A Religion of Hate

Nearly every day we read or hear of another suicide attack that kills multiplied numbers of innocent bystanders.  Just today in the local newspaper, there was a report entitled, “Dozens are Killed, Wounded in Attacks.”  The article states, “As many as 38 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Monday in multiple attacks nationwide, including one in which a man detonated a suicide vest near a convoy of coalition vehicles in Mosul, killing up to 16.”

Another article described the recent massive attack in India in which radical Muslims killed at least 172 people and wounded 239 additional people.  This planned, well-coordinated 60 hour attack in Bombay (Mumbai) was carried out by 10 terrorists at various locations in the city, including hotels and the train station.  Authorities claim that this disaster was perpetrated by a militant Pakistani Islamic group, called Lashkar-e-Taiba (L-e-T).

Cal Thomas writes in today’s newspaper, “The British media are full of stories claiming that some of the Bombay killers were taught in Islamic schools in Britain and radicalized by fanatical imams before heading to Pakistan for weapons training.”  He goes on to state, “The Daily Mail online reported Sunday that a banned Islamic terrorist group helped underwrite the Bombay attacks with cash raised in British mosques.”  The terrorists not only receive funds from the Western World, but they have also attacked people in Britain, Spain, France, Russia, and elsewhere.

As we said, terrorists seem to attack nearly every day, whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, or even in one of the European countries.  Nearly all of these are carried out by fundamentalist Muslims who take the words and teachings of Muhammad seriously, as interpreted by radical Islamic imams (teachers) who long to see Sharia law extend around the world.  In fact, there belief is that the entire world is destined to become Islamic.

Religious atrocities and warfare are not entirely new, although the contemporary expression of this does take a different approach.  History is replete with examples of man’s inhumanity against man.

Muhammad himself, with the help of his hoards of fellow-Arabians, rode through the country, murdering those who would not submit to his autocratic demands.  Then, in the following centuries, Muhammad’s loyal followers extended the faith of Islam throughout the Mideast, North Africa, and even as far as Spain, finally stopping in France because of heated resistance—all carried out with the help of the bloody sword.  The remains of the slain testified to the evil methods of these sinful and deceived Islamic warriors.

Let us not blame the religion of Islam alone.  The apostate Roman Catholic Church, with the urging of the so-called Pope of Rome, engaged in the wicked and heartless Crusades during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries.  Thousands of Muslims were slain by these Roman knights and soldiers.  On the way to the “Holy Land,” these deluded fanatics even killed and maimed their fellow brethren of the Orthodox faith in the East.  This shows the length to which wicked religionists will go “in the name of Christ” to perpetrate their unholy designs!

Recent news also shows what radical Hindus can do to those who profess to be Christians in India.  Thousands of God-fearing professing Christians have been killed or wounded, or their houses have been burned to the ground, making them refugees who hide in the forests.  Their intention is to cleanse the land of non-Hindu devotees.

Those who look at this misguided and deceived religious zeal cannot understand how people can be so depraved, so unloving, and so perverted in their thoughts and actions.  How can people become so hard-hearted that they will kill and maim their fellow-men?  How can they become cold-blooded murderers in the name of religion?  How can they imagine that God would approve or even demand this carnage?  We may never be able to fully understand.

Paul the apostle points out that certain moral principles can be known through the conscience (Romans 2:12-15).  However, the guidance of conscience is always limited and one may so pervert the conscience through violating it or through receiving ungodly instruction, that the conscience is no longer a reliable guide (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1-2; Titus 1:16).  This may be seen in the radical Muslim element.  Apparently the conscience has become so seared that great numbers of young Muslim men (and women) are willing to take their own life in order to obey their religious leaders who insist that this killing is actually pleasing to Allah.

In order to perpetrate all of this wickedness, Muslim advocates must close their heart and mind to the truth of God.  As they carry on their terroristic misdeeds, they commit many sins—all of which they try to overlook or, in some perverted way, they transform this sin into a righteous deed!  When the radical Islamic follower straps the bomb to his body and ventures into public with the intention of killing and hurting as many as possible, he commits a vast array of outright sins:

He commits murder.  This seems to be the major motive in the killings.  But God is clear that all murderers will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).  Paul tells us that those who commit murder are “worthy of death” (Romans 1:29, 31).  The suicide bomber murders and effectively seals his eternal doom!

He is guilty of hatred.  One cannot commit such wickedness apart from deep maliciousness toward others.  The Islamic schools effectively instill a burning hatred in the hearts of the Muslim youth.  But make no mistake, malice is a sin worthy of death (Romans 1:29, 31).

He is guilty of great deception.  The terrorist gains his advantage by deceiving others into thinking that he is not to be feared—until he carries out his nefarious deed.  Jesus said that deceit defiles a man (Mark 7:22-23), and Scripture says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).

He is guilty of self-murder. Deliberate suicide, of the kind carried out by the radical Muslim, is self-murder, and Scripture says that “no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).

He is guilty of following a false god.  The true God of the Bible, the Lord of heaven and earth, promotes the truth while false religion promotes false doctrine.  The Lord of heaven and earth does not in any way support that Muhammad is a true prophet for he taught a massive amount of error and lies.

He is guilty following a false prophet rather than the true Prophet of God, Jesus Christ.  The reason why the terrorist carries out his evil deed is because he believes this is what the false prophet, Muhammad, would desire.  Jesus Christ, the true Prophet of the Lord, taught peace, kindness, and non-retaliation (1 Peter 2:21-22).

He is guilty of violating the greatest command of God.  Jesus said that love for God and love for others are the greatest of all commands (Mark 12:28-31).  The malicious terrorist fails to truly love those he injures and murders (cf. Romans 13:10).

One would think that any rational person who considers all of these elements would be able to clearly conclude that the suicide bomber is not of God.  In fact, since Satan is the “father of lies” and “was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), and since the terrorist is both a liar and a murderer, we must conclude that he is of the devil (1 John 3:8).  It should not take a degree in theology to make this simple but necessary conclusion.

Let us not be deceived ourselves.  Let’s be able to observe the terrorist or religiously deluded fanatic today and be able to see Satan rather than God at work!  Further, let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that radical Islam alone is to blame.  The spirit of hatred, murder, deceit, and wickedness is at work in the Hindu, the professing (not true) Christian, the Buddhist, and all other religionists in our world.  Only the way of Jesus Christ, the very image of the true God, is the way of truth and righteousness.  His way is the way of peace!

Richard Hollerman