Hello Jeff,

>LL>What Muslims mean by unity is not necessarily the same thing as what mos
>LL>Christians think is meant.  But that is for another post.  :)

JS>Lee, I've studied and written about this stuff as well; and what it means
JS>is that, ultimately, anyone -- including Christians and Jews -- who do not
JS>embrace the precepts of Islam, will be beheaded.

That is a cartoon-strip understanding of Islam.  Most Muslims view
beheading as being un-Islamic, being a misinterpretation of the Quran.

Most anti-Muslim sites quote a handful of quotes from the Quran as
their basis for hatred of Muslims.  However, taking such quotes out of
context is a poor example of what is really meant.  Islam is both
anti-violence and anti-war.  How can beheadings be part of a religion
that is both anti-violence and anti-war?  It is obvious that wars are
not fought with kid gloves.  War is violent.  And aggressive.  There
is nothing merciful about war, given its very nature.  War is man's
inhumanity toward his fellow man.  There is absolutely nothing Islamic
about that.

As you know, beheading has been used long before Islam ever came
about.  For example, St. Paul was beheaded by the Romans.  Not only
that, but Christians also used beheadings to great effect, including
chopping off the heads of other Christians.  That is what happened
to St. Thomas More, who lost his head due to his refusal to bow before
the King.  And then there were the French, who invented the guillotine.
More recently, beheadings have become a topic among Jews, especially
in regards to the Noahide laws.

JS>Some people may wonder why, in the modern world, which is supposedly
JS>"enlightened", the Book of Revelation talks about Believers being
JS>beheaded for their faith. Well, the Qur'an offers a very clear answer
JS>-- "Chop, chop! Off goes your head, you infidel!".

Islam means (literally) - "peace and submission to Allah".
Jesus said exactly the same thing - "Render unto Caesar what is
Caesar's, unto God what is God's."

Are you suggesting that Christians do as Jesus commanded, by chopping
off the heads of all infidels?  Gosh.  With Muslims chopping off the
heads of Christians and Jews, and Christians chopping off the heads of
Muslims and Jews, and Jews chopping off the heads of Christians and
Muslims, who will be left to rule the world?

Perhaps it would be best to discard that cartoon-strip understanding
of Islam and seek the truth.  :)

"What is truth?" - Pontius Pilate to Jesus

Jesus had no answer.

JS>Once again God's Word will be proven true:

JS>"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
JS>them: and I SAW THE SOULS OF THEM THAT WERE BEHEADED FOR THE WITNESS OF
JS>JESUS, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,
JS>neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads,
JS>or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
JS>years."

The how is not important, whether by beheading, gas chamber, lethal
injection, firing squad, or whatever.  The thousand years is merely
a reference meaning a long period of time.  What this has to do with
Islam is beyond me, as there is absolutely no reference to Islam in
the entire bible, much less the book of Revelation.  And any period
of time does come to an end, as it must.

The fact of the matter is that Christians have always been persecuted.
So have Muslims.  And peoples of other faiths.  Your point?

JS>Revelation 20:4, KJV

What happens when the thousand years are over, at the end of human
history?  Is it the end of the story?  Is that all she wrote?

JS>What more needs to be said?

Satan is unleashed again.  That is what happens.  And what does
he do?  He seduces all the nations of the earth and musters people
for war.  And then comes The End.  The End of All.  Don't believe
me?  It's all there.  In the Good Book.  Right after Revelation 20:4.
Read it.  :)

--Lee


 * SLMR 2.1a * Bonne chance.

--- Maximus 3.01