, they assassinated the
Catholic Bishop of Oran.
All of this is part of their promise to "eliminate" all "Jews,
Christians" and other non-Muslims from Algeria.
You would think that such a campaign would deter conversion to
Christianity, but reports out of Algeria suggest just the opposite.
Since the beginning of recorded history, a people called the Berbers
have lived in North Africa. The Berbers, who are referred to in ancient
Egyptian records, were originally pagans, but many of them eventually
embraced Christianity in the first centuries after Christ as the Gospel
spread across Roman North Africa.
Then, in the seventh century, the Muslim army conquered North Africa.
Within a century, the Christian presence there, a presence that produced
theologians like Saint Augustine, disappeared. The Berbers, like nearly
everyone else in North Africa, became Muslims.
Now that's beginning to change. A recent issue of MIDDLE EAST QUARTERLY
tells us "people of all ages are converting to Christianity" in Kabylie, the
heart of Berber culture. Despite obstacles that forced pastors to
work in "absolute secrecy," "the number of [Berbers] who have embraced
Christianity has grown rapidly."
What lies behind this spate of conversions? Well, the media plays a
role. The magazine reports that radio broadcasts originating in France
have played "an important role in the legitimization of Christian
doctrines."
But the conversions also point to a profound dissatisfaction with Islam
among Berbers. The QUARTERLY cites the deterioration of the "image of
Islam" as a factor in "the rise of conversions to Christianity."
Berbers, you see, have seen the atrocities committed in the name of
Islam in their own communities, and they had to ask the question that
many Westerners don't dare ask: Does the problem lie with extremists, or
is the problem inherent in Islam itself?
The Berbers have seen the impact of Islam on the lives of ordinary
people, especially women, and they have summed up the difference between
the two faiths in startling fashion: "Christianity is life; Islam is
death." These aren't my words; they are the words of numerous Berber
converts.
These Berber conversions should serve as a reminder to pray for Muslims.
Islamist extremists are causing Muslims to rethink what they believe. As
a result conversions to Christianity are occurring in North Africa,
Iran, and elsewhere.
Christianity's message of God's love and grace through the cross stands
in such marked contrast to Islam that people are choosing -- they're
choosing life over death. |
