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Pete note - Please, instead, read the revised version of this original post on the next page, at this link http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=1247.msg4843#msg4843 )
Why War in Iraq & Afghanistan?
The Real Story Totally Ignored!
As long as all national leaders, the news media, war pundits, and all others with a voice, continue their focus on terrorism, national defense, power conspiracies, war strategies, etc., etc., the story of what's really going on in the world is lost in a dark global cloud of murderous deceit! If we are to ever find the true answer to the ravages of war and terrorism being perpetrated by the Islamic extremists in an enraged conflict with who they consider to be Judeo/Christian infidels, we must be willing to address the root cause which has been totally ignored because of the deceitful lie of political correctness.
The answer can only be found in an examination of the historic timeline of Islamic and Judeo/Christian societal variance from its very beginning. The world has not been willing to look at this because of the politically correct attitude that to do so would inflame enraged feelings of bigotry and prejudice. When history is examined with an understanding of the root cause with respect for the peoples and ultimately the nations involved, it can be seen that there is no justification for bigotry or prejudice in any manner. The only question is, do we want to know the answer and are we willing to face it even if it means we have to make individual or societal admissions of contributing responsibility? Unless we're willing, all the war, the terrorism, and all the anguish the world is suffering, will continue and only grow worse!
The prime issue is a matter the world as a whole has chosen to disavow. This one matter is all that has ever gone on in the entire history of man. It's the story of what creation, time, life, and eternity are all about. For some enigmatic reason mankind has chosen to completely ignore the significance of this matter in regards to our personal and inter-societal relationships and our eternal destiny. Again, unless we address this issue and change our self-determined societal choices in view of its all encompassing significance, our world will only continue on a dreadful self-destructive path.
The only thing standing in our way of perceiving the full truth is our view of the biblical record. But here it is, and whether we accept it or not, it's the only source we have to understand what's going on with any chance we may have to end the Islamic vs. Judeo/Christian atrocities which will only escalate if we continue to disavow it. As we examine history, all wars of any consequence including the present hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been the result of confrontational differences in the acceptance or rejection by various governments of the ethical and just directives of God's Word. Over the course of history that reference has not been available in many societies, in which case oppositional standards were established as determined by those in control to defend their self chosen form of government.
With this in mind, let us go on. The whole story started in the very beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden, but for this examination of the circumstances and events that formed the present day clash between Islamism and Judaism it all started in the family of Abram and Sarai of the lineage of Noah's son Shem, about 350 years after the great flood, and about 700 years before the writing of the Torah. When Abram was 75 years old God made a promise to them that out of their family lineage all the families of the earth would be blessed.
After many life forming events over the next 9 or 10 years of Abram's life, Sarai had still not born him an heir, and she chose to take Hagar her Egyptian handmaid and give her to Abram to be his wife. After she conceived, great resentment grew between her and Sarai and in her time of plight the angel of the Lord appeared unto Hagar and promised to multiply her seed exceedingly that it would not be numbered for multitude. Out of that union when Abram was 86 years old, Ishmael, the father of all the Arabic nations was born, an impressive and mighty people.
Later, when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared unto Abram one more time to reaffirm His covenant with him and to multiply his seed exceedingly. In that meeting, the Lord changed Abram's name to Abraham as a father of many nations. At that same time the Lord changed Sarai's name to Sarah and blessed her to give Abraham a son, that she should be a mother of nations. The name of the promised son would be Isaac, and the Lord would establish His covenant with Isaac as an everlasting covenant. It would be through that lineage that the Lord's promise would be fulfilled.
Just as to why the Lord established the lineage of Isaac to fulfill His promise to bless all the families of the earth through the seed of Abraham is not made perfectly clear. Many words of consideration and respect should be extended to the great peoples of the Arabic nations but suffice it to say that as written in the Torah, it is passionately clear that it had nothing to do with any condemnation or judgment of Ishmael's heritage. Ishmael was accepted in Abraham's family with the same manner of blessing as was Isaac. It's really a very sensitive and compassionate story.
So why has the clash occurred? It was through the lineage of Isaac, 2056 years later, that Joseph with his betrothed Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus, would appear. At that time the Arabic nations believed the prophetic word of God's promise for a redeemer as recorded in the Torah just as expectantly as did the Jewish peoples. With the message of Jesus birth of the Virgin Mary, His powerful life ministry, His Crucifixion, burial and resurrection, as fervently proclaimed by the early church founders, the Roman, Arabic and Egyptian nations were all believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah just as readily as were the Jewish peoples, maybe even more.
Then the unimaginable occurred! In a contentious heated debate, early church leaders were meeting to iron out differences as to how they perceived the relationship of God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, should be defined. It all revolved around the interpretation of differing scriptural references concerning that relationship. One prime reference was the written story of Jesus baptism by John in the river Jordan. There had been the voice of God from heaven saying "this is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," and the Spirit descending as a dove. In the minds of some, to be called a Son would indicate that He was a created Son of God and not a begotten equal. If Jesus was truly one with God He would have been eternal and not addressed as a created son.
The dispute had been inflamed on the issue of how to define the Godhead, and the contending parties were St. Alexander and Presbyter Arius of the Church of Alexandria, Egypt. Arius contended that God the Father and God the Son were different, and that the Son, though he may be the most perfect of all creations, was only a creation of God the Father; in opposition to St. Alexander who believed that the Son was of the same substance as the Father, and co-eternal with Him. In final resolution they coined the phrase "Three Persons of the Trinity" to define the Godhead. Since according to the Torah the promised redeemer had to be divine and there was only one God, in the minds of the Arian's by that definition Jesus could not be divine as was required to fulfill the Messianic prophecies if He was a separate person from God. Arius resisted and as the result of that edict, he was excommunicated.
This controversy is still raging! In many ways it's deceptively confusing and I may not be portraying the event with total clarity, but my only aim is to reveal that what is still going on in the world today is a result of that continuing rage. Through a continuing onslaught of satanic deception concerning the Divinity of the Christ, many have been blinded to the majestic beauty of God's eternal sacred design to reconcile mankind's sacred relationship with Him through the Passion of the Christ and grant us His free gift of eternal life. The most devastating result has been that millions of souls have perished, all through the Crusades of the Middle Age and now in Iraq and Afghanistan with contending spiritual ideologies rooted in that controversy.
The raging hostilities in the years and generations following that resentful clash gave rise to Arianism in opposition to the Nicene Creed. The theology of Arianism became fervently embraced by following generations of many families that had been in support of Arius, and those convictions became deeply ingrained in the spiritual ideology of Mohammad's family heritage. As a result, in Mohammad's quest for spiritual enlightenment he was inspired to write the Koran which is the sacred text of Islam. Going on from there with no clear understanding of the murderous satanic deception unleashed, or acceptance of any responsibility for what had created the clash, an enraged Islamic vs. Christian conflict has taken the lives of millions of precious souls.
Please read this carefully. I am in no way placing bigoted or prejudicial blame. When all the events and circumstances that have taken place over the course of history are examined with consideration and respect for all concerned, it can be clearly seen that the choices made were ethically honorable in light of the prevailing philosophical and spiritual ideologies of those involved. Constantine I, St. Alexander, Arius, and many others later involved including Mohammad, were only trying to do what they thought was right from their point of view.
As it now stands the clash has become a vehement "we're right, you're wrong" contest, in which even though we don't all use the same vernacular, both sides are accusing the other of being the infidel. So let us place all the blame where it belongs. It's not a matter of who's right or who's wrong; it's only about the fact that because of the deceptive lies of Satan, we've all lost sight of what's really at stake. Satan is standing on the brink of hell laughing, because through his cunningly deceitful lies he has us killing one another instead of loving one another, thinking we're doing God a service.
The one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael has only one desire. God wants all His created man to be blessed with His free gift of eternal life to live and reign with Him forever, and He has paid the ultimate price to make it so by sending His only begotten Son to be our redeemer. Oh, that man would only believe! Please let us make a new choice and let love be our controlling motivation.
