“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Psalm 20:7 (ESV)
Twenty-five years ago today, Islamic terrorists carried out a long-prepared series of suicide missions to hijack, then fly four commercial airliners into New York City and Washington D.C. Three of the four planes struck their targets, and the fourth was hijacked but the final target was not accomplished due to the courage of the flight passengers. Everyone who was high school age or above at that time remembers exactly where they were when the news first hit. At first, it seemed impossible, but then on live TV the events kept undeniably unfolding. The response of America was unified and led us into a prolonged war to find the Islamic terrorists that planned, enabled, and motivated the events of 9/11. These events together shaped a generation.
Whenever we forget the lessons of history, we are doomed to quickly repeat the same mistakes. For all the things that America learned from these events, things that made our country stronger through adversity, the thing I am concerned that a new generation has forgotten is that these events were religiously motivated. The terrorists that hijacked the planes and flew them into heavily populated buildings did not do this for money or position, but as an act of Islamic devotion – jihad. These men had long ago been convinced of a religious worldview that encouraged death and tyranny as a method for bringing the world into religious submission. Ideas have consequences – for good or bad. The central concern I have now relates to Western secular people who have forgotten the reality of misguided religious devotion.
Islam continues to be one of the largest religions in the world (estimated following of approximately 2 billion), and one that teaches a view of God and the world that is in opposition to biblical Christianity. Yes, there are peaceful and generally good Islamic people throughout the world, but for one reason or another they are living inconsistently with the basic teachings of their own religion. It’s important to understand the basic teachings of Islam and what ground motivated four groups of men 25 years ago to die for this religion in an effort to kill as many non-Muslims as they could.
To begin, Islam came into being by the writings of a man known as the prophet Muhammed. He wrote down a series of stories and teachings between 610 and 630 AD. This collection of writings was known as the Quran. By this time in history Christianity was well established. In 312 AD, Emperor Constantine of Rome converted to Christianity and began the process of making Christianity the state religion of Rome, the dominant empire of the world at that time. The Quran was written in response to the New and Old Testaments of the Bible. The Quran acknowledges the events and characters of the Bible but claims the Bible is corrupted and sets forward new teaching to reinterpret and override the teachings of the Bible (this is the same thing that later happens with the Book of Mormon).
The Quran puts forward a monotheistic religion of works through submission to the will of Allah. This version of monotheistic religion is non-trinitarian. Allah is understood to be the only God, reducing Jesus to a human prophet (non-divine) who taught certain good things but did not rise from the dead or ascend to heaven. The Holy Spirit is not a part of Islamic teaching. Trinitarian Christianity is understood as polytheism and condemned as evil.
In Islam, Allah requires the works of the ‘pillars’ from all believers. As these works are completed, they bring the Islamic person closer to the hope of eternal paradise – but never with peace of assurance. Allah is not personal but an authority to which one must submit. The pillars of Islam are:
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The Creed: Every Muslim bases their belief on the creed of “There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” From here the Muslim submits to the Quran for truth and command from God.
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Prayer: Muslims are obligated to pray five times a day, on their knees, facing toward Mecca (Saudi Arabia). These prayers are repeated phrases and statutes, not personal prayers to a personal God as in Christianity.
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Almsgiving: Muslims are required to give 2.5% of their income to help the poor.
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Fasting: Fasting is required to teach self-restraint. During the month of Ramadan Muslims do not eat (and fast from other things as well) from sunrise to sunset each day.
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Pilgrimage: Devout Muslims reach the high point of their devotion by visiting their holy city of Mecca. In Mecca is the Ka’aba. Muslims claim this to be the first place of worship established by Abraham but then re-established properly by Muhammad.
Central to Islam is the idea that Muhammad was a warrior-prophet. A significant way that he spread his teachings was through raids and forced domination of people around him. He fought in dozens of battles over his lifetime and commanded others to do so as well. To quote Bodie Hodge, “The prophet viewed war as a religious event, slaying those who, ‘do not believe in Allah or the Last Day’ (Quran 9:29). He eradicated Jews from Medina and ultimately conquered his hometown, Mecca, with very little resistance. There, Muhammad destroyed hundreds of pagan idols from the Ka’aba and established Islam as the official religion of the Arabian Peninsula.” From the teaching and life example of Muhammad comes the doctrine of jihad, or holy war. “And if you are slain or die in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than all they could amass” (Quran 3:157). In this way, the path of mercy in Islam is to die as a warrior in service to Allah. The Hadith (the formal written traditions of Islam) record Muhammad eradicating enemies who merely spoke against him (Bukhari 5:369), declaring capital punishment upon any Muslim that leaves the faith (Bukhari 9:57-58), and calling for the destruction of the Jewish people (Bukhari 4:177). There is much more that could be said, but in Islam repentance plus faith plus keeping the pillars (works) equal possible salvation. The only sure salvation is to die in jihad.
Returning to where we began, ideas have consequences. Islam produces an entirely different view of the world, of humanity, law, and economics. This Islamic worldview is incompatible with the Christian worldview. The two major views of the world clash irreconcilably. In this struggle, Christians seek to convince Muslims of their wrong understanding of Jesus, and very often Muslims use violence to subjugate those who disagree with them. Part of remembering 9/11 is to not forget the results of the full outworking of Islam in the world. In the intervening twenty-five years we have also witnessed the rise of ISIS, the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and the continuous persecution unto death of Christians by Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the end, war and sanctions will not change the heart of a Muslim. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can save the Muslim world! May Jesus save us from sliding into a secular and unbelieving mindset. May this generation listen to and believe the message of the Bible. May this generation believe that Jesus is Lord and understand His gospel message of grace toward sinners. By the grace of Jesus may America understand that we cannot work our way into the favor of God, and certainly cannot kill our way into His favor. Only by the perfect work of Jesus on the cross can we find favor before the Holy God. Also, in Jesus we have full assurance of salvation knowing that it was accomplished by Jesus and not by us. This glorious forgiveness comes to us as a gift of eternal life!
May we shine forth the gospel of Jesus Christ and uphold the beautiful life-giving principles of Christian community. May we live with courage and virtue. May the Lord help us to hold back the darkness and see many Muslims come to salvation in Jesus. May we see truth for what it is and walk with wisdom in the light.
Pastor Vic