The Clear Distinctions

The Pope notes the differences between the Christian believe that God is not served by violence and the resurgent belief of the terrorists that God seeks to impose his will by blood and horror. As he points out, the difference is as old as Byzantium.

I differ slightly, since the Bible tells us that God commanded Moses and his successors to do what we today consider atrocities among the Canaanites. I would say that God is able to tell his followers when to be peaceful, when to submit and when to fight. His concern was that the Israelites not be led astray by mixing with the inhabitants of Canaan, who were very wicked, practicing human sacrifice, ritual fornication and idolatry.

I can't say why God would order the complete destruction of these cities including men, women and children, but if Mohammed was the last prophet, it seems highly presumptuous for modern Muslims to judge matters which only God can clarify. Is the rule that there is no compulsion in religion or that Muslims are obligated to kill all infidels, even using suicide bombs? There are Imams on both sides. It seems to me that anyone who knows God's will now, must be a prophet, and that would be blasphemous to Muslims. The terrorists speak of visions and dreams, but if Mohammed was the final prophet, where are these coming from?

Furthermore, Jihad is supposed to only be invoked in defense of Islam. The U.S. wasn't antagonistic to Islam. In fact, we considered it to be entitled to tolerance and respect, but bin Laden proclaimed that they were defending it against the Israelis and the Great Satan. It excited the pride to think of oneself as doing the work of Saladin, as serving God with the sword and driving the Infidels out of the Holy Lands. They fail to remember the centuries of war with the West which left Islamic lands without the wealth and culture they had enjoyed at the height of the Ottoman empire. Defeat after defeat drove them to give up the dream of world-wide empire and conversion through force.

In any event, it's a mistake to believe that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. I suspect that the true God is different from both of their conceptions. The divide between us and the terrorists cannot be resolved so long as they seek to impose their totalitarian rule over everyone. It is Lucifer's dream, once again, to deprive mankind of its freedom of choice, God's gift, in spite of the illogic of a judgement of the lives of people who were forced to be good at the point of a gun.

Christ's message is love, repentance and forgiveness. We like the love and forgiveness, but repentance is hard, and becoming godly like Jesus is harder. The concept of repentance has no meaning without a law, justice and punishment for sin. Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it. Yet, if we fail to follow his teachings wholeheartedly, we will be among those who will be unable to abide the day of his coming. When he appears as he is, his glory will cause the mountains to melt and flow. Only those who are transfigured through righteouness will be able to live through it.