tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40424150952109589232024-03-12T15:59:59.584-07:00person of the BookHello, I am a person of the Book.
In case you're wondering where I got that name from, it is from the koran.
In the koran, Christians and Jews are referred to as "people of the Book". I am glad to be identified with "the Book", that is, the Bible.
In this blog, I'll be speaking more of myself, and you will know which one I am, a Jew or a Christian. For now, just realize that I am a "person of the Book".person of the Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739196730294406902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042415095210958923.post-11538633805569068262007-09-23T18:55:00.001-07:002007-09-23T19:05:42.322-07:00The Book<span style="font-family:verdana;">Jews and Christians are referred to in the koran as "the people of the Book". Therefore, we should honor Jews and Christians, because, after all, <em>they</em> were the ones who gave us "the Book", that is, the Bible.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Why, then, don't muslims honor Jews and Christians?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">And don't give me this baloney about how "Jews and Christians have corrupted their own Scriptures".</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">You are dishonoring the "people of the Book" by presuming to accuse them of something as serious as corrupting their own Scriptures.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If Jews and Christians are truly the "people of the Book", like the koran says that they are, you should ask them if <em>your</em> scriptures are accurate, rather than accuse them of corrupting <em>theirs</em>.</span>person of the Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739196730294406902noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042415095210958923.post-46805117224396244082007-09-23T07:06:00.000-07:002007-09-24T03:15:41.904-07:00Mercy and Justice<span style="font-family:verdana;">Romans 12:18-20 tells us about the Christian concept of how to deal with your enemies:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:verdana;">If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> says the Lord. 20 Therefore “ If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”</span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Matthew 26:50-52 tells us:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:verdana;">Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish</span></em><em><span style="font-family:verdana;"> by the sword.</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">In fact, Mercy is the continual message you hear preached in church after church throughout the world - mercy and forgiveness toward your enemies.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">However, it is very different in the islamic world. There, you continually hear calls to kill the Jews, behead the infidels, etc. etc. And you actually see this kind of thing going on.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;">All of the schools of thought in islam agree on what to do when an islamic army invades a country. They are to give three options to the country being invaded:</span><br /><ol><li><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Convert to islam</span></em></li><li><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Be second-class citizens in the islamic system</span></em></li><li><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Fight</span></em></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">There is nothing similar to this in Christianity. In the book of Acts, we see that the disciples of Jesus went all over the world as ambassadors of Christ, <em>inviting</em> people to convert to Christ; rather than as an invading army, <em>forcing</em> people to convert to islam.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">It was <em>never</em> acceptable to force people to accept Christianity, such as we see in the islamic world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Force wasn't even necessary, because often God would miraculously move <em>on His own</em>, in a way that a <strong>real</strong> God would do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If your God is real, then you don't need to force things or people; God is well able to do His own forcing, such as when Paul and Silas were locked up in the jail, singing praises to God at midnight. The Bible says that the prisoners heard them. All of a sudden, an earthquake shook the prison, and all of the doors came open! But no one escaped!</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The jailer came running in to see what had happened. When he realized that the doors were open, he was going to kill himself, rather than face Roman justice. Then, miraculously, Paul yelled at him not to kill himself, that all the prisoners were there. How could Paul know that the jailer was about to kill himself, or that the prisoners were all there? Or even that all the doors were open? It was dark in the prison, because the jailer asked for a light.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Now here is the biggest miracle: the jailer and all his house converted to Christianity! No need to hold a gun to his head, as is done in islam. The God of the Bible, the <strong>real</strong> God, got ahold of the jailer's heart and converted him!</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This is <em>real</em> mercy, and the <em>real</em> GOD, not the <em>so-called</em> mercy and <em>fake</em> god of islam.</span></p>person of the Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739196730294406902noreply@blogger.com2