The Imperative of Christ:
A Christian Response to
Islam and Global Ecuminicism
Elder R. Keith Hamilton
Part 2 of 3
There is a
widely held, erroneous notion in many circles, both Christian and worldly, that
suggests Christ’s message and ministry was to promote peace and cooperation
among mankind, and that this was to be achieved above everything else. But this is wrong. Peace in regard to Christ’s ministry has only
to do with reconciling wayward sinners to a righteous God. That is the peace about which the angels
rejoiced at His advent in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.” This was a
joyous reminder that God had not abandoned His corrupt and perverse creation,
but actively purposed to collect and preserve a remnant to Himself.
The Peace of
Christ shows us that God did not despair in regard to His rebellious creation,
but reached beyond all of the sinfulness of man to accomplish His good pleasure
and divine will. The peace that Christ
accomplished between righteous, almighty God and man, His children in particular, is far more considerable and purposeful than the
humanistic notion of universal peace on the face of the Earth. But this does not fit in with the world’s
religions and human ambition.
So, men
borrow or steal from Christ those parts of His message and teachings that best
suit their own purposes and are useful to help achieve a man-centered religious
authority. The other parts that are
disagreeable to human supremacy are then ridiculed and trashed. By doing this, humanistic philosophy and
world religions can undermine the perfect, austere position of Christ (they
also diminish the severity of man’s sin) and selectively hijack His credibility
and references to give weight to their own ideas and plans. These same interests paint a picture that
from time to time Christ was right-on with His subject, but other times was
completely out of his mind. This
selectivity is where Christianity must step in with a firm foothold and call a
halt to the false testimony regarding Christ’s teachings.
But in
speaking out for the verity and accuracy of Christ’s teachings is where
Christians will draw fire and provoke the hatred and hostility of the
world. This is where the popular
perception that Christianity is symbolic of timidity, weakness, and passivity
will be used to challenge and intimidate Christians to retreat from the truth. But that is a worldly standard, and it is
fraudulent. Christianity is not
militant, and we are not authorized to destroy our enemies, but it is very
important that we remember our witness and testimony are to proclaim Jehovah
God’s glory, and we are equally unauthorized to change His doctrine to satisfy
worldly expectations and opposition.
Indeed, many
are mistaken in their perception that Christianity is under obligation to
achieve a natural peace and to show the rest of the world how to live without
conflict. There is an expectation
perpetuated
in the media, and from some pulpits, that Christianity is part of some great
brotherhood of humanity, vested with the responsibility of building an earthly,
utopian society, and striving for absolute peace and harmony between man and
beast, between man and the environment, and among men across the face of the
Earth. But in actuality, appeasement,
peace, harmony, and accord with temporal societies, associations, philosophies,
and religions are not legitimate priorities for Christianity.
It is not
incumbent upon Christianity to get along with the world, in society in general,
or with the world’s religions.
Christians are not required by Scripture to be in harmony with the
priorities and objectives of worldly institutions. We are required however, at the expense of
all else, to be the harbinger of the Gospel of Christ, and to do so without
compromise, with devotion, resolve, and vigor.
There is a
universal call among worldly interests for Christianity to unite with world
religions to form alliances intended to promote a one-world philosophy that
promises to be the salvation of all mankind’s ills and troubles. These alliances and this philosophy promise
that through exploration, technology, science, and education mankind can be
lifted out of all suffering, war, disease, and even death. But these humanistic ideas that promote the
glory of man are alien to the ways of God and fail to accurately identify the
root causes of mankind’s condition.
Man suffers
because he is rebellious. Man dies
because he is sinful. Mankind endures
disease, war, and pestilence as the fruit of his very own nature, and man does
not have the tools and resources of his own means to overcome this
condition. But Christianity is called
upon to ignore this, or to neglect it.
The world, including Islam, wants Christians to embrace its false ideas
and false hopes in order to elevate mankind at the expense of God and to remove
the shadow and standard of God.
Christians are accused of building walls of separation and unnecessary
differences by clinging to Scripture, and ridiculed as superstitious and
ignorant for exalting God Almighty.
In the world
media, and from a great number of pulpits, it would appear that Christianity is
in an identity crisis. There are
assertions that Christ taught a tolerant and accepting world view. It is said this view is
understanding and excusatory of man’s faults, and the secret to
achieving harmonious, world peace lies within the grasp of man’s powers. This is not true. It is not true because man cannot elevate himself
to that standard, and it is not true because Christ did not teach this.
The
ecumenical philosophy, that all religions and Christianity are basically the
same and share in a universal obligation to promote humanity and achieve world
peace, is untrue. It is simply not true
that all religions and Christianity are bonded together in the brotherhood of
human need and potentially contribute equally to easing the human
condition. There is a substance and
verity of Christians that distinguishes us from all others, and it is this very
difference that is the key to a meaningful understanding of mankind’s condition
and a true well-spring of hope.
It is this
difference that draws the ire and promotes the animosity of the world, which
then really shows its true self. In
holding to the faith of Jesus Christ, and exalting Him above humanity and
mankind’s inventions, it is then that Christians are perceived as intolerant
and narrow-minded, and the wrath of the world is unleashed. In dealing with ecuminicism,
and Islam, and other world religions, Christians are confronted with the
accusation that we are accountable for man’s suffering and condition; that it
is our intolerance and prejudice against man’s ingenuity that jeopardizes the
harmony and hope of mankind. Only when
men can twist the truth of God into a lie can they then promote humanity. It is the Christian’s duty to steadfastly
“straighten-out” the misquotations and misrepresentations of the Word of God.
In Matthew
10:34, Christ warns, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came
not to send peace, but a sword”, and it is that sword, the Word of God, that
Christians are to abide and champion as the true testament of what is and what
is to come. In the Gospels, there is
substantial evidence and teaching directly from Christ that indicates man is
deceived to think that he can live in a perfect peace and harmony on Earth.
The key to
this passage is this business about peace on Earth. Clearly, a preoccupation and obsession with
worldly ambition and humanistic objectives is not a valid priority for
Christians. Christ further elaborates on
this in Matthew 24. The peace that
Christ does promise is between God and man, not upon the face of Earth between
men. In context, Christ says in John
There are
many who view Christianity’s resistance to Global Ecuminicism
and its struggle with Islam, as a conflict between religions for
supremacy. But for the Christian,
spiritual warfare against Islam and others in defense and witness of the truth
of God is justified by faith and Scripture.
The important focus for the Child of God in these struggles is the
spiritual implications of the teachings that are set against God’s Word. To the Christian, resisting Islam is not
merely a quest of cultural dominance and imperialism, but a central fight for
Christianity’s identity, and the same can be said for its struggle against Ecuminicism. Quite
simply, the priorities and duties of Christians while in the Earth are not
compatible with the objectives and goals of worldly, humanistic philosophies
and institutions.
Islam rejects
the central issues of faith critical to Christianity. Ecuminicism demands
that these central issues must be flexible and open to various, situational
interpretations and cannot be absolutely true.
If Christianity is resistant, and refuses to give up these points,
remaining steadfast upon the cornerstone of Christ, then the conflict is set,
and we must stand firmly grounded in the truth and testimony of Christ, our
Lord. We cannot participate in
humanity’s conceited exercises and also remain faithful to God.
This struggle
and warfare are spiritual and ideological, and the points of contention are at
the heart of Christianity’s identity.
Any peace, in the context required by the world, with Islam would
require a compromise of Christian belief, and a repudiation of the diety of Christ; this is not acceptable. There is no common ground for a peaceful
coexistence given Islam’s aggressive ambitions for domination, and its obsession
with building an earthly, global empire.
This fake
peace, so desperately sought by Christ’s enemies, would serve only to undermine
and destroy Christianity. In its rawest
form, this peace is actually a power grab, as if mankind could steal power from
God by destroying Christianity. But men,
in their vile imaginations, do hope, that by
destroying and persecuting Christians and the preached Gospel, to escape God
Himself.
The apparent
failure of Christianity to live up to worldly false expectations of peace and
cooperation is most clearly demonstrated in the question of Islam and the
manner in which Christianity is expected by the world to respond to its various
challenges. Islam presents the world
with many counter points to elements of Christianity that the world finds
objectionable and offensive. In its
insatiable desire for global alliances and universal philosophies, Islam offers
the world many human-centered answers and counterpoints to Christianity’s testimony.
In this time
of unease, these crucial times, it is very important for Christians to be
reminded that our witness and testimony are not set for the defense of Christiandom, a Christian kingdom here on Earth, but for
the testimony and truth of Christ. Jesus
himself admonished the disciples, then and now, to prepare for conflict,
rejection and difficult divisions and separations that would result from men
turning away and rejecting the truth of God.
In Luke 12:49, Christ is quoted as saying, “I am come to send fire on
the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?” The fire about which he speaks is the
controversy and consuming passions that erupt in the conflict between God’s
truth and mankind’s error.
End of Part 2
of 3
(February, 2003. R. Keith Hamilton)