"Be
not afraid or dismayed by reason of this great multitude for the battle
is not yours but God's" (2nd Chronicles 20v15)
Dear praying friends,
Paul wrote “ the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” [2 Timothy 4:3] and you
will read clear examples of that prophecy coming to pass in our day. Whether ‘they’
be ‘trendy-photographers’ at a ‘Christian’ youth event, or ‘church-growth
experts’ and ‘innovative philosophers’ or ‘gospel-denying’ supposedly
‘Christian’ TV presenters or ‘ecumenical-evangelists’ or
‘religiously-misguided’ politicians, ‘they’ all share one thing in
common, an ignorance of Biblical, Christian “doctrine”. During this past
summer, Margaret and I received the gift of a signed Study Bible and in an
article at the front entitled ‘How We Got The Bible’, the closing
section, ‘The Bible’, reads as follows – ‘This book contains the mind
of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the
happiness of believers. Its doctrine is holy, its precepts are binding, its
histories are true and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe
it to be saved, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you,
food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveller’s map, the
pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s
charter. Here heaven is open and the gates of hell are disclosed. Christ is the
grand subject, our good its design and the glory of God its end. It should fill
the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently and
prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul and a river of
pleasure. It is given to you here in this life and will be opened at the
judgment and is established forever. It involves the highest responsibility,
will reward the greatest labour and condemn all who trifle with its contents’. May
we all truly treasure it in 2007 [DV].
Your servant for Christ
CECIL ANDREWS
‘SUMMER MADNESS’ and BRIAN McLAREN
I
mentioned very briefly on the front page of our September newsletter that I had
been alerted to an invitation issued to Brian McLaren by ‘Summer
Madness’ to be one of their guest speakers at their 20th
anniversary gathering for young Christians, scheduled for June/July 2007 [DV]. Brian
McLaren favourably endorsed Steve Chalke’s book ‘The Lost Message of
Jesus’ with these words ‘The Jesus introduced by Steve in these
pages sounds like someone who can truly save us from our trouble’. The
biblical reality is of course exactly the opposite because, as you will read
later on page 9, Steve Chalke wrenched the heart out of the Gospel of Christ,
that is the power of God unto salvation, by rejecting the truth of ‘penal
substitution’ and he described such a view of Christ’s death on the
Cross as equating to ‘cosmic child abuse’ – an absolutely
blasphemous statement! Brian McLaren has likewise rejected ‘penal
substitution’ with the equally blasphemous description of it being akin
to ‘divine child abuse’.
By way of
sounding a ‘Take Heed’ warning I posted quite a lengthy article to our
website that quoted from and directed people to a number of reports analysing
the false and worrying teachings and views of Brian McLaren. The authors
of these reports included a number of men who have been to Northern Ireland in
recent years at the invitation of ‘Take Heed’ including Gary Gilley,
Richard Bennett [former RC priest], Mike Gendron [former RC] and Roger Oakland.
Not long
after the posting of the article to our website I was informed by a Christian
friend of a website organised by someone going under the ‘name’ of TATCH [in
reality a David Acheson I have been led to believe] that
had been advertising the planned ‘Summer Madness’ 2007 20th
anniversary event. The advert took the form of a birthday cake with lit candles
and below the cake were the names of the invited guest speakers including Brian
Mclaren and Bart Campolo [son of Tony]. However, with the
posting of our warning article, this website had added after the names of the
guest speakers - 'All come highly
recommended by Pharisee Cecil Andrews'.
My attention was also drawn to a ‘blog’ site that had
invited comments/discussion about the warning article on our own website. There
was a mixture of critical and favourable comments posted including one by TATCH himself on 27 July – part of his posting read –
‘Cecil does NOT
have the right, even mentally, to publicly whitewash, even excommunicate a
person who offers a Christian faith perspective different to his own. In a
wider context Cecil should have the maturity to know Brian is his brother and
NOT his enemy!’
Very
briefly let me respond by saying that I have EVERY right according to scripture
to comment publicly on the views of anyone who speaks/writes publicly on
‘things Christian’ – that right is clear in 1
John 4:1 “Believe not every spirit but test the spirits whether they are of God
because many false prophets are gone out into the world”. As for Brian being my ‘brother’
- I say without
any fear of contradiction that in the light of scriptures such as Galatians 1:6-9 he is preaching ‘another
gospel’ and it
is not I who ‘excommunicates’
him but rather
Almighty God who places His excommunicating “anathema”
upon him.
Although
TATCH stated that his posting of 27 July
would be his ‘final
word’, someone
responded to his posting and so he did add another posting later that day part of which read –
I’m yawing…still
yawing…and still I’m yawing and it’s not even midday…and Cecil Andrews has been
declared God…FunDaMental you’re absolutely right…and now I’m laughing…I’m still
laughing…thanks for the humour
One of
those who posted favourable comments about our article used the ‘name’ of FunDaMental and so TATCH subsequently changed the added
words on the advert on his website from 'All come
highly recommended by Pharisee Cecil Andrews' to 'Brian
McLaren comes highly recommended by Cecil Andrews, seconded by FunDaMental on
his right hand and the Holy Bible on his left. Guys watch those flames'.
I want now to reproduce some emails that I personally sent to the ‘Summer
Madness’ office but to which I have
received absolutely no response.
Email sent by
Cecil to ‘Summer Madness’ on 24 July 2006
Dear Sirs,
I recently posted an analysis of the
disturbing 'theological' views of Brian McLaren and also of others holding
equally disturbing theological positions and with whom he [Brian McLaren]
is friendly - the analysis which can be viewed on…stemmed from the Internet
advert announcing some of the invited speakers for Summer Madness 2007 on… I
have now been alerted to a recent 'addition' to this Internet advert couched in
these words -
'All come highly recommended by Pharisee Cecil
Andrews'
The intended slur
against me personally of 'Pharisee' does
not bother me in the least apart from concern for the spiritual well-being of
the one who coined it, but the statement 'All
come highly recommended by ...Cecil Andrews' is quite simply A LIE and in the circumstances I
would ask you, for the sake of honesty and integrity all round, to remove
this erroneous assertion.
I think it would serve whoever penned
and placed this 'addition' to be like the Bereans of Acts 17:10-11 and take the
time to carefully check out what is contained in this article with what is
found in God's Word - it would be to the betterment of their own spiritual
understanding and perhaps hopefully to the protection of vulnerable young
people who are going to be exposed to the rambling heresies of Brian McLaren.
I await hearing from you.
Your servant for Christ
Cecil Andrews
1 Corinthians 12:10
'to another discerning of spirits' -
the following comments are by Pastor John MacArthur in his Study
Bible
'Satan is a great
deceiver [John 8:44] and his demons counterfeit God's message and work.
Christians with the gift of discernment have the God-given ability to recognise
lying spirits and to identify deceptive and erroneous doctrine...Though its
operation has changed since Apostolic times because of the completion of
Scripture it is still essential to have people in the church who are
discerning. They are the guardians, the watchmen who protect the church from
demonic lies, false doctrines, perverted cults and fleshly elements. As it
requires diligent study of the Word to exercise gifts...so it does with
discernment'.
I commend
these thoughts to you.
Email sent by
Cecil to ‘Summer Madness’ on 27 July 2006
Dear Sirs,
This is just a follow-on from my email
to you of 24 July and in relation to which I hope to receive a reply from you.
I mentioned the erroneous and misleading statement that had been posted to the
advert for Summer Madness 2007 in the following words on…
'All come highly
recommended by Pharisee Cecil Andrews'
This 'LIE' has now been replaced by a
further ‘LIE’ in
these words -
'Brian
McLaren comes highly recommended by Cecil Andrews,
seconded by
FunDaMental on his right hand and the
Holy Bible on his left. Guys watch those
flames'.
I'm not quite sure what
your relationship to or influence upon this website is but I suspect you would,
if so moved, be able to exert some influence upon TATCH to consider
afresh what he is posting to it in the name of Summer Madness. I also
think that what I mentioned in my earlier email, namely about 'concern for the spiritual well-being of the one who
coined it [now them]' is concern well justified.
Your servant for Christ
Cecil Andrews
Email sent by
Cecil to ‘Summer Madness’ on 1 September 2006
Dear Sirs,
I refer to my 2 previous
emails to you of 24 & 27 July 2006 and having now returned from holidays I
am pleased to note that the inaccurate comments have been removed from the
website in question. In the absence thus far of any response from you to my 2
emails I am not sure whether or not you exercised any influence in having
these remarks removed - if you did then I would like to say to you a sincere 'thank
you'.
For the sake of factual accuracy I
would appreciate a response from you on the following -
is TATCH, on whose website the inaccurate comments were added to
his advert for the planned 2007 'Summer Madness' event, is he the/an
official/accredited photographer for the annual 'Summer Madness' event or is
he simply an enthusiastic, freelance photographer with a zeal for the
event? I await hearing from you on this.
In closing I would, as a servant of
Christ who is "the truth" and Whose Word "is truth", ask
you to rescind your invite to Brian McLaren, as he is clearly one
who appears to elevate the inability on his part to understand God's "truth" to the level of a
pious virtue. Whilst Peter did say of some of Paul's writings that they
contained "some things hard to be
understood" [2 Peter 3:16] he did not say that they were 'impossible' to be understood. True
believers are indwelt by He who is "the
Spirit of truth" [John 14:17] and Christ promised, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed. And YE SHALL KNOW the truth and the truth shall make you
free" [John 8:31-32]. There is a precedent for a Christian
event withdrawing its invite to Brian McLaren because of his heretical views
and teaching as the following report shows –
|
McLaren Withdrawn From Evangelism Conference Lineup
|
|
Release Date: 18 February 2005
|
LOUISVILLE – The Kentucky Baptist Convention has withdrawn its invitation to
pastor and author Brian McLaren to speak at its upcoming Kentucky
Evangelism Conference. McLaren, pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in
Spencerville, Md., was to have spoken at the Tuesday morning session of the
conference to be held Feb. 28th-March 1st at Valley View Baptist Church in
Louisville. Dr. Bill Mackey, KBC executive director, and Dan Garland, Church
Development and Evangelism Team leader, said they made the decision after
reviewing McLaren’s position on salvation...
Garland,
who had invited McLaren to speak more than a year ago, agreed, saying that reading
McLaren’s most recent book, ‘A Generous Orthodoxy’, led him to
reconsider. In the book, McLaren says that while there is no assurance that
there is salvation to be found outside of Jesus, Christians should not jump to
the conclusion that Jesus is the only way to salvation.
"I
must add, though, that I don't believe making disciples
must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be
advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of
Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish contexts,” McLaren
says in the book.
Your servant for Christ
Cecil Andrews
'Take Heed' Ministries
Email sent by
Cecil to ‘Summer Madness’ on 9 September 2006
Dear Sirs,
I refer to my email to you of 1
September and whilst I do not automatically expect an early or indeed
necessarily any response from you in relation to my request to you to rescind
your invitation to Brian McLaren for Summer Madness 2007 I would respectfully
request an early response to the following portion of my earlier email -
‘For the sake of factual accuracy I
would appreciate a response from you on the following - is TATCH,
on whose website the inaccurate comments were added to his advert for the planned
2007 'Summer Madness' event, is he the/an official/accredited photographer
for the annual 'Summer Madness' event or is he simply an enthusiastic,
freelance photographer with a zeal for the event?’
I hope to hear from you.
Your servant for Christ
Cecil Andrews
'Take Heed' Ministries
On
15/9/06 I phoned the ‘Summer Madness’ office and asked to speak to John McKee,
one of the main organisers of ‘Summer Madness’. He had gone into a meeting
about 10 minutes earlier so my details were taken for him to phone me back
later. He has not yet phoned back and no responses to my emails have been
received.
In his
latest book, ‘This little Church stayed home’ [a sequel to his earlier
excellent book ‘This little Church went to market’] Pastor Gary
Gilley gives further helpful understandings of and warnings against both
Rick Warren’s ‘Purpose Driven’ teachings and Brian McLaren’s ‘Emerging
Church’ heresies.
In chapter
10, which is titled ‘The Purpose Driven Life: An
Evaluation’ Pastor Gilley writes in his ‘Summary’ – ‘To purposely
ignore [Cecil’s comment - As Rick Warren regularly does] the
proper translation of a passage and insert one
that has no basis in the original languages [Cecil’s
comment – As Rick Warren does by using regularly Eugene Peterson’s unreliable
paraphrase called “The Message”] in order to undergird a
particular point of view is about the most dangerous thing that I can imagine.
The only thing more concerning would be to discover large segments of the [professing]
evangelical community being incapable of discerning this
kind of problem and not caring’ [Cecil’s comment – This is
the sad reality as evidenced by the many supposed evangelical churches pursuing
’40 days of purpose’ and treating harshly those with discernment who might
raise any voice of concern or protest].
In chapter
14, which is titled ‘The Challenge of the Emergent
Church: Part 1’ Pastor Gilley quotes Brian McLaren who in his book ‘A
Generous Orthodoxy’ wrote ‘To be a Christian in a generously orthodox
way is not to claim to have truth captured, stuffed and mounted on the wall’. [Cecil’s
comment – The Lord Himself said to those who would believe on Him “If ye
continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the
truth and the truth shall make you free” John 8:31-32]. Pastor
Gilley’s response to this statement by McLaren reads – ‘This is almost a
complete capitulation to postmodernity’s concept of truth’. Earlier in his book Pastor Gilley defined
‘postmodernity’ as follows ‘at the hub of this philosophy…is the issue
of truth…To the postmodernist truth is not found…it is created. Absolute truth
is a fable’.
The
planned 20th birthday of ‘Summer Madness’ in 2007 is
an event that faithful Christians, parents and children, should avoid as the
main speaker, Brian McLaren, by his own writings, fails ‘the test’ of 2
John 9-11 where we read "Whosoever
transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker
of his evil deeds”.
‘This little Church stayed
home’
by Pastor Gary
Gilley
This
book can be ordered from us by sending a payment of
£7.50
[this includes UK p&p] to ‘Take
Heed’ Publications, PO Box 13, Ballynahinch, Co Down, BT24 8AL, Northern
Ireland.
‘Defending My Father’s Wrath’
June 14, 2006 – John Piper
There are cultural forces at work inside and outside the church that
make me eager to defend my Father’s wrath against me before I was adopted. He
does not need my defence. But I believe He would be honoured by it. And He
commanded us, “Honour thy father” (Exodus 20:12). I write this from
Cambridge, England, and my indignation about the assault on my Father is
British-born. The calumny I have in mind is the following paragraph from a
popular British writer:
‘The fact is that the cross isn’t a form of cosmic child abuse—a
vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed.
Understandably, both people inside and outside of the Church have found this
twisted version of events morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith. Deeper
than that, however, is that such a concept stands in total contradiction to the
statement: "God is love". If the cross is a personal act of violence
perpetrated by God towards humankind but borne by his Son, then it makes a
mockery of Jesus’ own teaching to love your enemies and to refuse to repay evil
with evil’
(Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The
Lost Message of Jesus, pp. 182-183).
This is breathtaking coming from a professing Christian. On
behalf of my Father in heaven I would like to bear witness to the truth that
before He adopted me His terrible wrath was upon me. Jesus said, “He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; he that believeth not the Son
. . . the wrath of God abideth on him”
(John 3:36). Wrath remains on us as
long as there is no faith in Jesus. Paul puts it like this: We “were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3). My very
nature made me worthy of wrath. My destiny was to endure “flaming fire”
and “vengeance on them . . . that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. . . [and who] shall be punished with everlasting destruction” (2
Thessalonians 1:8-9). I was not a son of God. God was not my Father. He was
my judge and executioner. I was a “son of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).
I was dead in trespasses and sins. And the sentence of my Judge was clear and
terrifying: “Because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons
of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6). There was only one hope for me—that the
infinite wisdom of God might make a way for the love of God to satisfy the
wrath of God so that I might become a son of God.
This is exactly what happened, and I will sing of it forever.
After saying that I was by nature a child of wrath, Paul says, “But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins hath made us alive together with Christ [by grace ye are saved]”
(Ephesians 2:4-5). “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent
forth his Son . . . to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). God sent his Son to
rescue me from His wrath and make me His child.
How did he do it? He did it in the way Steve Chalke
slanderously calls “cosmic child abuse.” God’s Son bore God’s
curse in my place. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a
curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone that hangeth on
a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). If people in the twenty-first century find this
greatest act of love “morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith,” it
was not different in Paul’s day. “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the
Jews a stumbling block and unto
the Gentiles foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23).
But for those who are called by God and believe in Jesus, this
is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). This
is my life. This is the only way God could become my Father. Now that His wrath
no longer rests on me (John 3:36), He has sent the Spirit of sonship
flooding into my heart crying Abba Father (Romans 8:15). Therefore, I
pray, “Please know, heavenly Father, that I thank you with all my heart, and
that I measure your love for me by the magnitude of the wrath I deserved and
the wonder of your mercy by putting Christ in my place”.
By including
this article by John Piper it should not be construed that this is a blanket
endorsement by ‘Take Heed’ of all that he writes or does by way of ministry – I
believe there are areas that currently do give rise for some
concern such
as his recent willingness to afford a platform to Mark Driscoll
[a great ‘fan’ of the Roman Catholic mystic Thomas
Merton].
However,
following ‘Take Heed’s’ own defence of ‘penal substitution’ due to the publicly
expressed attack upon it and denial of it by Steve Chalke and Brian McLaren I
felt this article by John Piper would be helpful in that context.
The
intoxicating, ecumenical ‘spirit’ of the
Alpha Course
Herewith is an article that appeared in the Sunday Mirror of 24
September 2006 in the Republic of Ireland. A rightly concerned brother in
Christ sent it to me.
‘Guinness Is
God For You by Naomi McElroy
Fancy a pint with your prayers? Four denominations have joined
forces to bring people back to Jesus by holding a gospel night – in a PUB. Now
lucky locals can enjoy a swift one while learning about the Lord. Presbyterian
Minister, William Hayes explains: “It’s called The Alpha Course, it’s a
basic introduction to Christianity. We decided to hold it in the pub because we
thought people might be less intimidated in a pub than in a church. After all
some of them mightn’t have been inside a church in years. It’s a more relaxed
atmosphere in the pub. We hope people wouldn’t be afraid to come in”. And it
seems to be working. The Alpha Course started a week ago when Catholic,
Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Tullamore, Co Offaly joined
together to teach people about Jesus. The 12-week course hopes to
examine the life of Christ and focus on his teachings. But
instead of a church, they are preaching in Dempsey’s bar on Tullamore’s
High Street. And it’s already a ROARING success. Thrilled William said: “There
were 40 there on the first night, which was the introductory night. That’s
really good numbers for a first night”. The course hopes to concentrate on
what the four religions have in common instead of what divides them. William
fears many people are scared away from a church setting but in the familiar
surroundings of the pub they can relax. He said “Alpha Courses themselves
are very common, they’ve been operating in Ireland for many years. Mainly
though they are held in a church or someone’s house. The only way we’re a
little bit different is we decided to hold it in the pub. We are holding this
course in Dempsey’s because it is such a relaxed and welcoming place so that
people who would not normally feel comfortable in church can join in”. But he admits
he PINCHED the idea from another Alpha group. He said: “I heard about a group
in Bray who were thinking of holding theirs in a pub. I don’t know if they went
through with it. I never had an original thought in my life”.
Cecil’s comments: My problem is not that a pub is being used [although the
heading and some parts of the report verge on the blasphemous]. My problems are
firstly that ‘what the four religions have in common’ is the
supposed focus – the reality is that, on the gospel, Catholicism and the other
churches’ confessions have NOTHING in common (‘what divides them’ is ‘truth’).
Secondly Rome’s ‘Jesus’ is not the Jesus of the Scriptures and thirdly
any ‘introduction to Christianity’ should supremely focus on Christ’s
redemptive work and not ‘his teachings’- see 1 Corinthians 9:16 &
15:1-4.
An article in the British Church Newspaper at the end of March
reported
that ‘The Prime Minister spent a considerable time praising
Islam and the Koran during a significant speech on foreign policy he made to
the Foreign Policy Centre on 21 March…He likened the work of Mohammed…to the
work of men like Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Martin Luther and the English Reformers”. Quoting
from a separate interview given by Mr Blair to Muslim News,
he reportedly said ‘If you read the Koran it is so clear…there we find
the concept of love and fellowship as the guiding spirits of humanity. I
appreciate Islam as a deeply reflective, peaceful, very beautiful religious
faith’.
I want to quote portions from a number of speeches that Mr Blair
has delivered since 9/11, taking particular themes in each case and then by way
of comparison I will quote from the Koran itself and from the writings of
several Muslims, one now a Christian but the other not.
|
Quotes by Tony Blair on
|
the Koran, ‘tolerance’
& ‘peace’
|
|
21
March 2006:
‘The Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their
origins, rather as reformers attempted with the Christian Church centuries
later…
Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its
dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands was breathtaking… The
standard bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more
likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian’.
|
25 March 2005:
‘the true face of Islam is one that is peaceful, moderate’
7 October 2001:
‘Islam is a peaceful and tolerant religion, and the acts of these
people [the 9/11 bombers] are contrary to the teachings of the Koran’.
5 October 2001:
I want to make it clear that Islam is a peaceful
religion… I read personally the message of the Koran…And the God of
the Koran is merciful, peaceful and good’.
|
Now I will cite contradictory quotes from The Koran and
explanations by former Muslims that expose/highlight the misguided views of
Tony Blair.
|
The Koran
|
Former Muslims
|
|
‘Bear patiently with what they
[unbelievers] say and leave their company without recrimination’ (Surah
73:10)
'Believers, retaliation is decreed for
you in bloodshed…' (Surah 2: 178).
‘Fight for the cause of Allah' (Surah 2:244)
‘There shall be no compulsion in religion’ (Surah 2:256)
'The true believers fight for the cause of Allah, but the infidels
fight for idols. Fight then against the friends of Satan… ' (Surah 4:
76).
‘Therefore fight for the cause of Allah' (Surah 4:84)
‘Allah has given those that fight with their goods and their persons
a higher rank than those who stay at home. He has promised all a good
reward; but far richer is the recompense of those who fight for Him' (Surah
4: 96).
‘Be courteous when you argue with the People of the Book [Jews &
Christians] except with those among them who do evil. Say, “We believe in
that which is revealed to us and which was revealed to you. Our God and your
God is one. To Him we surrender ourselves’ (Surah 29:46).
'When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you
find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for
them... (Surah 9: 5).
‘make war on the leaders of unbelief ' (Surah 9:12)
'If you do not fight He will punish you sternly and replace you by
other men... (Surah 9: 39).
'Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell
around you ' (Surah 9:122)
|
Abdullah Al-Araby [Former Muslim] ‘Islam is being presented to the world today
packaged in a fancy wrapper…[my] purpose is to unwrap that attractive package
and… to expose some of the teachings… withheld from seekers … there is a big
difference between Mohammed’s personality in Mecca and…after his migration to
Medina…This change… becomes apparent by comparing the Meccan and Medinan
Surahs…To justify this sudden change…from peaceful to militant, conciliatory
to confrontational Mohammed claimed that… God ordered it [and] God…abrogated
the peaceful verses and replaced them by harsh ones…the truth is that
Mohammed finally became strong enough to move from a stage of weakness to the
stage of Jihad…Today, in the West we are witnessing the Islamic stage of
weakness, but let’s not be fooled, the stage of Jihad is coming, sooner or
later…In their attempt to polish Islam’s image, Muslim activists usually quote
the Meccan passages of the Koran that call for love, peace and patience. They
deliberately hide the Medinan passages that call for killing, decapitating
and maiming…In resorting to violence, Muslims do not have a problem finding
passages…that do not only condone violence, but even demand it…The
differences between Christianity and Islam are very deep and
irreconcilable…The current Muslim message to Christians “We have a lot in
common”…is a ploy, don’t believe it as it is designed solely to spread their
religion’.
Ibn Warraq [Former
Muslim] ‘The Koran abounds in contradictions… Muslim theologians have a
rather convenient doctrine…according to this doctrine, certain passages of
the Koran are abrogated by verses with a different or contrary meaning
revealed afterwards [see Surah 2:105]…we can see how useful…the doctrine of
abrogation is in bailing scholars out of difficulties. Of course it does pose
problems for apologists of Islam since all the passages preaching tolerance
are found in Meccan early surahs and all the passages recommending killing,
decapitating and maiming are Medinan …tolerance has been abrogated by
intolerance…
The totalitarian nature of Islam is nowhere more apparent than
in the concept of Jihad…whose ultimate aim is to conquer the entire world and
submit it to the one true faith, to the law of Allah…Jihad is a divine
institution, enjoined specially for the purpose of advancing Islam. Muslims
must strive, fight and kill in the name of God’.
|
|
Quote by Tony Blair on
|
‘marriage’ & ‘state control’
|
|
21 March 2006:
‘It [The Koran] is practical and way ahead of its time
in attitudes to marriage, women and governance’.
|
21 March 2006:
‘The standard bearers of tolerance in the early Middle
Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian…
Across the Arab and Muslim world such a struggle for democracy and liberty
continues’
|
|
The Koran
|
Former Muslims
|
|
‘You [Muslim men in general] may marry other women who
seem good to you; two, three or four of them’ (Surah 4:3).
‘Prophet, [Mohammed] We [Allah] have made lawful
to you the [unlimited] wives to whom you have granted dowries…This
privilege is yours alone, being granted to no other believer. We well know
the duties We have imposed on the faithful concerning their wives [a
maximum of 4 wives]. We grant you this privilege so that none may blame
you’.
‘Your wives are a tilth [a
field to be ploughed] for you, so go into your tilth when you like’
(Surah 2:223).
‘they [women] have rights similar to those
against them in a just manner, and the men are a degree above them’
(Surah 2:228).
‘call in to witness from among your men two
witnesses; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women from among
those whom you choose to be witnesses’ (Surah 2:282)
‘those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish
them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them’ (Surah 4:34)
‘Say to those who disbelieve, if they desist, that
which is past shall be forgiven to them; and if they return, then what
happened to the ancients has already passed. And fight with them until there
is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah’ (Surah 8:38-39)
|
Abdullah Al-Araby [Former Muslim]
‘Islam allows polygamy…Extra privileges were given to
Mohammed… He was allowed unlimited wives…Islam considers the wife a sex
object…Women are inferior to men…in court witness, the witness of two women
equals the witness of one man…in inheritance a woman’s share is half that of
a man [‘Allah enjoins you
concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two
females’ Surah 4:11]…Islam
teaches that a wife is subject to punishment by her husband. As a punishment,
beating a wife or abstaining from sexual relations with her is allowed…After
they gain the upper hand, Muslims’ message will be “We have
nothing in common with you [Christians] , you are infidels who worship
three gods and follow a corrupt Bible. You are ‘Dhimmis’ who must accept
Islam or pay ‘jizya [penalty tax] for being Christians”.
Ibn Warraq [Former Muslim] ‘Mankind is divided into two groups, Muslims
and non-Muslims. The Muslims are…the umma who possess territories in Dar
al-Islam, the Land of Islam where the edicts of Islam [Sharia Law] are
fully promulgated. The non-Muslims are the Harbi, people of the Dar al-Harb,
the Land of Warfare, any country belonging to the infidels that has not been
subdued by Islam but that, nonetheless, is destined to pass into Islamic
jurisdiction, either by conversion or by war (Harb). All acts of war are
permitted in the Dar al-Harb’.
|
Robert Spencer in his very challenging book ‘The Politically
Incorrect Guide to Islam’ wrote ‘In one key hadith [a collection of traditions about what Mohammed and his earliest
followers said and did], Mohammed delineates
three choices that Muslims are to offer non-Muslims…The choices for unbelievers
are
1. Accept Islam
2. Pay the jizya, the poll-tax on non-Muslims, which is the
cornerstone of an entire system of humiliating regulations that
institutionalise inferior status for non-Muslims in Islamic law.
3. War with Muslims’.
Robert Spencer then poignantly adds, ‘Always remember
“peaceful co-existence as equals in a pluralistic society” isn’t one of the
choices”. Would that Tony Blair would ‘Take Heed’ to Islamic
reality!
In light of
the recent reports that Rick Warren is in Syria visiting with political and
religious leaders, including Syria's Grand Mufti, it is worth noting that
Robert Schuller (of Crystal Cathedral) also visited with the Grand Mufti of
Syria (in 1999), with the hope of being instrumental in bringing peace to the
world. In Schuller's biography, My Journey: From an Iowa Farm to a
Cathedral of Dreams, Schuller says: "I was astounded to see how
much my perspective had shifted. In my early years my world was Sioux County,
Iowa, and the Dutch Reformed Church, but now I had a global awareness.... I was
moving further and further into a mindset of religious inclusively."
Schuller refers to a letter (and an invitation) he received from the Grand
Mufti of Syria, who stated to Schuller: "I am grateful to have this
opportunity to meet with you under the banner of faith and peace for humanity.
My desire is to begin the new millennium... with new bridges of love and
fraternity between all Muslims and Christians for the benefit of all
mankind." In the book, Schuller says: "Standing before a crowd of
devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti, I know that we're all doing God's work
together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium, we're laboring hand in hand
to repair the breach" (p. 501). He adds: