You think you know about John the Baptist? Think again. After 2000 years, he's still one of the most mysterious and confusing personalities in Scripture. On the one hand, he's called by Christ the greatest prophet, and the greatest MAN "born of women" who ever lived. Yet there are prophets in Scripture who have whole BOOKS written about them, with their names in the titles, while John has NOTHING. At the same time, Christ called him less than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. How does THAT make sense? Isn't John in the Kingdom HIMSELF? One the one hand, Christ says John is actually Elijah the Prophet. On the other hand, John DENIED he was Elijah the Prophet? Is the Bible full of contradictions? What's going ON here? Tune in and take notes! Your host, Rev. Rick Anderson, on "Jewish Roots", each Thursday at 9:30 pm, EST. To call with a question or comment: 347-324-5759
Yet ANOTHER book on Islam? But THIS book needs your attention! by Rev. Rick Anderson www.scripturesdramatized.com www.chaim.org A promising trend among evangelical churches today is their interest in Islam. And for good reason too: the religion grows rapidly here, and not just from immigrant influence, but from "home-grown" as well. In the city of Philadelphia, where CHAIM Ministry to the Jews does most of its missions work, we meet Muslims all the time. When we "aim" for the Jews, it seems we hit the Muslim as well. Philadelphia has one of the highest number of African-American converts to Islam of all cities in the US. 80% of these, however, were raised in the Church. (!) 2/3 of Philadelphia Muslims are now African-American, and there are over 15,000 Muslims (foreign-born and domestic) in the city's public schools. So local churches would do well to take more than a passing interest in learning how to witness to them! Philadelphia was the first US city to adopt the Muslim holiday of Eid (pronounced "eede"). When Islam first made a significant presence here, it was due to the Black Muslim movement started by F.D. Fard, who founded "The Nation of Islam". This was actually a cult, or heresy of Islam because of its teachings that "God is a Black man", and that the Negro race is superior to the White. Fard's disciple was Elijah Mohammad, who taught that Fard was divine. Elijah also taught that the Black race must separate and subdue the White, and (FYI), Elijah Mohammad's disciple is Louis Farrakhan. The filming of the movie "Malcolm X" (1992) with Denzel Washington in produced a huge increase in Muslim conversions among Philadelphia's young blacks, as well as a return movement to traditional Islam among them. One reason: Malcolm X (the person) had a kind of conversion experience (not in the "Christian sense) when he made his first pilgrimage to Mecca and saw that true Islam was egalitarian. Contrary to what he had advocated and taught for years, he saw that true Islam did not support the racism of "Nation of Islam", and when he returned to the US to share this revelation, he angered some of his co-religionists. This may have led to his assassination. The point is, more young blacks are finding their way into traditional Islam than ever before, and the churches must respond to this, for these are the very children and grand-children of their own congregations! Unfortunately, the ignorance of the true nature of this faith, even in its traditional form is still so widespread and so colored by state-sponsored "tolerance" values and "political correctness" that it's hard to get a bead on what the faith actually does teach: No, Islam doesn't advocate racism: Malcolm X got that right, but what it does teach is alarming enough it itself, and is aptly covered in the excellent book (below),
The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom, written by Rev. Mark Durie, Anglican priest, human-rights activist, and scholar living in Australia. Read the review (below), to learn more ... The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom Mark Durie Deror Books, Sep 7, 2010 - History - 468 pages 4 Reviews The Third Choice provides a compelling introduction to Islam on the basis of its primary sources, the Qur'an and the life of Muhammad. Topics covered include the sharia; interpretation of the Qur'an; abrogation; women's rights (including female genital mutilation); lawful deception (taqiyya); Muhammad's responses to opposition; Islamic antisemitism; religious freedom; and prospects for reforming Islam. After this critical introduction of Islam, there follows an explanation and critique of Islam's policy for non-Muslims living under Islamic conditions. The doctrine of the three choices (conversion, the sword, or the dhimma pact of surrender to Islam) is explained, including an analysis of the meaning of tribute payments (jizya) made by non-Muslims (dhimmis) to their Muslim conquerors. Durie describes the impact of dhimmitude on the human rights of non-Muslims in Islamic contexts around the world today, in the light of global Islamic resurgence and advancing Islamization, including pressure being exerted through the United Nations for states to conform to sharia restrictions on freedom of speech. The Third Choice offers indispensable keys for understanding current trends in global politics, including the widening impact of sharia revival, deterioration of human rights in Islamic societies, jihad terrorism, recurring patterns of Western appeasement, interfaith dialogue initiatives, and the increasingly fraught relationship between migrant Muslim communities in the West and their host societies.
The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom, written by Rev. Mark Durie, Anglican priest, human-rights activist, and scholar living in Australia. Read the review (below), to learn more ... The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom Mark Durie Deror Books, Sep 7, 2010 - History - 468 pages 4 Reviews The Third Choice provides a compelling introduction to Islam on the basis of its primary sources, the Qur'an and the life of Muhammad. Topics covered include the sharia; interpretation of the Qur'an; abrogation; women's rights (including female genital mutilation); lawful deception (taqiyya); Muhammad's responses to opposition; Islamic antisemitism; religious freedom; and prospects for reforming Islam. After this critical introduction of Islam, there follows an explanation and critique of Islam's policy for non-Muslims living under Islamic conditions. The doctrine of the three choices (conversion, the sword, or the dhimma pact of surrender to Islam) is explained, including an analysis of the meaning of tribute payments (jizya) made by non-Muslims (dhimmis) to their Muslim conquerors. Durie describes the impact of dhimmitude on the human rights of non-Muslims in Islamic contexts around the world today, in the light of global Islamic resurgence and advancing Islamization, including pressure being exerted through the United Nations for states to conform to sharia restrictions on freedom of speech. The Third Choice offers indispensable keys for understanding current trends in global politics, including the widening impact of sharia revival, deterioration of human rights in Islamic societies, jihad terrorism, recurring patterns of Western appeasement, interfaith dialogue initiatives, and the increasingly fraught relationship between migrant Muslim communities in the West and their host societies.
