No, This Is Not The Crusades

I was having a conversation with my husband a few weeks ago about what is happening now all over the world. ISIS, the Islamic Extremist Group of Terrorists have taken the liberty to play God/Allah and declare war on all nonbelievers of Allah or Muhammad -- As I am sure you are well aware. 

My husband mentioned that this was just like the Crusades in the 11th Century. I, however, do not agree and I will discuss two significant differences on why this is not the crusades. 

(President Obama also made this comparison just recently, unfortunately they are not the same)

First off, let me say that I am not a history expert or a ISIS expert for that matter but it doesn't take much research to discovers the differences. 

1. The Crusades was started by mans fallibility (the sitting Pope in 1095), while these terrorist acts are based on things written in the Quran by Allah.

The crusades were able to get an incredible amount of support because the Pope promised that if these Christian fighters went to the Holy Land than they would be free of sin and go to Heaven. This is a blatant lie to manipulate people who were ignorant of what the Bible actually says. The Bible says that you can only get to heaven through Jesus Christ. 

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."

John 14:5-7

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

The Popes actions are different than ISIS's motivations because the Pope LIED, but ISIS is basing its beliefs on the words of the Qur'an.

"Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority".

Quran 3:151 

The Qur'an tells the believers that if they fight in the name of Allah and torture nonbelievers than they are at a higher level than the Muslims who don't fight. 

"Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward,-"

Quran 4:95 

Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 

Quran 9:29 

The difference here is that ISIS's own Qur'an tells them they will be seen as better in the eyes of Allah.

However, the God of the Bible says Thou Shall Not Murder, and he doesn't see a difference between his believing children: men, women, disabled, black white, red. It doesn't matter, if you believe and have a relationship with God and Jesus Christ you are saved. God of the Bible also gives us commands to Love Our Neighbors as ourselves, if they are believers or not. 

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Matthew 22: 37- 40

(See 1 Corinthians 13 for the definition on Love)

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Excerpt from Fox News Article: Obama at Prayer Event: Christians did terrible things, too. 

Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas and the author of the upcoming book, “Countdown to the Apocalypse: Why ISIS and Ebola Are Only the Beginning,” said there are two problems with Obama’s comparison.

“When Christians act violently they are acting in opposition to the teachings of their founder, Jesus Christ,” Jeffress told me. “They cannot cite a single verse in the New Testament that calls for violence against unbelievers. On the other hand, radical Islamists can point to a number of verses in the Koran calling for Muslims to ‘crucify the infidels.’”

On Wednesday a United Nations watchdog group reported that Islamic militants were crucifying Iraqi children and burying them alive. Others had been sold as sex slaves and boys as young as 18 had been used as suicide bombers, Reuters reported.

“They are following the example of their founder Muhammad who slaughtered and beheaded those who opposed him,” Jeffress said.

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2. The Crusades was an isolated defensive war to gain control of the Holy Land after 700 years of jihadist attacks on Civilized Society. ISIS has stated that they are looking for a World Cleansing of ALL people who do not and won't believe around the entire WORLD.

Watch the video of THE FACTS here

ISIS is looking for world domination, the crusades just wanted control of the Holy Land which God gave to his chosen people, the Jews. In the Crusades they did not demand them to convert or die, they went to take control of the Holy Land and they did.

That doesn't mean it wasn't brutal, that doesn't mean it wasn't horrible leading to deaths of innocent people. 

But, what about the jihadist wars with no provocation for the past 1400 years just because people don't believe in Muhammad or Allah? 

That was horrible too.  

However, ISIS is demanding that everyone convert and follow Allah and Muhammad or die terrible deaths. They are also doing their best to incite fear into the entire world but decapitating journalists and assassinating them in cold blood for "dishonoring" Muhammad. 

The difference here is that the Crusades were isolated to the Holy Land and not looking for world conversions, however ISIS is looking for a religious cleansing of all nonbelievers all around the world. And they will do anything to ensure that that happens. 

Very easily a modern day holocaust of the entire world of nonbelievers. 

As I pointed out earlier, no where in the Bible does it encourage or mention to kill people who don't or will not believe. Instead it calls us to become like unbelievers and if they don't believe than we may show them God's love via our actions. 

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. 

To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 

To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.  

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:19-24

The Crusades was wrong because it promised forgiveness of sins if the Christians participated - Blatant False Teaching. Only Jesus Christ can take away our sins if we ask for forgiveness and repent (two very different things). Only through Jesus Christ can we be saved. 

Christianity doesn't force anyone who doesn't believe into believing. Instead its tolerant (yes, Christians are human which means sometimes we aren't tolerant) but our God is a loving and patient God, and can change someones heart about their belief if he wanted to. He is bigger than you and me, He is God. So there is no need for us to force anyone to believe.

God didn't force Adam and Eve to love him - instead he gave them FREE WILL to choose. That is true love my friends. Those who love him and choose to love him will live with him for eternity.

LOVE doesn't force itself on you. God does not force himself on anyone. Love gives you the freedom to say no and walk away. However, he does tell us what happens if you do not choose God, but its OUR choice not HIS. It is OUR consequence.

What about the many cities destroyed in the Bible for not believing in God, you question? Thats not loving, you say. 

Well those cities were not killed because of lack of belief, they were killed because they were freely sinning against him, knowing full well what they were doing, he gave them the choice, 

WARNING them time and time again what would happen and after years of second chances -- 

THEY CHOSE not to listen. 

If they just repented and changed their ways back to obeying God he wouldn't have destroyed them -- like the city Nineveh that Jonah was sent to warn. They took it seriously, repented and were saved. 

However, ISIS is taking away the choice of these people they are capturing by saying convert or die. 

They take away their choice. 

They demand that they bow down to Allah and Muhammad or be murdered and thats not love, thats control. Thats FEAR. 

And perfect love casts out fear, it does not cause it. 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:18

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:8

God allows them to continue their ways offering multiple chances and the choice to choose. 

Is there consequences for sinning against God knowingly and not repenting? Absolutely, just like there is consequences when you know you are doing something wrong, but God gives you the free will to choose. You are free to live the way you'd like - to believe or not to believe - to follow his commands or not to follow his commands -- but you must be willing to live with the consequences of your choice. 

This is unlike ISIS and the muslims who choose to reach that "next level" in the eyes of Allah by taking away the "infidels" or nonbelievers choice. 

Anything that takes away your free will and choice is not love but oppression and not from the only true God.

Though these are the differences, there is one similarity between the Crusades and ISIS. Ignorance. 

Ignorance of the Bibles teachings on behalf of the Christians who went to fight in the Holy Land, ignorance on the behalf of some of todays Christians who do not actually know the Bible as it is written and base their knowledge on others. Ignorance of todays public on what is actually in the Bible. Ignorance on behalf of the muslims and world, who don't see the many contradictions that are in the quran.

Ignorance on behalf of the United States of where our country came from which has caused a moral decay and an urge toward Freedom FROM RELIGION, not of religion- specifically anything Christian related. And ignorance of the dangers of Islam because of political correctness is too afraid to speak against it. 

Yes, I am quite aware that majority of Muslims are nonviolent and do not support ISIS. Nor am I asking them to defend their faith because of ISIS's actions. I understand that there is evil in this world and this kind of extremism is not the entire religion, but regardless, they are basing their actions on the words of the quran and that is dangerous. 

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Are you Muslim? 

**I would really like to open the lines of communication to you so that I can hear, why you have chosen to believe in Allah and Muhammad? And do you see Allah and Muhammad as truly loving and a life transforming God. I really would just love to talk to you about it, to learn more and to share what I believe. Please feel free to email me at taraatfaithineveryday @ GMAIL.com to have a conversation!**

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I don't normally write about what is going on in the world on my blog because I want this blog to be a place of retreat and encouragement from everything going on. However, this war against Christians, Jews and all nonbelievers is something that no one can afford to ignore. 

We ARE BEING PERSECUTED. Christians, and Jews are being persecuted in various ways around the world. Terror attacks, the gruesome murders of Christian Children and Believers in the Middle East, AntiSemitism, the pushing of God out of schools, media, the government, public places and the like in the US -- these things are all happening all around us and we cannot sit back and be blind to it. 

Though this is evil, and frightening--- 

THERE IS GOOD NEWS! WE KNOW the ending to this story! 

God will prevail! God will end all of this suffering and show the world who HE is. 

For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD." So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Romans 14:11 -12

I am not going to prophesies when it is going to happen, only God knows that, but he promised that it would happen and his promises always come true.    

(Read Mark 12:7-37 for the full picture of the end of days.) 

32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Mark 12:32

In the new heaven and new earth we will live with God, and all who are there will have chosen to love God and spend eternity with him.

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of Godgives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelations 21:22-27 

God is the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning and the End. 

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

20 He who testifies to these things says, 

“Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Revelation 22:18-21

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