Monday, March 28, 2011

Cooperation and Tolerance gone too far

While Islam continues its desperate concerted efforts to destroy Christians and Biblical Christianity, some so-called Christian leaders appear to be totally oblivious to the dangerous developments. Hence we reported in vol 9 no 6 how a retired German clergyman committed suicide seeing the foolish pandering to Islamic interests by the church in his country. A church in Germany actually, at one time, raised money from members to help build an imposing mosque in that country!
Unfortunately, such evident lack of discernment by Christian leaders continues to be displayed at deeper levels today. In the news recently is the Claremont School of Theology, located in Southern California, USA, which has announced that it will be partnering with Jewish and Islamic schools to offer clerical training to students of various faiths. According to the Seminary’s president, the Rev. Jerry Campbell, students will be trained in their own religious traditions as well as gain understanding of other faiths through shared classes with the Academy for Jewish Religion and the Islamic Center of Southern California. He said the program will eventually be expanded to include Hinduism and Buddhism, among others. All these, Rev Campbell believes, will “better prepare students for the multi-religious world they are living in.” Claremont is a Methodist Bible College established in 1885. John Wesley, as the saying goes, must be turning in his grave! (details at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100611/methodist-seminary-is-abdicating-christianity-says-theologian/index.html)
Apart from a Bible College offering to train and produce Imams for the Moslem religion, another example of tolerance gone too far is the case at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, in Alexandria, Virginia which is currently allowing the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) to hold regular Friday prayers in its facility while their new mosque is under construction. [OneNewsNow (24th February)] – just like Heartsong Church near Memphis allowed members of the Memphis Islamic Center to hold Ramadan prayers in its building last September.
Alan Wisdom, of The Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD), believes that while it is important for Christians to reach out and share the gospel with Muslims, God's house should not be used by those who do not accept Jesus. According to Wisdom: "Worship is a sacred thing. We dedicate our sanctuaries to the worship of Jesus Christ. It is not appropriate in a space that's dedicated to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ to have prayers said based on the false prophecy of Mohammad," In closing, Wisdom contends. "And I would venture to say that I doubt that Muslims would allow us to pray in the name of Jesus Christ in a mosque that was dedicated to Islam." http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1299800
Meanwhile, while undiscerning Church leaders are offering their facilities for the service of Islam, elsewhere Christian property are being confiscated and taken over by Islam. For instance, in Somalia, Islamists are right now busy confiscating land of Christians who dare attend Bible studies . According to the International Christian Concerns, eight farms have been confiscated since January 19. In another story from Somalia, a teenage girl, Nurta Mohamed Farah, who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death late last year. It was generally believed that the two unidentified men who shot her in the chest and head with a pistol were relatives or acting on relatives’ behest. For details please see http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/somalia/29407/

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