To ISIS

To Islamic State: You are considered the worst threat this world has. With good reason.

You are feared and hated. With good reason.

You are synonymous with

Beheadings,

Bloodshed,

Terrorism,

Death.

This past weekend, there was an attack in Paris, France, that has made international headlines. We are told that up to 131 people have been killed in this attack, 352 people injured and many of them seriously injured. Many lives are forever changed; they will never be the same. This attack is being attributed to you.

Now, because of you, refugees are being denied admission in some countries in Europe and in some states in the U.S. and understandably so. Because of you, fear and hatred has struck the hearts of many. You are believed to be infiltrating, if only in small numbers, these many refugees.

Most declared that you are not human, but are monsters and sociopaths with no conscience, no heart and no emotions. I know, however, that all your members were once impressionable, vulnerable children. All of us may wonder: Where has your thirst for killing of the innocent, and bloodshed have come from? Where has your love for cruelty and brutality, and your heartlessness come from? According to research, it comes from something called radicalization that often takes place when you are most vulnerable, as children and in times in life when you feel alienated, without purpose, and cut off. This is no excuse for your horrific acts, of cource. It's only an explanation.

I know that you are responsible for the deaths of many people of faith, especially Christians. I cannot forget the video of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, for example. Certainly I cannot forget the photos of children, from Christian families, whom you have beheaded. I know that you are using social media, not for good, but as a tool for terror. I understand that you are exceptionally skilled and savvy with social media. I do not know if any of your members will see this post. I do not expect it to change you even if any of your members did read this

I pray for you, just as I have been told to do by a God Who alone has the power to transform people. For all of us, including me, possess the same sinful nature that you do. It is just that in the case of most of us, we have not grown up in envirinments where we have been indoctrinated with the notion that the West is the Enemy that is to be destroyed at all costs including your own lives. If more of us had been radicalized, I'm sure we would have been like you.

I pray that God will change your hearts and minds. God sent His Son, Jesus, into this world, to live the perfect life that none of us could live and then die in our place. Our sins, all of them,in thought, word and deed, are against God and bring on His wrath. Jesus, in dying on a cross, took our place and God's wrath at our sin. So we can be saved from sin and its penalty, death and hell.

So, of any ISIS members are reading this, I ask you: Repent of your sin (change your mind and agree with God that you have sinned against Him) and trust Jesus and embrace Him as Your Savior from sin and its power. He can take your zeal for killing and bloodshed, and re-channel it to zeal to make Jesus known to people and to save lives instead of destroying them.

Will you respond to God's call even to you?

An Open Letter To ISIS

Hello, any ISIS member, recruit or supporter who may have "stumbled" on this post:

You did not come to this post by accident though it may seem like it. You may have come online because, as an ISIS member, you may be looking for someone to recruit to your cause. You may have come online as an at-risk person or supporter who may be just doing your "thing" online. I'm not sure how it works when ISIS works when they recruit people, but I think I may have an idea of how the process might work. You may respond to someone who acts like they really care about you, are to be trusted implicitly, and they lure you with glowing promises like, "I can give you a better life than what you know now," "You will be joining us in a worthy cause; don't you want to change the world?" or "We really care about and understand you; join us!" Whatever category you belong in, you need to reconsider what you are doing, because it is to your destruction and that of others.

This is a matter of life and death.

Tell me, what need does killing everyone who does not agree with you or offends you meet? I'm told that your holy book, the Koran, tells you that "suicide bombings" and killings of your offenders and "traitors" is the ticket to Heaven, and that you are doing a good thing. I "get" that you may have been indoctrinated into this way of thinking from your early childhood. And I know that thinking patterns laid down since your formative years are very resistant to change. In other words, in many cases, your way of life may be all you have ever known. But does it need to stay that way?

I know that the government of my country see military involvement as the answer to conquering the very real threat that you pose. Yes, all government leaders see is that the people under them and for whom they are responsible, are i danger from you ad they must protect them. Hence, military involvement!

Whether you are an ISIS member, supporter or a person at-risk of ISIS recruitment, there is a better way to channel your zeal for a cause that is worth giving all that you have and are for.

I'm sure that many of you are aware of the 21 Coptic Egyptian followers of Jesus who were shown, on video, right before they were beheaded by ISIS members. I do not know if you have ever wondered at Who they follow and why they could be heard calling on Him as they were being beheaded, and called themselves "people of the cross."
You may believe that you are fighting for the right cause. But have you ever thought how causing bloodshed to innocent people and grief and ruined lives to their families and many other people, can be noble in any sense? Or that you are going to make it to Heaven as "martyrs"? What if you are wrong about both of these things?

I know that your holy book, the Koran, teaches that Jesus is a Prophet. He is that, but He is much more than that. He is the Son of God and He died on a cross for the sins of the world and then returned to life, so that we can know freedom from the penalty and the power of sin and inhumanity to man. I'm praying that He will reveal Himself to you and reveal to you that if you follow Him, you will channel your zeal into a cause far more noble and that will assure you Heaven.

Islamophopia, ISIS & Terrorists

Just this day, a Facebook post of an article streamed into my Newsfeed. According to the headlines of the shared article, "911 Families" are being praised for their "anti-hate" in speaking out against a sin that is known as Islamophobia.

I get it. I get the concern.

The persons who express concern about a fear of Muslims that stirs up hate and prejudice of all Muslims as a people group, mean very well. They value tolerance. They want all people groups to be respected and accepted. They may not realize that, when it comes to tolerance of people regardless of religion, that in each major world religion (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism) there exist radical elements of co-adherents who are "totally sold out" to that religion. Or if they realize that fact, they may see their atrocities and violent acts as isolated incidents, and speaking out against them as tarring these world religions with the same broad brush. Why do they fear that, even if this means forgetting about their unfortunate victims?

The persons who are concerned about Islamophobia may be quick to point one fact out. They may not pay attention to the current ISIS inhumanity against mostly Christians, because they may blame Christians for many of the world's problems. These persons no doubt are aware of the shameful times in Church history, when professing Christians engaged in acts of violence. These persons may be fully aware of professing Christians who may engage in shameful acts against the LGBT community, holding up hate-filled signs. These persons may point out all the acts of violence against abortion clinics and even those inside them. I get that.

There is absolutely no excuse for any of these shameful acts. None.

But there is one thing about Christianity that sets it apart from other religions. Its Founder, Jesus, teaches that His followers are to be peaceful and nonviolent even to our enemies. Does any other world religion teach love and nonviolence even toward one's enemies? Does any other religion teach that, in instances of persecution, even death, that its followers are to refuse to deny their Founder? Does any other religion have so many millions of adherents, even today, who choose death than denying their Founder?

Guess who persecutes religious minorities? The religious! The religious majority, that is.

What about all those extremists who have killed in the Name of Jesus? It's safe to say that these so-called Christians either had totally misinterpreted the teachings of Jesus, or may not be Christ followers in reality. While we in the West may not suffer severe persecution for adhering to any religion, including Christianity, many religious minorities are suffering all over the world! Studies tell us that over 70 percent of these persecuted are Christians. This is because Biblical Christianity calls on its followers to stand for their Jesus even when this means "imposing one's religion or morality on others," coming off as "narrow and intolerant" and breaking with cultural trends. Does any other religion, including Islam, ask for such extreme yet peaceful, nonviolent, devotion of its followers? Last time I checked, I have not seen it.

This concern for Islamophobia seems to have crept into many local churches, if much silence of the global persecution of Christians and other religious minorities is any indication.

What about the victims of ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas and other terrorists? Do you think that they appreciate our concern about being Islamophobes and remain silent about their plight because of it or any other reason? Do you think those on the ground serving these victims and witnessing their beheadings, crucifixions, hangings, rapes, and other atrocities, appreciate silence in the name of tolerance or anything else? Really?

Is there any religion other than Christianity, whose Founder built His Kingdom by dying for His subjects, and returned to life again?

If you simply need to educate yourself about this, let me direct you to an authority about Middle East issues. Find him at RaymondIbrahim.com.

The featured logo can be found here.