Are All Muslims Violent

Yesterday I let out a lot of frustration towards those who haven't taken time to understand the enemy that we face and yet they are all too eager to grab hold of one thought process or the other.

The truth Christians have to understand is that our enemy is not human. A Muslim is not our enemy. They are loved by God. They care for one another. They have dreams and hopes.

According to the Bible, our true enemy is unseen and operates in the shadows. He is skilled in manipulation and nefarious in his attacks. His name is Lucifer or Satan.

As Christians, we have one one way to deal with those of the Islamic faith. We are to love them. No matter how calloused they are to Christians in their countries. No matter how dangerous mission work is in the Middle East, we are to love them. Romans 12:17 says, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible." (NLT)

This does not mean we become push overs and tree huggers. "As much as possible" shows that there are limits to behavior.

Can we work with Muslims?

Yes. I belief we can. The Bible says that "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." Love is an action. Our mission work must grow beyond just spreading the message of hope that comes from Jesus Christ. That message comes with permission. Mission work must meet needs, and needs open the door to permission.

We in the United States must not believe that we have the perfect society and the best culture. That is arrogance on our part. We must learn to respect the culture of the Musilim world if we are ever to gain their ear.

If we are to truly win in Iraq, we have to leave their infrastructure in the best possible condition as possible. Government will not win the hearts of the people. Besides, Romans 12 tells us that to avenge is not our job.

We cannot take out our frustrations on all Muslim people. The Bible tells us that the best course of action is "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give hime something to drink. In doing so you will heap burning coals on his head (they will be ashamed of what they have done to you (NLT)). Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." (NIV).

The best possible way of sharing God's love with the Musilim populations is to leave Iraq better than when we came to it! There really is not any better path. Not only do we stand a better chance of changing the minds of those in the Muslim world, we will also gain a better footing with other world powers. We begin to restore our honor.

Evil (our enemy) would have us pick up and leave a mess. Evil would have us be half-hearted in our efforts. Evil would have us establishing governments instead of sharing love and kindness.

So are all Muslims violent?

No. Does the Islamic faith seem to have violent tendencies? Yes. Do we have a right to stand up for what is right? Yes, according to Romans 12 - "...cling to what is good," or as in the another text - "Stand on the side of the good."

That's my opinion on the subject. Let me know what you think.