The True Relationship Between Christianity and Islam

There is a war out there and this war is real. The War is with Islam, not radical Islam and the real problem is can we handle the truth? Jack Nicholson playing Col. Nathan R. Jessep in the 1992 classic movie, A Few Good Men, shouted out to Tom Cruise playing Lt. Daniel Kaffee when he was asked, “I want the truth,” in cross-examination, “You can’t handle the truth!”   
       The simple truth is that Col. Nathan R. Jessup is right- we cannot handle the truth. It is not because the truth doesn’t exist or the fact that truth was at one time known or taught- it is because for many of us it is easier to be manipulated or to have our truth found out for us than it is to seek the truth ourselves. This is why we are in the shape we are in today.

The truth is and has always been the same since the beginning of Islam. Look at the words of St. Thomas Aquinas. He credited Muhammad for keeping his followers ignorant in order to remain faithful. He said, “That will save them from reading the New or Old Testament lest these books convict him of his falsity.” Why did St. Thomas believe this way? The simple truth was that St. Thomas knew just like many other Church leaders that the Muslim Church is nothing more a heretical sect of Christianity.

On December 2, 2015, Police in Italy and Kosovo detained four Kosovars with Islamic State contacts for making threats against the Pope and a U.S. diplomat. The chief prosecutor Tommaso Buonanno said the most alarming messages were aimed at the Pope, stating, "Remember there won't be any Pope after this one. This is the last. Don't forget what I am telling you." Police said the men's posts included threats against a former U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, as well as celebrating the Paris attacks, saying "this is only the beginning.

Because the Muslim faith is nothing more than a Christian heresy, we can clearly see that we are in a warlike relationship with not just the radical Muslims but with all Muslims. This fact was not lost on the early Church fathers and many different historians including Hillarie Belloc in his book The Great Heresies. It was in there that he stated that the Mohammedan movement was essentially a "Reformation," and we can discover numerous affinities between Islam and Protestant Reformers- on Images, on the Mass, on Celibacy, etc."

We cannot handle the truth of the situation we are in because it appears to contradict some of the misconceptions that we have been taught in the past or are currently being taught by politicians and the mass media. They will tell us that Islam is the religion of peace. I will tell you to see what St. John of Damascus said about that, see what St. Thomas Aquinas said about that and see what Hillarie Belloc said about it.

In the journal, Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, Volume 11 Article 10, 2015, included an article written by Duane Miller and Patrick Hohnstone entitled, “Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background A Global Census.” This article charted the growth of converts from the Muslim religion to Christianity since 1960. They claim that many people have converted. The question becomes why? Why would a devoted Muslim leave their Church and become a Christian? The answer will surprise and shock many of you as well as shed a great deal of light on what we truly are as a people.

My favorite Sunday in the Maronite Liturgical year is Genealogy Sunday. It takes place the Sunday before Christmas and each year our Priest will ask the question, “Who are you?” Followed up by the question, “Who are you really?” On the surface, these may not seem or appear to be deeply religious questions but they really are.

Here in the United States, we think of ourselves in the present generation. If you are asked the question, “Who are you?” Most Americans would answer the question by telling the person their job or profession. I am a student, I am studying at the University of Texas, or I am a systems engineer for Dell Computers. Is this really what people think we are- are we our jobs? You basically are what you are now. If you are a doctor now- you are a doctor. If you are a student now you are a student. Nothing more or less- you are an occupation. However, in most parts of the world, this is not the case.

After living the American experience and having gone through radical job changes, plant shutdowns, large periods of unemployment, and going back to school for retraining, I have learned the lesson that we are not what we are we are who we are and we are who we are through where are relatives came from. Therefore, when someone asks you the question, “Who are you?”, what should you say? You should not reply to your job but where your family has come from.

Okay, why would this be an introduction to the relationship between Islam and Christianity? The answer lies in my family. At the birth of Christ, I had family in the following areas; Korea, China, India, Persia, Bactria, Greece, Ukraine, Jerusalem, Rome, and Armenia. Then in the next 1000 years, these families move, inter-marry, and become the influential members of the Church in Armenia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Constantinople. In fact, it was my relatives that established the Church in those areas. Even though my last name is Cunningham, my roots are Eastern and families played an essential part in the formation of the Church all over the East. With that said, the same families also played an essential role in defending Christianity from Islam ever since the beginning of Islam. The story of the relationship between these two religions could also easily be the story of my family history. With this said, there is a great deal that can be learned from our ancestors. This treatise will look at the development of Islam and how the early Christian Church looked at Islam. The information you can learn from this is very scary and revealing at the same time. You cannot view Islam in any other way other than what the early Church leaders thought about this. Not only does this make sense then, but it also makes much more sense now. Why are leaders of certain countries rushing to bring about the destruction of the world as we know it? What will they gain from this? What do they think they will gain? How is Christianity viewed by Islam? Did you know that in Islam they consider Jesus to be a prophet of Islam although he never claimed to be such? What is the truth and why should we learn it?

The truth is out there and for the most part, we are blind to the truth. Look at the words in the Quran and see if you still believe that the Muslims are a peace-loving people or that it is only the radical Muslims who are causing all of this terror. Understanding that there is no difference may end up saving your life. Twelve Truths About Fighting and Islam- a selection of quotes from the Quran on fighting and war.

The Qur'an tells Muslims to kill and go to war to fight for Islam: Quran, chapters (Surahs) 9:5, 2:191, 2:193, 3:118, 4:75, 76, 5:33, 8:12, 8:65, 9:73, 123, 33:60-62.

Fight for Allah: "And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers," (Quran 2:191).

Muslims are to battle for Allah: "Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo! the devil's strategy is ever weak," (Quran 4:76).

Kill those against Islam: "The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter," (Quran 5:33).

Beheading: "When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying): I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger. 13That is because they opposed Allah and His messenger. Whoso opposeth Allah and His messenger, (for him) lo! Allah is severe in punishment," (Quran 8:12).

Allah urges war: "O Prophet! urge the believers to war; if there are twenty patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand," (Quran 8:65).

Slay non-muslims: "Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful," (Quran 9:5).

Allah urges war: "O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination," (Quran 9:73).

Allah urges war: "O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil)," (Quran 9:123).

Allah urges killing: " . . . the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease and the agitators in the city do not desist . . . 61Cursed: wherever they are found they shall be seized and murdered, a (horrible) murdering. 62(Such has been) the course of Allah with respect to those who have gone before; and you shall not find any change in the course of Allah, (Quran 33:60-62).

Beheading: "Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, then making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom till the war lay down its burdens . . . " (Quran 47:4).

Allah loves those who fight for him: "Truly Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure," (Quran 61:4).

Since Islam teaches that the entire world is to be subjected to its laws, we need to prepare ourselves to withstand the future attacks from followers of Islam. They have been clearly motivated by the Quran which teaches killing in subjection of the unbelievers is not only okay but is the practice you should do. Many people in the 21st, century are totally oblivious to this major concept and think that somehow the Muslims and Christians believe in the same God. This is ridiculous and not only wrong but is exactly the opposite philosophy we should have in the west. The mass media and many of our political leaders are trying to make out a difference between the radical Islamic groups and Islam. This treatise will explain that there are no differences and yet just the utterance of that thought shows the naiveté of how we in the West view Islam. This is why this treatise is very important.

Rev. Martin Niemoller (1892–1984) was a prominent Lutheran pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. He explained in his now-famous poem something that we should learn now about Islam.  

First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

If we do not fight the people of the Islamic faith now, when should we fight them? If we  

do not stand up to Islam now who will do so later? People the time has come to make a stand and the time is now to pick a side. We cannot wait until Islam has taken over the world. We need to arm the world with the truth now and the truth will set Islam free. Only in the shadows can Islam grow, when the light of the sun shines down on the internal contradictions of Islam. People will see it for what it is – an old Christian heresy that cannot be true and should not be followed.

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the religious bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. To this end, this treatise will announce five major changes in the 21st-century mindset with the regard to the real relationship between Christianity and the Muslim faith.

Political Correctness Is Not Needed Here

First, the national and international media are presenting a politically correct agenda that includes little or no negative reporting on the Muslim faith. Without questioning or looking into this faith and with favorable reporting, the growth of this faith has become steady and universal. Now with the added refugee population placing Muslim refugees in many countries all over the world- the results of this repopulation will bear even greater fruits in several generations. On December 25, 2015 the PEW Institute released a report that said, “By the end of the century, Muslims could outnumber Christians for the first time in history.” This startlingly strange statement should get many people beginning to think a great deal more about the Muslim faith.

Alan Cooperman, the Director of Religious Research at PEW explained, "Another way of thinking Christianity is currently the world's largest religion, making up a third of the world's population with 2.2 billion adherents would be surpassed by the Muslims. PEW research showed that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. The religious group will make up 30 percent of the world's population by 2050, compared to just 23 percent of the population in 2010. That means the number of Muslims in the world will nearly equal the number of Christians by 2050.”

With increasing numbers of people and increasing amounts of adherents in previously Christian countries, the call to prayer has become common or commonplace in almost every country. Equality in numbers is one thing but equality in the treatment of people, treatment of women, treatment of justice, and treatment of other religions is something entirely different. Here the failure of the Muslims is historic and without parallel in modern history. How can religion that treats its believers as 7th-century slaves grow into the largest religion in the world this century? What is its appeal? These are questions that need to be asked and unfortunately for the followers of the Muslim faith, the ability to question their faith is not a high priority nor is it allowed. Is there a reason for this? Why are people not allowed to question their faith?

Islam Is A Heretical Form Of Christianity

Second, it is very interesting that for billions of people all over the world it appears both Christianity and the Muslim faith are two separate religions. Now, what if this were not true? What is Christianity was actually the foundation of the Muslim faith and what if the Muslim religion is nothing more than a mere shadow of a major Christian heresy? How would this change the appeal of people to the Muslim Church? Would people still believe like they do today if they know they were wrong for all of these years? You know that Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible yet it is mentioned in the Quran. Why? Could it be because the Quran was written by Syriac Arian Monks before the birth of Mohamed the Prophet? If this is the case what does this do to the story of Mohamed, how he got the Quran, and more importantly his religion?

In actual truth, the Trinity appears in the Quran:  “People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and attribute to God nothing except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His command that He conveyed unto Mary and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His Messengers, and do not say: ‘God is a Trinity.’ Give up this assertion; it would be better for you. God is indeed just One God. Far be it from His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. God is sufficient for a guardian” (Quran 4:171).

It appears significant and interesting that the Trinity appears only in the Quran and only this reference to why we should believe in the humanity of Jesus and not in the Trinity. Wait, why would this appear in Quran in the first place? If you were clearly starting a new religion you wouldn’t come out with something new? Why would you worry about the beliefs of Christians in an area where there were supposedly no Christians unless that area was full of Christians? These are two beliefs that are the cornerstone tenets of the Arian heresy and were clearly written by someone with knowledge of this subject and with a certain intent or outcome to endorse. They were included to make a significant point. This single fact got me interested in finding out a great deal more about the early roots of the Muslim faith.