Have you ever wondered why ...
When Jesus wanted to liberate Israel from tyrannical Rome (the Government during the time), instead of asking Rome to change, he seeks to persuade Israel to change. Jesus felt that without the change of hearts in Israel itself, liberation in any form is impossible.
Jesus went at great length to explain that the resentment and bitterness that his fellow brethrens carry in their hearts and their attitude is nothing short of suicidal. In fact he suggested that they be smart and read the sign of the times ( Eg in Luke 12: 54-56) and not to follow the Zealots.
No… not just the Zealots, he told them not to even listen to their own leaders and priest, and he called them hypocrites ( refer Mk 12: 14-17). He warned them not to fight a battle that they cannot win(Luke13:3).
He suggested that the best way to liberate their enemies is to love them. To do good to those who hate you and to pray for those who hurt you.
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” ( Luke 6 : 27-28 )
Without love and compassion all your religiosity is empty and of no use.
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. ( 1 Cor 13 :1-3)
My dear Christian brothers and sisters, is there not a lesson or two here for all of us?
10 comments:
I think the advice should go both ways. Muslims should also learn to 'love their enemies' and not over-react over every single thing. It takes 2 hands to clap.
A lot of violence is connected to the muslims now because they are some who are prone to extremism and cannot see others points of view. The world is made up of people of many different religions & races, and we must learn to love everyone even if they are different from us.
There's no need to get angry when a few people insult our religion. The truth is always there and we should not be led by our pride.
Great work, Anas
Everything in Christianity are confusing even the word " father"
Matthew 23:9. Jesus said, And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven."
Why they still used them ie Fr. Lawrence Andrew etc
Mankind has been confused since the time of Paul or Saul the Murderer.
Jesus don't even recognized his followers as Christian.
Christian follow the teaching of Paul instead of Jesus. They pray to Jesus instead of Almighty God the Creator.
Christian can't even agree which bible versions to be used and which Church to go on Sunday and many don't even go to Church.
The Christian missionaries have hijack the word Allah which mean the One and Only Almighty and confused the Sabahah and Sarawakian.
The Christian missionaries have killed millions of Muslim in Philippine and just imagine all the filipino were Muslim those days but now they are coming back to Islam " balik Islam".
Trinity is also very confusing and never the teaching of Jesus.
We have to correct the Christian that Allah have no son and God of the bible is not Allah because Allah explained Himself clearly in the Quran which contradict to the God of the bible.
2:255 (Y. Ali) Allah. There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
2:256 (Y. Ali) Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.
Millions of American and European are leaving Christianity and in Malaysia they fighting for the word " Allah" which mean Tuhan yang Esa not Jesus, god the son or god the father.
http://www.usislam.org/converts/converts.htm
We should welcome everyone to used the word Allah and the password is so easy.
" We believe that is no other God but Allah and we believe that Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Isa are the messengers of Allah"
Welcome my friends
Oh Allah, the Almighty God the Creator show us the truth and save us from the hell fire.
For a heart to submit,it needs to learn the word "love". It is the basis of all religion. When love conquers the heart, humbly it submits...that is what all religion is about, including Islam, which means SUBMISSION TO GOD...
When love and submission live in one's heart, no evil can come out of it. Imagine the impact if this happens to ALL OUR HEARTS.....Satan would be bogeying alone, melancholy, bored and blue....
It'd applicable to everybody. Hence, judging from the situation, would not a benovelent leader from UMNO decide to bite the bullet
UMNO to drop the claim on Allah
Set others free
Case close. There are plenty of options how Najib can save face. Ranging from total media blackout to quitely protraying Najib as a benovelent leader
Else Najib would be questioned by Saudi Arabia & UAE's leaders, their confusion why Allah is an issue in the first place
Anas,
We love peace but we don't give in to terrorism. And the Truth shall set you free
Someone once told me that if people go around spreading lies about you, you should behave in a way that others can see that it is a lie.
Today we see that Muslims are getting so much 'bad press' and we seem to be going out of our way to prove that it is all true.
Dear Anas,
I posted this yesterday but somehow it wasn't published - I must have clicked on the wrong button!
If you're suggesting that Christians should apply one of the main teachings of Jesus i.e. to love their neighbours by dropping the challenge for the use of the word "Allah" then as a Christian myself, I would agree with you on this point only.
However, the issue at hand is not as straightforward as one would think. The issue here is that our East Malaysian Christian brothers and sisters have been using this word for many years and decades now, not only for the past 2-3 years. Their main language is Bahasa Malaysia and bcos of this, they have been using the word "Allah" in their masses, services, singings, prayers, discussions, meetings and so on, before many of them currently living were even born. The word "Allah", just like any other Bahasa Malaysia word ("makan", "minum", etc) has been used for so long that it is ingrained in their hearts and their minds when they think and talk about and pray to God.
How then do you expect the Catholic Archbishop not to challenge for the use of the word? He is not doing it for himself or for his priests. He is doing it bcos he is responsible and in a way accountable to all Catholics in this country. If you were him, how would you account or answer to the East Malaysian Catholics if you didn't so much as to at least challenge for the use of the word in the legal way, the only way available to God-fearing citizens.
As a Catholic living all his life in the Klang Valley, I have no qualms in not using the word "Allah". But we have our East Malaysian Christians to consider too. Do read the following article which hopefully gives some insight as to how some East Malaysians view this issue. It certainly is food for thought.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/49330-dont-tell-us-how-to-pray-borneo-states-say-
Side comment here: Dear Arah, you seem to be very confused. That's probably bcos no one has really explained what Christianity is all about. My advice is if you are confused, pls don't criticise and make incorrect claims about the Christian faith. Go and read up good Christian books. Better still, go see a knowledgeable Christian.
What Arah said is one-sided and he can't even respect other people's religion. What's the point of critising others when you don't reflect on ourselves.
Anyway, Islam & Christianity are not the only religion in the world. There're Buddhism, Hinduism, Skihism, etc as well. Are we saying that all these religions are false? Can you prove that?
Can we not just learn to respect other people who have different faiths & views from us?
Don't just play into our dirty UMNO politicians' hands. They created this trouble to destabilise the PKR government in Selangor.
The enemy here is not the Christians, it's the UMNO politicians who is fanning hatred among the races. I urge all muslims to unite against these thugs who abuse and tranish the image of Islam & muslims.
My dear Auntie Dot
You mention above love, but I hope you can explain what Jesus means by the following statements
(Matthew 10:34) - "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35"For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household."
(Luke 12:51) - "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two, and two against three..."
I don't think the statements are from Jesus but maybe someone have wrongly misquote him.
I hope Micheal and other Christians can explain so that people like me don't get confused !!!
Anas. I would definitely give you props for your message.
However was Jesus' main agenda to liberate Israel from Roman tyranny? Does the context of what was originally meant and what you mean agree? Have you applied a proper exegetical method to your application and critic?
However. Again, props for your message. You would definitely be some I would like to engage in a friendly dialog. Keep it up my friend.
Great article! Proof of this line of belief and thinking I have seen many times in my life. When you treat each other with love, dignity and respect you "disarm" the advancement of hate and retribution. Unfortunately hate is a very easy thing for us as humans to engage in. It gives us this "temporary" and unsatisfactory feeling having settled our grievance. I won and the other person lost. Today's world is all about winners and losers. As the fires of hate continue to rage across our planet from one human to another, one race to another, one religious belief to another. In the end we are all children of God and your message underscores why I fully believe that Jesus Christ is the Son Of God. His wisdom and understanding is far and above anything else that has been experienced on our great planet. Have A Great Day and Week! Excellent article once again!
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