One of the commonalities between Chrisitanity and Islam is their recognition of certain of the Old Testament prophets. Also, both believe Jesus was an important person in history. Both obviously believe in one all powerful Supreme Being. Both promote the ideas of the importance of loyalty to friends, kindness to the elderly, and a certain set of rules for pure living. However, I think one of the most important facts about these belief systems is that each mandates that the beliefs they hold have huge consequences for the individual follower, and that it is required of each true believer to promote their faith as the true way.
No one who has read the Bible and believes it to be true can escape the admonitions to reach out to others with the message of not just love, but the love of Jesus as the Supreme Creator ond ultimate ruler of the Universe. To fail to believe in Jesus alone for one's salvation, according to Christian teaching throughout history, is to reject that forgivenesss and salvation. Jesus Himself was clear in His admonition that no one can be saved from eternal death and judgement except those that acknowledge Him and his forgiveness through His death and and resurrection, and submit to Him as King. Furthermore, all followers of Jesus are to be a part of the spreading of His Gospel to all nations. So, it is logical and natural for Christians to be both compassionate to all the downtrodden and oppressed, and to be concerned for the eternal souls of all people. The motivation for telling others about Christ's forgiveness and salvation is the love for those they believe are going to be lost forever without Jesus' love. To fail to promote that which would help a lost person to be rescued would be, and is, a travesty of a weak or actually non-existent faith.
Similarly, true Muslims must follow the teachings of both the Koran and all the teachings of the accepted interpretations of Mohammed's words and the Koran. They are compelled by their own sacred writings to do certain things, not the least of which is to promote the conversion of all unbelievers. Now it is important to point out the motivation of the Muslim for conversion of infidels. It is because they believe Islam to be true and are compelled by their religious beliefs to spread Islam to all the world. I fully understand this and respect the tenacity with which the true Muslim attempts to do as his convictions tell him. But make no mistake, the Muslim does not want to convert infidels because he loves them and cannot stand for them to go to hell for eternity, apart from the presence of Allah. He wants to see conversions so that Islam can be the religion of all, and perhaps so that he can earn more favor with Allah himself. Islam is, after all, a religion that offers a hope of salvation only if a set of rules are followed precisely, and this salvation, for certain Muslims, can somehow be more assured if they do a special act, such as killing infidels. I see nothing in Islam that compels the Muslim to love his neighbor as himself, to love unbelievers because they are worth loving, even if they are Christians or Jews, or any enemy person.
Either Islam is true, or Christianity is true. It does not depend upon what any one person thinks, but whether the God of the Bible, the God of Love is really the one true God, or whether Allah, (who does NOT, according to his followers, love the world enough to die to pay the penalty for all our sins) is really the one true God.
So to all you Muslims out there, I understand that you may wish to live alongside me in peace, or you may wish to interpret your mission in life to be my extermination. But I don't expect you to love me or care about where I spent eternity after I die. However, I want you to know that I, as well as all true followers of Jesus Christ, are concerned about where you will go when you die, because I love you, and I want to tell you that the love of God through Jesus is stronger than the iron hand of Sharia law, and will eventually prevail.
God's will be done.
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