Category Archives: False Religions

PROMISE still UNFULFILLED

While reading a book this afternoon, I came across a six paragraph article regarding the term “assassin.” What it reveals is not suprising given both past and present history.

Some murderers are called assassins because this name was given in the 11th Century to a sect of Shi’ite Muslim fanatics who pledged themselves to murder those who did not believe in their religion.

The word assassin comes from the Arab hashishi or hashish eater, supposedly because the killers were alleged to take hashish to give ecstatic visions of paradise before setting out on a mission which might well end in their own deaths.

The Family Book of Questions and Answers, edited by Anthony Addison, (London: Treasure Press, 1987), 122.

However, the veracity of this explanation is questionsed by some. An online search introduced the idea that the hashish connection actually comes from Marco Polo’s account of his visit to Alamut in 1273.

The Old Man kept at his court such boys of twelve years old as seemed to him destined to become courageous men. When the Old Man sent them into the garden in groups of four, ten or twenty, he game them hashish to drink [sic]. They slept for three days, then they were carried sleeping into the garden where he had them awakened.

When these young men woke, and found themselves in the garden with all these marvelous things, they truly believed themselves to be in paradise. And these damsels were always with them in songs and great entertainments; they; received everything they asked for, so that they would never have left that garden of their own will.

And when the Old Man wished to kill someone, he would take him and say: “Go and do this thing. I do this because I want to make you return to paradise.” And the assassins go and perform the deed willingly.

“ETYMOLOGY OF ASSASSIN” as viewed at http://www.alamut.com/subj/ideologies/alamut/etymolAss.html on January 29, 2008.

To be honest, I’m not overly concerned about the etymology of the word. What struck me initially was how things haven’t changed over the years. Muslims are still killing people for religious leaders and “assassins” are still hoping their actions will earn them paradise. How sad it is that so many people have willingly given their lives for a lie. That makes biblical evangelism and mission all the more important as they will perish unless they hear the gospel.

For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:13-15

Who then will go?

What Roman Catholics Believe

A lawyer expressed his belief in the following terms, and it is the faith of every true Roman Catholic: “The sacrifice of Christ atones for our original sin, but the actual sins of our lives need to be purged by good works, obedience to the Church, and at last by the fires of purgatory, which are more or less severe and lengthy, according to the circumstances and actions of the person in this life, from which he is ultimately liberated by the intercession of Mary.”

McConnell, William W., “Roman Catholicism in Theory and Practice,” published in the March 1904 edition of The Missionary Review of the World.

Roman Catholicism

Remember Martin Luther and his 95 Theses? Luther later spoke out against the Roman Catholic Church and the pope because of its non-biblical teachings and practices. A good student of the Bible and history will find that Luther was right to oppose the Church of his time for its deviance. But what about now? Has the Roman Catholic Church changed its ways?

Evangelicals and Catholics Together was an attempt for both sides to sing “Why can’t we be friends?” but it didn’t (hopefully) convince the majority of true Christians. From what I have read and experienced personally, it is quite apparent that the Catholic Church is still practicing and teaching error. Consider the following chart about salvation as ample evidence.

Biblical Truth

The Light of God’s Word

Topic

New Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994)


The Bible only is the standard for truth.

“….the scripture cannot be broken.”

John 10:35

“Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”

John 17:17

“That ye might learn in us not to think…above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.”

1 Corinthians 4:6

“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Proverbs 30:6

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered…”

Mark 7:13


The Basis

of Truth


Truth is based on Scripture, tradition, and the pope.

“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) Para 80

And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

CCC Para 81

“As a result the [Roman Catholic] Church…does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”

CCC Para 82

“The Supreme Pontiff, in virtue of his office, possesses infallible teaching authority when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful…he proclaims with a definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held as such.”

CCC Para 891


Salvation is by grace Alone through faith

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:24

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:8, 9

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:17

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…”

Titus 3:5-6

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

Galatians 2:21


Salvation


For salvation, grace becomes merely a help and is given through the sacraments of the Church.

“Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons. It introduces us into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life.”

CCC Para2021

The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. ’Sacramental grace’ is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament.

CCC Para1129

“One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience.”

CCC Para 1493


Faith is the gift of God and comes by the Word of God.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Acts 16:31

“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”

Philippians 1:29

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Romans 10:17


Faith


Faith comes through the
Mother Church.

“It is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes and sustains my faith.”

CCC Para 168

“Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother:…”

CCC Para 169

“Believing” is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports and nourishes our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers. ‘No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother’”

CCC Para 181


Christ’s sacrifice was His alone and once offered.

“ …Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’”

John 19:30

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”

Hebrews 10:12

“…when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high… .”

Hebrews 1:3


Christ’s

Atonement


Christ’s sacrifice continues, and is also of the Church.

In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.”

CCC Para 1367

“The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the [Roman Catholic] Church. The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire.”

CCC Para 1368

Islam and Christianity

Followers of the Islamic religion have been in the news quite a bit since September 11, 2001. And the American people have bent over backward to protect the rights of this minority group in our country. And yet the dangerous beliefs and actions propagated by its founder and many of its current teachers are still not quite understood by most people. It is my hope that the following article may help Christians to understand this false religion and to be able to present the truth to its followers.

History

“Sources on Muhammad’s life concur that he was born ca. 570 CE in the city of Mecca in Arabia. He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle, later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26. At some point, discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic tradition, it was here at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that ‘God is One,’ that complete ‘surrender’ to Him (lit. islām)] is the only way (dīn), acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.

“Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Yathrib (Medina) in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632, on returning to Medina from his ‘Farewell pilgrimage’, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Islam. (“Muhammad”)

Five Pillars

“For the Muslim, attaining heaven (or Paradise) rests upon five pillars, or five good works. These are the confession of faith, prayer (with purification), fasting, giving alms, and the pilgrimmage to Mecca. …[Some Muslims] were asked if doing these things would asure one of a place in heaven. They responded that they could not be certain” (Dickson 13; see also the “Five Pillars” articles in the bibliography).

Jihad

“The term ‘Jihad’ used without any qualifiers is generally understood to be referring to war on behalf of Islam. … In Muslim tradition, the world is divided into two houses: the House of Islamic Peace (Dar al-Salam), in which Muslim governments rule and Muslim law prevails, and the House of War (Dar al-Harb), the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels. The presumption is that by natural law these domains will compete and fighting is inevitable therefore the duty of jihad will continue, interrupted only by truces, until all the world either adopts the Muslim faith or submits to Muslim rule. Those who fight in the jihad qualify for rewards in both worlds—booty in this one, paradise in the next. For most of the recorded history of Islam, from the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad onward, the word jihad was used in a primarily military sense.” (“Jihad”)

False Teaching

While Muslims may be commended for their diligent quest to please “God,” their beliefs are a direct contradiction to what the one, true God has revealed in the Bible. When narrowed down to a short list, the following questions reveal the differences between Islam and Christianity. (For a more comprehensive list of the differences, see M. J. Bardon’s chart in the bibliography.)

1. Is the Bible or the Quran true?

Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God and is the final rule for faith and practice (2 Tim. 3:14-17). Muslims believe that the Quran is the final revelation of God and that it supercedes what is taught in the “corrupted” Bible of Jews and Christians.

2. Are Allah and the God of the Bible the same?

The Bible teaches that God wants to be known and that he expressed his love for mankind by sending his Son to die for the sins of the world (Jer. 29:13; Acts 17:27; John 3:16). Muslims believe that Allah is unknowable but hope that he will be merciful and reward them for their good deeds after death.

3. Is Jesus just a prophet or is he God?

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the perfect God who became man to die on the cross for the sins of the world (Matt. 1:21-23; John 1:14). Muslims believe that Jesus was not divine but was simply a prophet who taught good things. They also believe that Jesus was rescued from the cross and that he did not die or rise from the dead.

4. How can anyone be accepted by God and get to heaven?

The Bible teaches that God saves from eternal punishment only those who repent of their sins and receive the Lord Jesus as the substitute for their sins (John 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:21). Muslims believe that paradise is a probability for those who follow the Five Pillars of Islam. But in the end, they hope that Allah will be merciful.

Reaching Muslims

1. Show them God’s love (John 3:16; Rom. 5:6-8).

“Christians can share with Muslims that the Christian God transcends man’s finitude and sinfulness because He cares about people individually, and He loves individuals. Divine love is a concept missing from Islam and yet essential to human peace and happiness with God. A powerful witness of Scripture to God’s love is John 3:16.” (Martin 367)

2. Show them the Biblical Jesus (John 1:1-3; John 14:6; Col. 1:15-19).

“When told about Jesus, many Muslims will refuse to listen, claiming that our scriptures are distorted and untrustworthy.” However, the Bible is still true and must be believed. “Jesus Christ is truly God and is the only way to salvation.” (Martin 367)

3. Show them how to find true peace with God (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8-10).

“Tell the Muslim the good news that salvation and peace with God does not depend on his own insufficient efforts, but on the grace of God displayed through the atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. No one can work his way to heaven (or Muslim paradise). The Muslim will agree that Allah could justly choose to bar all men from paradise since no man is perfect as Allah is perfect. However, biblical salvation does not depend on man’s imperfections. Biblical salvation depends on the work and love of God.” (Martin 367)

4. Show them a positive example (1 Tim. 4:12).

“When a Christian can demonstrate the power of the Word of God through the Holy Spirit, and use his own life as an example of the joy and peace possible to those who love Jesus Christ, he becomes an effective example… . (Martin 367)

Bibliography

Bardon, M. J., “A Comparison of Islamic Doctrine, Mormon Doctrine, and the Bible,” a chart posted in Frontline Magazine, March/April 2002, pp. 15. (Note that the entire issue is available as a pdf download at http://www.fbfi.org/pdf/MarApr2002.pdf.)

Carlson, Ron and Ed Decker, Fast Facts on False Teachings, (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1994), 99-115.

Dickson, Gordon, “Islam: What’s the Real Problem,” published in Frontline Magazine, March/April 2002, pp. 12-14. (Note that the entire issue is available as a pdf download at http://www.fbfi.org/pdf/MarApr2002.pdf.)

“Five Pillars of Islam” as posted at Wikipedia, as viewed on January 15, 2008.

“Five Pillars of Islam” as posted at http://www.islam101.com/dawah/pillars.html, as viewed on January 15, 2008.

“Islam,” posted at Wikipedia as viewed on January 14, 2008.

“Jihad,” as posted at Wikipedia and viewed on January 16, 2008.

Martin, Walter, The Kingdom of the Cults, (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1985), 364-367.

“Muhammad,” as posted at Wikipedia and viewed on January 15, 2008.

Vaughn, John C., “The Qur’an: Another Gospel,” published in Frontline Magazine, March/April 2002, pp. 9-11. (Note that the entire issue is available as a pdf download at http://www.fbfi.org/pdf/MarApr2002.pdf.)