Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 11/6/2004

Question
why do all evangelicals hate muslims why do they think they are all terroists especially jerry fallwell and pat robertson. why do they insult the prophet muhammed (peace be upon him) when he treate chirstians with respect and spoke good about jesus (peace be upon him) and even talked about his second coming. why do evangelicals insist allah is not jehova rather than just a moon good why allah means jehova or go in arabic. why do chirstians see jesus (peace be upon him) worship him higher than jehova i thought jehova/allah has no partners in which he says that he will not forgive the sin of those whp die worshiping partners with him.  

Answer
Hello Sajjad,
Before I attempt to answer your question I must point out that I minister in England where the church scene is a little different to the USA. First of all no Christian should hate anyone. We are told in the bible to love others even when we disagree with them. I cannot answer for Jerry Fallwell and Pat Robertson but I believe they would deny any hatred to Muslims but would have a profound disagreement with Islam. Sometimes their way of speaking sounds aggressive and I agree that that is not helpful. However, part of the problem is that in many Islamic countries Christians are denied the freedom to worship and more often the freedom to evangelise. I myself am aware of Christian friends who are currently imprisoned for speaking to others about Jesus and of many others who are prohibited from holding certain jobs because of their faith. I would defend the right of any Muslim to preach on my street corner but I would expect to be given the same privilege in any Muslim community.
I am an evangelical and believe it is my responsibility to love all people and respect their beliefs wherever possible even when I believe those beliefs are wrong. I believe that the majority of Muslims genuinely worship the one true God, whatever name He is given. However I believe the Bible to be God breathed and in the Bible I learn that the one God has revealed Himself in three distinct persons. There is no disharmony in God. He is one and yet three at the same time, modelling perfect community in himself in much the same way that a human being is body, soul and spirit at the same time. The bible teaches that God has uniquely come to us in Jesus who became a human being for our sakes. Please understand we do not believe that God had any physical relations with Mary. That would be blasphemous. Rather we believe that the Spirit of God came on Mary and she conceived a without losing her virginity. The Bible tells us that 'God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself'. We believe that when Jesus died by crucifixion He took on Himself the guilt and responsibility of human sin and paid its penalty so that anyone who repents and puts their trust in what He has done is forgiven by God and accepted by Him. We can never deserve this acceptance. It is by grace (undeserved favour). When a person puts their trust in Jesus Christ the Spirit of God enters them and begins the process of changing them to become more God honouring people. God makes us His children.
As I believe this is the only means of human salvation I obviously believe that the teachings of Islam on such issues are not right even though on many other issues I would agree with them fully.
If the words of other Christians have given you offence either by their meaning or manner of delivery I am deeply sorry.
We all need to learn to talk together about our beliefs without threats, bullying or persecution.
I believe if people wish to convert to Islam they should be free to do so without persecution or threats. However I also believe that such a privilege should also be for those who wish to convert from Islam to Christianity. Such freedoms do not exist in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and many many more Isalamic countries. Until they do Christians will always be on their guard against what they see as the threat of intolerance and the idea of an Islamic state.
If any of my comments have caused offence please forgive me as that is not my intention. I have answered as well as I can and trust that you will know the blessing of God on your life.
Stuart Woodward