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Church History Reflection


It is essential to learn about history in order to avoid mistakes of those who have gone before us. I have a life-time long interest in history (to the point of reading history textbooks for recreation) so I enjoyed the GBS course, Church History. I am including my research paper, “On the Brink: Islam and the Western Church” in my portfolio because it addresses a pressing issue that receives little attention. Like the early church, we need to stand faithful, “the pillar and ground of the truth” (l Tim. 3:15).

We should be one in Christ with the true (“invisible”) church, and avoid unnecessary divisions. The early church avoided polygamy, prostitution, and perverted sexual practice. They presented excellent examples of happy and wholesome marriage and family living. They shunned idolatry and other heathen practices, stayed away from unwholesome entertainment, and were pro-life. Like them, the early church, we need to stand for holiness in our lives. As the western church faces increasing persecution, we need to stand for the truth of Christ throughout the whole world and we need to be faithful to the Word of Christ.















On the Brink: Islam and the Western Church

Melissa L. Morgan

Church History

April 11, 2015



Abstract

In this paper I will address the dangerous effect that the birth and development of Islam has had on the church in the West. The church was threatened but held back Islam from conquering the West in the time of the Crusades, and even restored parts of Europe that had been lost. The church in the East is currently under great persecution, and ancient landmarks are being destroyed by Muslims engaged in Jihad. Yet there is misunderstanding and indifference to the goal of Islamic leaders to destroy what they view as the western “Crusaders.” The organized church looks the other way when there are reports of believers being beheaded, tortured, and persecuted; the slumber of the west is both a symptom of spiritual apathy and hard hearts among believers. Will this blindness contribute to the collapse of western civilization, bringing increasing persecution to those who remain in Christ?





On the Brink: Islam and the Western Church



The birth and development of Islam has profoundly influenced events throughout the history of the western church. After going on the offensive and beating back the Muslim Caliphate from the Western borders during Medieval times, the modern Christian church again stands on the brink of a disastrous repeat of collapsing civilization. Edmund Burke has said, “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” Now, more than ever, Christians need to re-examine the history of western civilization, and heed the warning signs.

Islam is said to have begun in A.D. 610, with Muhammad's claims to be a prophet with “with the supernatural visions and revelations that Muhammad claimed he received from God through the angel Gabriel in A.D. 61.” (Ankerberg and Weldon, p. 22)

In the life of this self-proclaiming prophet, who wedded a six year old child named Aisha and committed robbery and murder, one sees an opposite of Jesus--an anti-Christ. This is not to say that Mohamed was “the” Anti-Christ of end times prophesy, but that he was a type of anti-Christ, an opposite of Christ. 2 John 1:7 explains that "I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist." Also 1 John 2:22 further clarifies that the anti-Christ is not just one person: "Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son."

Jesus lived a sinless life, claimed to be the Son of God, and proved His claim through His resurrection and the testimony of many witnesses. (Romans 1:1-4) John the Apostle testified that Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) In contrast, Mohammad lived a life filled with violence and falsely claimed to also be a prophet of the Bible. (Spencer, p. 6,12-15, 69) Ankerberg and Weldon note that the teachings of Islam are not compatible with the Biblical worldview. In Islam, Allah is a Unitarian “God of arbitrary mercy but not a God of love”—in Islam, there is no trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Salvation in Islam is through works, not grace, and the Qu'ran claims that “Jesus Christ did not die on the cross, let alone die for human sin; however, the most fundamental teaching of the Bible is that Christ did die upon the cross for sin, and that this was God's plan from all eternity.” (Ankerberg and Weldon, PP. 22, 23)

The Muslim Allah requires absolute submission to law without grace, and their work requires that Allah's followers spread this submission throughout the world. History records the results.

Esolen states:

Recall that in the days of Augustine,around 400 AD, all of Africa north of the Sahara, including the Nile Valley from the sea to the heart of the Sudan, was Greco-Roman in culture, and mainly Christian in faith...Alexandria was the scholarly capital of the world. The wildfire of Mohamed swept it away, and an ancient civilization, extending from Spain to Persia, was no more.” (Esolen, pp. 133- 134)

English historian Edward Gibbon, known as a sharp-witted opponent to organized religion, nevertheless recognized the disastrous and world changing effect of Islam. He wrote:

"While the state was exhausted by the Persian war, and the church was distracted by the Nestorian and Monophysite sects, Mahomet, with the sword in one hand and the Koran in the other, erected his throne on the ruins of Christianity and of Rome. The genius of the Arabian prophet, the manners of his nation, and the spirit of his religion, involve the causes of the decline and fall of the Eastern empire; and our eyes are curiously intent on one of the most memorable revolutions, which have impressed a new and lasting character on the nations of the globe.' (Gibbon, Kindle Locations 1585—1588)

Although commonly thought (and taught) that the spread of Islam aided the development of western civilization during the Middle Ages, O'Neill warns that there is a darker side to Islamic influence. He explains that this evil is “the side that modern historians, chained by the bonds of political correctness, do not dare mention. The real ideological impression of Islam was not the enlightened thinking of Avicenna and Averroes, who were in any case rejected and expelled from the Muslim canon, but the darker thinking found in the Koran and the Haditha: the doctrines of perpetual war against non-believers; of holy deception (taqiyya); of death for apostates and heretics; of judicial torture; of slave and concubine-taking as a legitimate occupation. These were the teachings, and not those of the philosophers, which left an indelible imprint on medieval Europe. And this began right at the beginning." (O'Neill, John, http://www.islam-watch.org/authors/92-john/101-impact-of-islam-on-medieval-europe.html )

O'Neill reminds the reader that after the spread of Islam devastated the eastern church, only France, Western Germany, the Upper Danube, Italy, Ireland and parts of Britain remained. The west could not remain neutral and maintain a Christian identity. Rather than bringing a golden age, O'Neill explains that Islam "effectively isolated all of Europe, East and West, both intellectually and economically. The resulting impoverishment produced what is now known as the Dark Ages, or more correctly, the Middle Ages. Society rapidly became more rural, as the great cities which depended on the Mediterranean trade declined. Illiteracy became rampant, as the Egyptian papyrus, which had fueled the economic and cultural life of Europe for centuries, became unavailable...And with this economic paralysis came war; the Muslim conquests were to unleash a torrent of violence against Europe. As a direct result of the Arab advance, by the seventh and eighth centuries, Christendom, the area within which Christianity was the dominant religion, diminished almost to vanishing point." (O'Neill, http://www.islam-watch.org/iw-new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87:did-islam-destroy-the-classical-civilization&catid=90:book&Itemid=58 )

Islam Threatens the Western Church

Islam would not be content with subjugating the East; the religion of submission must continue to conquer. In Christianity through the Centuries: A history of the Christian Church the author documents that Muslims threatened the West and from 1095 and 1291 crusades against Muslims in Asia and Europe were carried out by the church. The author states:"'The Seljuk Turks, who had replaced the Arabs, were much more fanatical and brutal than those whom they had replaced, and European pilgrims were subjected to persecution when they landed in Palestine. Moreover, Alexius, the emperor at Constantinople, had asked the aid of western European Christians against these Muslim Asiatic invaders who were threatening the security of his kingdom."

Gibbon records that Pope Gregory enlisted the aid of Charles Martel in saving the West from the Mahometan (Islamic) threat: "In his distress, the first Gregory had implored the aid of the hero of the age, of Charles Martel, who governed the French monarchy with the humble title of mayor or duke; and who, by his signal victory over the Saracens, had saved his country, and perhaps Europe, from the Mahometan yoke." (Gibbon, Kindle Locations 585-588)

The Crusades were primarily defensive wars in response to a desperate plea for help. Although they are looked on as failures and wars of aggression today, the Crusades saved western civilization, allowing it to remain Christian. Though the Crusades were brutal and there were tragic abuses (as occur in all wars) the Crusades enabled the church to hold back Islam from conquering the west, and even restored parts of Europe that had been lost.

The West had time to rebuild civilization during the Middle Ages, education flourished, and the church grew in influence. Meanwhile Islam continued to dominate in the East, and “borrowed” what it found useful from the trappings of civilization. Schlorff writes that Nevertheless, beginning around the fifteenth century, Islam went into decline. The Muslims began to experience setbacks and loss of territory as the vast empire began to disintegrate. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Muslim community experienced its darkest hour. It became politically fragmented, economically underdeveloped, and largely subservient to Western colonial powers. After the abolition of the caliphate in 1924, there was no longer a caliph governing the community anywhere, as required by Muslim ideology.” (Schlorff, http://www.answering-islam.org/Christians/schlorff2.html )

Almost a century later, in present times, the Muslim world declared open warfare on the West. Recently an organization calling itself the Islamic State declared a new Caliphate. Perhaps Schlorff's warning comes too late:
Christians have failed to respond in any adequate way to the issues raised by Muslim ideology...Possibly the most important factor, however, is our tendency in the West to focus almost exclusively on the spiritual side of the biblical message. This is largely due to the influence of the concept of the "two realms" - the realms of Christ and Caesar, church and state, the sacred and the secular, the spiritual and the political. Although this distinction originated in Christian theology, it has become such a part of our Western cultural framework that it is now one of our unspoken, and often unrecognized, cultural assumptions.” (Schlorff, http://www.answering-islam.org/Christians/schlorff2.html )

Church On the Brink

Today it is commonly claimed that over a billion people follow the religion of submission: Islam. The Western nations, weary from a decade long war against Muslim extremism (although it is not generally understood in those terms), seek to appease or ignore the rise of the Muslim caliphate. Most Christian lack understanding of the Muslim world and do not think that it will affect them in their everyday lives. As the war is both physical and spiritual, we are fighting (if indeed we have not already surrendered) blindfolded and with our hands tied behind our backs. Believers are ignorant of the worldview of their Muslim neighbors, and assume that their intent is peaceful.

The Muslim foe today bares an uncanny resemblance to the enemy of the Crusades. The church in the East is currently under great persecution, and ancient landmarks are being destroyed. According to Open Doors World Watch List, the majority of the top countries for persecuting Christians are Islamic. (Open Doors, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list ) "100 million Christians around the globe are currently suffering...each month 322 Christians are killed for their faith, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed, 772 forms of violence are committed against Christians (such as beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests and forced marriages)...According to The Pew Research Center, over 75% of the world's population lives in areas with severe religious restrictions (and many of these people are Christians). Also, according to the United States Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Jesus Christ." (Open Doors, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution )

Yet despite well-documented persecution in the East, Westerners either misunderstand or are indifferent to the stated goal of Islamic leaders to destroy what they view as the Western “Crusaders.” The organized church looks the other way when there are reports of believers being beheaded, tortured, and persecuted; the slumber of the west is both a symptom of spiritual apathy and hard hearts among believers.

Muslim immigration to the western world has increased in recent decades, and evidence hints they are not assimilating into western society; rather, they are supplanting it. That doesn't bode well for the church of Christ in the western world. Will this blindness contribute to the collapse of the western church, bringing increasing persecution to those who remain in Christ?

Statistics from the Pew Research Center show that "In recent decades, the Muslim share of the population throughout Europe grew about 1 percentage point a decade, from 4% in 1990 to 6% in 2010. This pattern is expected to continue through 2030, when Muslims are projected to make up 8% of Europe’s population." (Pew Research Center, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/15/5-facts-about-the-muslim-population-in-europe)

In addition to immigration, Muslims increasingly focus on conversion, targeting urban youth in Europe and the United States. Much of these efforts are directed through the phenomenal growth of mosques, many of which openly call for religious jihad. A recent study highlights the point that “The American mosque is a remarkably young institution: over three-fourths (76%) of all existing mosques were established since 1980.” The American Mosque 2011, http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/sites/faithcommunitiestoday.org/files/The%20American%20Mosque%202011%20web.pdf.

"According to the recent Faith Communities Today study (FACT), the membership in Muslim mosques is increasing at a rapid pace, coming in second only to megachurches in the United States...Mosques trailed megachurches, 83 percent of which grew by ten percent or more in membership from 1995 to 2000 as compared to 60 percent of masjids, the Arabic term for a Muslim congregation, which grew by 10% or more in that same time period. Ten percent or more congregational growth was found in 48 percent of Latter-day Saints congregations, 42 percent of Assemblies of God churches, 29 percent of Roman Catholic and Orthodox congregations, 39 percent of evangelical Protestant congregations, and 27 percent of old-line Protestants." (Hartford Institute for Religion Research, http://www.hartfordinstitute.org/research/quick_question20.html) (Download the original study at Faith Communities Today Factoid, Fast Growing Congregations, http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/sites/all/themes/factzen4/files/factoid5.pdf.

Should the church in the West be concerned with this radical change in American religion and culture, or does this simply provide greater access for evangelism? Why is there apparently a push to increase the influence of Muslims in Western society? In her book, Because They Hate, Brigitte Gabriel (a Maronite Christian from Lebanon) watched the metamorphosis of Lebanon (predominantly Christian) into an Islamic state. Gabriel warned that:

"American citizens have been murdered in this terror war for thirty years. However, America cannot effectively defend itself in this war unless and until the American people understand the nature of the enemy that it faces. Even after 9/11 there are those who say that we must "engage" our terrorist enemies, that we must "address their grievances." Their grievance is our freedom of religion. Their grievance is our democratic process. Islamic religious authorities and terrorist leaders repeatedly state that they will destroy the United States and Western civilization, and replace it with the only true religion, Islam. Unless we take them at their word, and defend ourselves accordingly, they will succeed...This book is in part my personal story and my observations. It is written in the hope that Americans and the West will recognize the imminent threat to their way of life and make the correct philosophical, legal, governmental policy, and military decisions to protect themselves from suffering the same fate as the Lebanese infidels." (Gabriel, Brigitte, xiii.)

There remain glimmers of hope. Still, many modern leaders do not recognize or refuse to admit to the dire consequences of pretending that Islam is a “religion of peace” while the stated purpose of Islamist is to destroy what is left of the Christian West. Muehlengerg, writing in CultureWatch, notes that "In one country after another ignorance, appeasement and apathy have allowed the Islamists to cement their positions in the West...The UK is an obvious case in point. While Christianity seems to be all but dead there, Islam is on the move big time. Simply look at how houses of worship reveal these truths. In 1960 there was one mosque in all of London. Today there are many hundreds of them and incredibly many of these are former churches! Yet most folks there have snoozed through all this." Muelenberg, http://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/12/19/waking-up-to-islam )

Western civilization stands on the brink of collapse and the situation is dire, yet there is no need to fear. Christians should love Muslims with the love of Christ, while at the same time speaking up for and defending the weak. Unlike the dead prophet of Islam, our Lord and Savior lives, and He has promised:

"...lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."” (Matthew 28:20, KJV)

As the time grows short, until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, may we remember Samuel J. Stone's great hymn, “The Church's One Foundation:”

“The Church shall never perish!

Her dear Lord to defend,

To guide, sustain, and cherish

Is with her to the end:

Though there be those who hate her,

And false sons in her pale,

Against both foe or traitor

She ever shall prevail.” (Cyberhymnal, http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/h/chofound.htm

References

Ankerberg, John and Weldon, John (2004) The Facts on World Religions. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers.

Cairns, Earle E. (2009-09-13). Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church (Kindle Locations 3971-3973). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Cyberhymnal, “The Church's One Foundation” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/h/chofound.htm . Retrieved 3/24/2015.

Esolen, Anthony (2008) The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc.

Faith Communities Today Factoid, Fast Growing Congregations, http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/sites/all/themes/factzen4/files/factoid5.pdf . Retrieved 3/24/2015

Gabriel, Brigitte, Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America (2008) St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition.

Gibbon, Edward. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 5 (Kindle Locations 585-588, 1585-1588).

Hartford Institute for Religion Research, A Quick Question: How quickly are Muslim mosques growing in the U.S.?, http://www.hartfordinstitute.org/research/quick_question20.html , Retrieved 3/24/2015

Ihsan Bagby (2012) The American Mosque 2011. http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/sites/faithcommunitiestoday.org/files/The%20American%20Mosque%202011%20web.pdf . Retrieved 3/24/2015.

Muehlenberg, Bill (12/19.2913) Waking Up to Islam, Culture Watch, http://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/12/19/waking-up-to-islam . Retrieved 3/23/2015.

O'Neill, John, Islam Watch, Did Islam Destroy the Classical Civilization? (12 July 2009) http://www.islam-watch.org/authors/92-john/101-impact-of-islam-on-medieval-europe.html. Retrieved 3/23/2015.

O'Neill, John (2009) Islam Watch, The Impact of Islam on Medieval Europe, http://www.islam-watch.org/authors/92-john/101-impact-of-islam-on-medieval-europe.html, Retrieved 3/23/2015.

Open Doors, World Watch List, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/ and https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution, Retrieved 3/23/2015.

Pew Research Center, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/15/5-facts-about-the-muslim-population-in-europe , Retrieved January 15, 2015.

Schlorff, Sam. Muslim Ideology and Christian Apologetics, Reproduced from Missiology, Vol. 21, No. 2 (April 1993). http://www.answering-islam.org/Christians/schlorff2.html . Retrieved 3/23/2015.

Spencer, Robert (2005) The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) Paperback. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, Inc.