Yours, Faithfully

If  one goes by popular perception, it's only people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who are lured by Christianity. The notion is that they give up their religion to break free from the Hindu caste system and nurture the hope that a better life awaits them after they convert. But it's not just the oppressed classes who are drawn to Jesus. Highly educated and well-placed upper-caste Hindus and Muslims have also risked censure from their immediate family and community to take the crucial plunge. 

They all have their own reasons for giving up one religion for another. As Jesuit sociologist Rudolf C. Heredia puts it in his book, Changing Gods, Rethinking Conversion in India: "Conversion is a question of personal choice, it involves a rejection, a change or an adaptation of one's identity. A complex set of motivations are involved. The change is the result of a personal quest, which may be more than a religious or spiritual one. Positively, this is experienced as a liberation; negatively, it could be an escape." 

So what is it like to switch from one god to another? Outlook spoke to some unlikely converts:

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Syed Ainul Hadeed, 38
Filmmaker

"I was born in a rich Muslim family of Pune. My parents belonged to families with a rich religious heritage. When I was barely four, my parents separated. My mother and I moved in with my aunt in Hyderabad. From an early age I was taught Islamic traditions and I also learnt to read the Quran in Arabic. However, I went to schools run by the Jesuits and did well both in studies and sports. My mother and I shifted to Mumbai when I was in the sixth standard.

"It was during this period that I began carefully studying the Quran. However, I found I could not digest the teachings. Yet I did not stop believing in God's existence. This was in the late 1980s. My teenage years and early adult life were difficult—failed relationships, financial hardships and my father's death made me morose. At one point I even decided to end my life by consuming mercury. Luckily, I survived.

"It was all very strange. On the one hand I was attempting suicide, but at another level, I had an out-of-body experience. I felt my spirit drift to my old school—to the feet of Jesus Christ. I could feel his presence. After a year, I visited the school and saw the following words engraved on the pedestal on which a statue of Jesus stands to this day: 'I am the resurrection and the Life.' I believe the Holy Spirit had led me to Christ. Today, I am serving the Lord through the gifts that he has endowed me with.

"Naturally, some Muslim friends did not approve of my giving up Islam. The clerics questioned my change of faith. However, this only strengthened my resolve to study the Bible, the Quran, and the Hadiths. Finally, I realised that Christianity was my true calling."

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Rajeev Menon, 42
CEO, N-Able Solutions

"Information technology companies require a strong process, otherwise there will be a delivery failure. There are proven processes of development and it is for the company to adapt them and standardise them.

"This also holds true in life. I was in my twenties and my life was a total mess. I had no peace of mind. I was going through a personal crisis. It was then that somebody gave me a book on Jesus. It slowly transformed me. My parents saw the change in me but allowed me to choose my faith. I go for prayer meetings regularly and I have renounced all forms of idol worship."

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Salma Ali, 33

Advertising and Public Relations consultant

"My mother was a Catholic who converted to Islam when she married my father. We performed namaaz regularly. But my faith was shattered when I came across a verse in the Quran that prescribed corporal punishment for stubborn women. I was shocked. I asked my father, who told me that it was like chiding a child for not listening to elders.

"After my parents separated, I moved in with my mother, who had become extremely short-tempered and abusive. At the same time, she started attending church. I used to attend the congregations she went to, at which people danced and sang, something unheard of in Islam. It was then that I started reading the Bible. I found Christianity a far more liberating religion. My life became stable, and I started doing well in my studies. I have been praying every day ever since."

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Jaya Ramamurthy, 42
V-P (learning & development) with a business process outsourcing firm.

"Born into a Tamil Brahmin family, I was brought up in an orthodox religious environment. We worshipped numerous gods and observed various rituals. Every Thursday, we also prayed to Sai Baba. At least 150 devotees would turn up at our house for the prayer sessions. Frankly, I could not make any sense of the rituals and yearned for a relationship with a god I could talk to, a god who would listen to me when I spoke to him.

"It was around this time that I was afflicted with scabies. I decided to go for a blind date with Jesus in the hope that I would be cured. To my surprise I was rid of my ailment. Years later, at 27, I decided to read the Bible. My mother threw it out of the window. But I did not give up and discovered a god I could talk to. Ever since, I have become far more friendly, and the love of god has changed my life. Today, when I speak, God speaks to me. My relationship with the Almighty has changed my perspective. I have become more respectful towards others."

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Prabhu Guptara, 58
Executive Director (organisational development), with Wolfsberg, a UBS subsidiary

"I was 14 when I lost my father and our family lost everything in the process. From prosperity to penury—it was difficult to comprehend at that age. I could not understand how there could be so much suffering if god actually existed. How could he allow people to get away with evil acts? A chance encounter with a young man turned me to Jesus. I read the New Testament carefully and realised that evil is the consequence of man not loving god. Jesus presents a challenge to every individual, asking him to acknowledge his own inadequacies. Over the years, I have found myself moving away from being a selfish person to being more sensitive (to the needs of others)."

I, The Convert

                 My conversion was not a change of religion; it was a change of heart

-------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 
I was born a Brahmin and am the grandson of a priest whom I dearly loved.

I am educated and my current professional standing indicates that I am reasonably intelligent. I am also affluent and my income would put me distinctly in the upper middle class bracket. I guess that would make me high-caste, rich and smart. In other words, I am not a tribal, or poor or dim-witted. And yet, I chose to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

The world would call me a convert to Christianity. I have no problems with that, though I see my faith more as a relationship with God through Jesus Christ than as a religion. And for the record, I can truthfully claim that no one financially induced or threatened or deceived me into converting to Christianity.

I am fiercely proud of my national identity as an Indian and I am completely at peace with my cultural identity as a Hindu. I retain the name my parents gave me. My wife, who also shares my faith, continues to go by her Hindu name. We have two children and we have given both distinctly Hindu names. In fact, many of my colleagues and acquaintances who may happen to read this column are likely to be surprised. They have no inkling about my faith, for I generally don't go about announcing it. But if someone does ask me the reason behind the joy and hope that is everpresent in my life, I am always delighted to share it with them.

I write this piece to make one point—that my conversion was not a change of religion but a change of heart. To explain this, I need to go back to my childhood in Chennai, similar to that of so many other Tamil Brahmin boys like me. My grandfather, every bit the virtuous priest, had enormous influence over me. I absolutely adored him and as a toddler, always clung to him. He too loved me to a fault. There was no wish of mine that he would not rush to fulfil. But even in my early, formative years I was unable to relate to the religion he fervently practiced. Later, in my school days, I once spent my summer holidays with him in Trichy. Memories of dawn walks with him, for the ritualistic dip in the Cauvery river, cow in tow, are still fresh in my memory. I learnt many shlokas, some of which I still remember. But I never understood any of it and none of it helped me connect with God.

When I was 19, a Christian friend with whom I used to play cricket invited me to his house for prayer. If he had invited me to a pub, or party, I would have gone too. At his home, he and his sister prayed for me. It was a simple yet delightful conversation with God that lasted all of five minutes. I don't remember it verbatim, but they articulated a prayer of blessing on my life, future, career and family. It was a simple affair—no miracles, no angels visiting. All they did was utter a deep human cry out to the creator God and His only son Jesus Christ. When they said Amen, I felt in my heart a desire to follow Jesus.

It was a faith encounter with God that I shall not even attempt to understand, rationalise or explain. I simply accept it. It is my faith. It is what I choose to believe. That evening I did not change my religion, for in reality I had none. Hinduism was my identity, not my religion. It still is.

The Christianity I acquired that evening is not a religion. On the contrary, it is an intensely intimate relationship with Jesus. Over the past fifteen years, I have come to know this Jesus even closer. I know Him as the pure and sinless Son of a Holy God. And I know Him as a dear friend to whom I pray and talk to every day—about my career, my dreams, successes, failures, finances and even my sexuality.

If I read a good book, watch a good movie (Rock On is terrific, mate), or eat a good meal at a new restaurant, I would naturally tell my friends about it. In Jesus, I have discovered a truly amazing friend, guide, leader, saviour and God. How can I not tell all my friends about Him? And if anyone does listen and he too comes to believe in Jesus, I am delighted. The world would call it a conversion; I call it a change of heart, like mine.

But I would never force anyone to listen to me, leave alone financially induce, coerce or con him into believing. That to me is pointless and against the very grain of my faith. But I do have a constitutional right to practice my faith and to preach it without deception, force or bribery. It pains to see such basic rights of mankind being cruelly violated every day in this great Hindu nation.

God bless India.

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(Anand Mahadevan is the editor of Outlook Business.)

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?238770 

Rick Warren on a life of purpose

Rick Warren on TED Talks.

Billy Graham on technology and faith

Billy Graham talking on TED Talks.
Its just awesome the way Billy Graham presents gospel.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/billy_graham_on_technology_faith_and_suffering.html

HE CARES

When storms of doubts shakes my heart

When dark clouds of despair sets in my heart
When darkness throws me to world's worries

I'll remind myself i've a master

He cares for lillies & birds of the air

And i know he cares more for me

When i hear his words calling me by name

When i see his open arms welcoming me

When i feel his loving presence near by me

I'll remind myself i've a master

He cares for lillies & birds of the air

And i know he cares more for me

When he tells i'm more precious; than birds of air

when he tells i'm more precious; than lilly of valley

His Kingdom and righteousness will i seek

And I'll remind myself i've a master

He cares for lillies & birds of the air

And i know he cares more for me

-20/06/2012-

Jim Elliot - A missionary hero

 

Above given is a hand written note from Missionary martyr Jim Elliot

Jim Elliot -

HE IS NO FOOL WHO GIVES WHAT HE CANNOT KEEP TO GAIN WHAT HE CANNOT

lOSE

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Five Missionaries Speared To Death In Jungle

Many people thought it was a tragic waste of a life when Jim Elliot and the other four missionaries died trying to contact the unreached Aucas.
Yet, how many Christians would risk their life for an opportunity to share the gospel? Jim Elliot, a young modern martyr, gave what he could not keep and gained what he could not lose.
A ‘missions’ statistic that profoundly challenged Jim was, “There is one Christian worker for every 50,000 people in foreign lands, while there is one to every 500 in the United States.”
 Early in 1952, Jim Elliot sailed for Ecuador. The plan was to locate in an old oil station that was abandoned because it was considered too dangerous for oil personnel. It was close to the Auca tribe and had a small airstrip. In February 1953, Jim and Elisabeth met in Quito and then on October 8, 1953 they were married. Their daughter, Valerie, was born two years later.
 Jim and Elisabeth worked together in translating the New Testament into the Quechua Indian language at the new mission station. The Aucas were a violent and murderous tribe and had never had any contact with the outside world. Jim wanted to bring the gospel there so he started a plan which was called Operation Auca. Besides him and his wife, his team consisted of five more missionary couples.

‘NOT A LONG LIFE, BUT A FULL ONE’

The men discovered the first Auca huts with the help of a missionary jungle pilot, Nate Saint. The first attempt to contact them was by airplane. They would fly around the camp shouting friendship words in the Auca language through a loud speaker and dropping down gifts in a basket. Encouraged by this progress, after three to four months of gift dropping, they decided to make a base on the Curray River, ‘Palm Beach’. After they had set up shelter they eventually made contact with the Aucas. After a little persuasion, they were able to convince some to come into their camp. Encouraged by this visit, the men felt that it was time to go in and try to minister to them.
One morning, after numerous songs of praise and considerable prayer, the men radioed their wives saying that they were going to go into the village and would radio them again later. ‘Operation Auca’ was under way. The next day, a group of twenty or thirty Aucas went to Palm Beach. “Guys, the Aucas are coming!” As soon as the others heard that, they flew into action straightening up their camp. Little did these five men know that this would be their last few hours of life. The last radio contact they made was Jim calling his wife saying, “We’ll call you back in three hours.” Jim Elliot’s body was found down stream with three others. Their bodies had been brutally pierced with spears and hacked by machetes.
After Jim’s death, Elisabeth, her daughter and another of the missionaries sister, Rachel, moved to work with the Auca Indians. 

The love of Christ shown through their forgiveness allowed them to have amazing success with the once murderous Indians. Jim’s life was not a waste, in fact, God used his death to bring life through salvation to many Aucas and encouragement and inspiration to thousands of believers worldwide.

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Jim Elliot gave up what he cannot keep (earthly life & its pleasures)

to gain what he cannot loose (eternal life) and made an impact on the future of missions.

The question is as a Christian the question you and I should ask is

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Am I ready to give up what I cannot keep (earthly life & its pleasures) to gain

what I cannot loose (eternal life) ???.....

My Colors

Read this statement by a young African pastor.

Found among his papers in Zimbabwe after he was martyred

     I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His and I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

     My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
     I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.

     My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
     I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

      I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

     I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.

     I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!

WE JUST PRAYED !!!.... Revival stories from China

                             One of the most remarkable stories of how God is using humble, simple-hearted Christians to build His kingdom on Hainan Island was related by Carl Lawrence in his book “The Coming Influence of China.” Lawrence recounts how, in the mid-1990s, two young women came to faith in Christ in another Chinese province after hearing the Gospel via shortwave radio broadcasts.

The two new believers received Bibles and immediately wanted to serve God with all their hearts. A Hong Kong-based pastor met with the two and tried to teach them that they should remain where they were and minister to their neighbors. The girls protested, “No! The Bible you gave us says Jesus told us to go into all the world.

 We want to go.” Finally the pastor, feeling ashamed at his own comparative lack of zeal, relented and told the girls there was a need for workers on Hainan Island.

The duo had never heard of Hainan Island before but were certain God wanted them to preach the Gospel there.

Two years later the girls returned to the Chinese mainland where the pastor met with them. He had not heard any news since their departure. The Hong Kong pastor used the meeting to introduce the girls to several visiting Western church leaders. After introductions, the girls were asked how their work had been and whether or not they had been able to start any churches. Lawrence explains, “The women put their heads down and answered, ‘Oh pastor, we have only been there two years...yea, two years. Not many. Not very many’. Their voices were apologetic. ‘We have only been there a short time. The people were not very friendly, no, not very friendly. Sometimes they became very vicious. Yes, sometimes they told us they were going to drown us in the ocean. Several men threatened us. Oh my, and because we were so young, even some of the ladies did not like us. Yes, some even called us terrible names... so not many churches... no, not many’.”

Finally, after being asked again by the frustrated pastor, the girls apologized that they had been only able to start 30 churches since their arrival on Hainan Island! 

The pastor and his Western friends were taken aback by the news. They asked how many people attended their new churches. After again going through a process of apologies and self-effacing comments, they answered, “Two hundred and twenty.”  The listeners presumed that meant the girls had won a total of 220 converts in their 30 churches, but 220 was the number of members in the smallest of their churches!                  

“How many people do you have in the largest of your churches,” the pastor demanded to know. “Oh...not many.... Less than five thousand. Only four thousand nine hundred. Yes, less than five thousand. We have just started.” The Western visitors were so touched by the humility and zeal of the two young ladies that they began to weep. One of the visitors told the pastor to ask the two ladies how they managed to achieve such great results.

“What did we do? Why nothing. Yes, we did nothing, nothing.” The amazed onlookers protested, “You did nothing? You have thirty churches – the smallest with two hundred and twenty people, the largest with almost five thousand new Christians! And you did nothing?”

The two evangelists simply said, “We just prayed.... After we prayed, the Holy Spirit would tell us exactly what to do. We would keep praying and He would tell us what to do, we would do it. Then we would pray again and he would tell us what to do again.

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Note: When we first read this story of the two faithful girls, we were not sure of the story’s accuracy, as it almost sounded too good to be true. We sent the story to a friend who is an expert on the church in Hainan Island. Somewhat surprisingly, our informant responded that indeed the story is true, these two young women had done great exploits and planted many churches in the face of great opposition and struggle. They primarily worked in southern Hainan Island, including several counties around Sanya City. 

However, our friend also added that because of a lack of follow up and discipleship, that much of the fruit had been lost to cults, and that by 1999 perhaps “only” 5,000 of the duo’s converts remained true believers.

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Source -Harvest Asia 

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Embraces Christianity

               


 Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.

Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States.

The story of how his life unfolded is truly amazing, whether you agree or disagree with his views. Below is a transcript on an exclusive FOX News interview with Hassan as he tells firsthand how a West Bank Muslim became a West Coast Christian.

• Click here to view video of Mosab Hassan Yousef speaking out.

• Click here to view video 'Renouncing Islam.'

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JONATHAN HUNT: Why, after 25 years, did you change?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I believe that all those walls that Islam built for the last 1,400 years are not existing (sic) anymore. They don't recognize this. They built those walls and made people ignorant because they're afraid. They didn't want people to discuss anything about the reality of Islam, about the big questions of Islam and they asked their followers, the Muslims, 'Don't ask about those certain questions.'

But now, people have media. If the father closes the door for his daughter not to leave the house, she's going to go behind her computer and travel the world. So people easily can get information, knowledge, searching (sic) engines, so it's very, very available for everybody to study about Islam, about other religions. Not from the Islam point of view, but from other points of view.

So for the next 25 years this is for sure going to make huge change in the Muslim and the Arab world.

JONATHAN HUNT: You speak from a unique perspective, a man who grew up not just in an Islamic family but as part of an organization seen by many people around the world as an extreme force in Islam: Hamas. What is the reality of Islam? You say people don't see the reality; What is the reality of Islam?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There are two facts that Muslims don't understand ... I'd say about more than 95 percent of Muslims don't understand their own religion. It came with a much stronger language than the language that they speak so they don't understand it ... they rely only on religious people to get their knowledge about this religion.

Second, they don't understand anything about other religions. Christian communities live between Muslims and they're minority and they (would) rather not to go speak out and tell people about Jesus because it's dangerous for them.

So, all their ideas about other religions on earth are from Islamic perspectives. So those two realities, most people don't understand.

If people, if Muslims, start to understand their religion — first of all, their religion — and see how awful stuff is in there, they'll start to figure out, this can't (be) ... because most religious people focus on certain points of Islam. They have many points that they are very embarrassed to talk about.

JONATHAN HUNT: Such as?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Such as Muhammad's wives. You will never go to a mosque and hear about anyone talking about Muhammad's wives, which is like more than 50 wives — and nobody knows (this), by the way. If you ask the majority of Muslims, they will not know this fact.

So they're embarrassed to talk about this, but they talk about the glory of Islam, they talk about the victory, the victories that Muhammad made. So, when people just like look at themselves and see they're defeated, they have ignorance, they're not educated, they're not leading the world as they're expected to do. They’re think they want to get back to that victory by doing the same, what Muhammad did, but disregarding (sic) the timing. They forget that this happened 1,400 years ago and it's not going to happen again.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do they want to destroy Christianity?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Islam destroyed Christianity from the beginning and Muslims don't recognize that they stabbed Christianity (in) its heart when they said that Jesus wasn't killed on the cross. They think that they honor him in this way.

Basically, any Christians understand that this way, (but Muslims) tell Jesus, okay, we don't care, you didn't die for us. Someone sacrificed his life for you, (but) you tell him, okay, you didn't do it!

This is what Muslims are doing basically. But they don't understand that this is the most important part of Christianity: the cross!

So, they are ignorant, they don't know what they are doing and it explains what an evil idea it is behind this Islam.

JONATHAN HUNT: What specific event or events began to change your mind about Islam?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Since I was a child I started to ask very difficult questions, even my family was telling me all the time, 'You're a very difficult person and we were having trouble answering your questions. Why are you asking so many questions?' This was from the beginning, to be honest with you.

But I felt that everybody — and my father was a good example for me because he was a very honest, humble person, very nice to my mother, to us, and raised us on the principle of forgiveness, okay? I thought that everybody in Islam was like this.

When I was 18 years old, and I was arrested by the Israelis and was in an Israeli jail under the Israeli administration, Hamas had control of its members inside the jail and I saw their torture; (they were) torturing people in a very, very bad way.

JONATHAN HUNT: Hamas members torturing other Hamas members?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Hamas leaders! Hamas leaders that we see on TV now, and big leaders, responsible for torturing their own members. They didn't torture me, but that was a shock for me, to see them torturing people: putting needles under their nails, burning their bodies. And they killed lots of them.

JONATHAN HUNT: Why were they torturing people?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Because they suspected that they had relations with the Israelis and (were) co-operating with the Israeli occupation against Hamas ... So hundreds of people were victims for this, and I was a witness for about a year for this torture. So that was a huge change in my life. I started to open my (eyes), but, the point (is) that I got that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims. Good Muslims, such as my father, and bad Muslims, like those Hamas members in the jail torturing people.

So that was the beginning of opening my eyes wide.

JONATHAN HUNT: You talk about the good Muslims, like your father, yet you still now renounce the faith of your father. Could you have not been a good Muslim?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Now, here's the reality: after I studied Christianity — which I had a big misunderstanding about, because I studied about Christianity from Islam, which is, there is nothing true about Christianity when you study it from Islam, and that was the only source.

When I studied the Bible carefully verse by verse, I made sure that that was the book of God, the word of God for sure, so I started to see things in a different way, which was difficult for me, to say Islam is wrong.

Islam is my father. I grew up for (one) father — 22 years for that father — and another father came to me and told me, 'I'm sorry, I'm your father.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about? Like, I have my own father, and it's Islam!' And the father of Christianity told me, 'No, I'm your father. I was in jail, and this (Islam) is not your father.'

So basically this is what happened. It's not easy to believe this (Islam) is not your father anymore. So I had to study Islam again from a different point of view to figure out all the mistakes, the huge mistakes and its effects, not only on Muslims — (of) which I hated the values ... I didn't like all those traditions that make people's lives more difficult — but its effects also on humanity. On humanity! People killing each other (in) the name of God.

So definitely I started to figure out the problem is Islam, not the Muslims and those people — I can't hate them because God loved them from the beginning. And God doesn't create junk. God created good people that he loved, but they're sick, they have the wrong idea. I don't hate those people anymore but I feel very sorry for them and the only way for them to be changed (is) by knowing the word of God and the real way to him.

JONATHAN HUNT: Does it worry you that in saying these things — and given your background and your words carrying extra weight — there is a danger that you will increase the difficulties, the hatred between Christians and Muslims in the world right now?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: This could happen if a Christian person will go talk to them about the reality of Islam. They put Christians on the enemy list anyway, before you talk to them about Islam. So if you go to them and tell them, as a Christian, they will be offended immediately and they will hate you and this will definitely increase the vacuum between both religions — but what made someone like me change?

Years ago, years ago, when I was there, God opened my eyes, my mind also, and I became a completely different person. So now, I can do this duty, while you as Christians can help me do it, but maybe you wouldn't be able to. (Muslims) have no excuse now.

JONATHAN HUNT: How difficult a process has this been for you to effectively walk away from your family, leave your home behind? How difficult is that?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Taking your skin off your bones, that's what happened. I love my family, they love me. And my little brothers, they’re like my sons. I raised them. Basically, it was the biggest decision in my life.

I left everything behind me, not only family. When you decide to convert to Christianity or any other religion from Islam, it's not (enough) to just say goodbye and leave, you know? It's not like that. You're saying goodbye to culture, civilization, traditions, society, family, religion, God — what you thought was God for so many years! So it's not easy. It's very complicated. People think it's that easy, like it doesn't matter. Now I'm here in the U.S. and I got my freedom and it's great, but at the same time, nothing is like family, you know. To lose your family —

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you lost your family?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My family is educated and it was very difficult for them. They asked me many times, especially for the first two days, to keep my faith to myself and not go to the media and announce it.

But for me it was a duty from God to announce his name and praise him (around) the world because my reward is going to be that he's going to do the same for me. So I did it, basically, as a duty. I (wonder) how many people can do what I can do today? I didn't find any.

So, I had to be strong about that. That was very challenging. That was the most difficult decision in my life and I didn't do it for fun. I didn't do it for anything from this world. I did it only for one reason: I believed in it. People are suffering every day because of wrong ideas. I can help them get out of this endless circle ... the track the devil (laid) for them.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you spoken to your father recently?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance to communicate with my father because he's in jail now and there is (sic) no phones in the jail to communicate with him.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have other members of your family told you how he's reacted?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They've visited him from time to time. Till this moment, I don't know his reaction exactly but I'm sure he's very sad (over) a decision like this. But at the same time, he's going to understand, because he knows me and he knows that I don't make any decisions without (believing strongly in them).

JONATHAN HUNT: Is it making his life more difficult among fellow Hamas members?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. My family, including my father, had to carry this cross with me. It wasn't their choice. It was my choice, but they had to carry this cross with me and I ask God — I pray for (my father), all my brothers and my sisters here in this church, praying all the time for them — 'God, open their eyes, their minds, to come to Christ. And bless them because they had to carry this cross with me.'

JONATHAN HUNT: Tell me about Hamas and the way it works. Is Hamas a purely Islamic religious organization as you see it, and that's where, in your eyes, its faults lie, or are there other parts of it which are a problem for you? Or is Hamas a good organization? What is Hamas to you?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: If we talk about people, there are good people everywhere. Everywhere. I mean, good people that God created.

Do they do their own things? Yes, they do their own things. I know people who support Hamas but they never got involved in terrorist attacks, for example ... They follow Hamas because they love God and they think that Hamas represents God. They don’t have knowledge, they don't know the real God and they never studied Christianity. But Hamas, as representative for Islam, it's a big problem.

The problem is not Hamas, the problem is not people. The root of the problem is Islam itself as an idea, as an idea. And about Hamas as an organization, of course, the Hamas leadership, including my father, they're responsible; they're responsible for all the violence that happened from the organization. I know they describe it as reaction to Israeli aggression, but still, they are part of it and they had to make decisions in those operations against Israel, (for) which there was the killing of many civilians.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe Israel blameless in the conflict?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Occupation is bad. I can't say Israel — I'm not against any nation. We can't say Israelis, we can't say Palestinians, we're talking about ideas. Israel has the right to defend itself, nobody can (argue) against this. But sometimes they use (too much) aggression against civilians. Sometimes many civilians were killed because those soldiers weren't responsible enough, how they treat people at the checkpoints.

My message even to the Israeli soldiers: at least treat people in a good way at the checkpoints. You don't have to look really bad and it's not about nations, it's about just wrong ideas on both sides and the only way for two nations really to get out of the endless circle is to know the principles that Jesus brought to this earth: grace, love, forgiveness. Without this, they will never be able to move on, or break this endless circle.

JONATHAN HUNT: You've seen your father jailed, you've been in prison yourself. You've seen Hamas carry out acts of terror against Israelis, and yet you say everybody needs to rise above that?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. This is the only choice. Nobody has magic power to do something for the Middle East. No one. You can ask any politician here in the U.S., you can ask any Palestinian politician or Arab politician, Israeli leaders; no one, no one can do anything. Even if they believe in peace now: they're part of the game.

They're part of the trick. They can't, even if you find a brave person, like Rabin, who was called by an Israeli to make peace with the Palestinians and give them a state, no one, even if you find a strong leader, they can't do this. You can't force an independent country to give another country independence. (Especially when) the other country wants to destroy it.

Everybody is hurt. Israeli soldiers, they lost their friends. Palestinians, they lost their children, their fathers. (There are) many people in prison still, and many people were killed. Thousands. So everybody will never forget this. If they want to keep looking to the past, they will never get out of this circle. The only way to start (is just by) moving on. They were born under the occupation as Palestinians.

The last two generations, it's not their choice. The new generations from Israel — if we say disregarding the existence of Israel is right or wrong, what's the guilt of those people who were born in Israel and they have no other country to go to? It's their country now, that's how they see it. And they are going to keep their resistance and defense against whomever. (They will) say, 'Get out of this land!' So the only way is for both nations to start to understand the grace, love and forgiveness of God, to be able to get out of this.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe that Israel can ever strike a peace deal with Hamas?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water? There is no chance. Hamas can play politics for 10 years, 15 years; but ask any one of Hamas' leaders, 'Okay, what's going to happen after that? Are you just going to live and co-exist with Israel forever?' The answer is going to be no ... unless they want to do something against the Koran. But it's their ideology and they can't just say 'We're not going to do it.' So there is no chance. It's not about Israel, it's not about Hamas: it's about both ideologies. There is no chance.

JONATHAN HUNT: Aren't you terrified that somebody is going to try to kill you for saying these things — which would be approved of according to parts of the Koran?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They got to kill my ideas first, (and) that's it, they're already out. So how are they going to kill my idea? How are they going to kill the opinions that I have? ... They can kill my body, but they can't kill my soul.

JONATHAN HUNT: You're not afraid?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: As a human, you know, I can be very brave now, I'm not thinking about it at this moment and I feel that God is on my side. But if this will be the challenge, I ask God to give me enough strength.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you been threatened?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: No, not really. Honestly, most Muslims and Muslim leaders here in the U.S. community, European communities, they are trying to get ahold of me. They are calling my famiily, my mother, and asking for my contacts. They are telling her, 'We want to help him.'

JONATHAN HUNT: They think you need help?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yeah, they think that Christians took advantage of me, and this is completely wrong. I've been a Christian for a long time before they knew, or anyone knew. I love Jesus, I followed him for many years now. It wasn't a secret for most of the time, and this time I just did it to glorify the name of God and praise him.

They're not dealing with a regular Muslim. They know that I'm educated, they know that I studied, they know that I studied Islam and Christianity. When I made my decision, I didn't make it because someone did magic on me or convinced me. It was completely my decision.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you miss Ramallah?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. You've been there and you know how a wonderful country (it is). Very, very beautiful. It's a very small spot and it has everything — this is why people are fighting for that piece of land. I definitely miss Ramallah. Jereusalem. The Old City.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe you will ever be able to go back?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I think I belong to that land, and sooner or later I'm going to go back, no matter what. If they want to kill me, they (will) do whatever they want to do. I have a family there, they love me, they completely support me now with my decisions. Maybe they don't want me to talk to the media but they believe that I made a decision that I completely believe in. So they support me, so I love my family. I'm going to go back there again one day. I love my town.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you think you'll ever go back to a Middle East living in peace?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There will be a 100-person peace when Jesus comes back, when he judges everybody. His kingdom's going to be 1,000 years and it's going to be completely peaceful and it's going to be the kingdom of God.

JONATHAN HUNT: What is your basic message to any Muslim listening to this right now?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My message to them is, first of all, to open their minds. They were born to Muslim families — this is how they got Islam and this is just like ... any other religion, like growing up (in) a Christian family, or growing up (in) a Jewish family.

So my point is that I want those people to open their eyes, their minds, to start to understand and imagine that they weren't born for a Muslim famiily. And use their minds.

Why did God give them minds? Open their hearts. Read the Bible. Study their religion. I want to open the gate for them, I want them to be free. They will find a good life on earth just by following God — and they're also going to guarantee the other life.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html#ixzz1xeDjHB00

Why should the devil have all the best tunes?

                            

The theatre in Worcester was crowded for the visit of William Booth on January 22, 1882. Even the General himself 'had great difficulty in getting in'. The door was smashed by the crowd still trying to gain admission after the place was full.

George ' Sailor' Fielder, the Commanding Officer, had been put up to sing. He had been a sea captain with a voice that had often been heard above the roar of the waves. (Forty years later he still had ' a voice like thunder and gloried in open-air fighting'.) He sang his testimony in the words, ' Bless His name, He set me free.'

'That was a fine song. What tune was that? ' inquired the Army's Founder later.

'Oh,' came the reply in a rather disapproving tone, General, that's a dreadful tune. Don't you know what it is? That's "Champagne Charlie is my name".' That's settled it,' William Booth decided as he turned to Bramwell.  

' Why should the devil have all the best tunes?'

The adoption of such music was soon put to full use. On Saturday afternoon, May 13, 1882, the congregation at the opening of the Clapton Congress Hall joined heartily in the chorus of Gipsy Smith's solo, ' O the Blood of Jesus cleanses white as snow' to the music of 'I traced her little footsteps in the snow '. There were no qualms of conscience. Many people gathered there knew none of the hymn tunes or gospel melodies used in the churches; the music hall had been their melody school.

An early pamphlet made the Army's position clear by saying that it 'considers all music sacred when used with holy purpose'. For his Christmas message to War Cry readers of 1880 William Booth had already written: 

          ' Secular music, do you say, belongs to the devil? Does it? Well, if it did I would plunder him for it, for he has no right to a single note of the whole seven. . . .  

Every note, and every strain, and every harmony is divine, and belongs to us. . . . 

So consecrate your voice and your instruments. Bring out your comets and harps and organs and flutes and violins and pianos and drums, and everything else that can make melody. Offer them to God, and use them to make all the hearts about you merry before the Lord.'

Genealogy of Jesus Christ: Why it Could Have Been Only Joseph and Mary?-DF-part3

                                        In the first century, it could have been only Mary and Joseph and no one else who could have fulfilled all the blessings and prophecies about the lineage of Messiah without passing a curse. By Liny J.   

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1). A Blessing: God’s Promise to David about his descendants

“When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. (2 Sam 7:12).

2.) A Prophecy: God’s Prophecy about David’s Throne

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isa 9:6-7)

3.) A Legal Right: Solomon’s Descendants have Legal Right to David’s Throne King David legally transferred the right to Solomon. “And the King took an oath and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I will certainly will do this day” (1 Kings 1: 29-30).

4.) Curse on the Legal Heir to David’s Throne

“Thus says the Lord: write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days: for none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” (Jeremiah 22:30).

5.) About Messiah until Now

1. Messiah should be the literal descendant of David to have the blessing
2. Messiah should be legal heir to David’s throne

But the literal descendant who had the legal right is now under the curse.

6.) Joseph- Has the Legal Right to Throne but is Under Curse Matthew 1:

Genealogy through Solomon’s descendants who are under curse. Joseph is the inheritor of legal right and curse too.

7.) Mary- Is another literal descendant of David but has no legal right to throne

2 Samuel 5:13-14"...Also more sons and daughters were born to David. Now these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,...”

David’s son Nathan is referred in Luke 3: 31Nathan had a great grandson- Levi (Luke 3:29), Levi had a great grandson named Shimei (in Hebrew) and Semei in (Greek) Luke 3: 26.

Interestingly it is these same order of names that are mentioned in Zechariah 12:12-14 “"And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves.”

8.) Objection for David’s bloodline being passed through a Female- (Deuteronomy 21:16, 17).

Answer: There is an exception. If there is no male offspring, then the bloodline can pass through female provided the woman marries from her own tribe (Read Numbers 26, 27 and 36:6). Mary had no brother though we read about Mary’s sister (John 19:25). If Mary had a brother, after Joseph’s death, she should return to be under the care of her father (who seems to have died much before) or brother according to the first century Jewish custom.  If the widow does not have father or brother, then the responsibility of taking care of her falls on the son. In Mary’s case as father seems to have died and she had no brother, the responsibility was on Jesus which He transferred to John the disciple in John 19: 26, 27. So Mary had no brother and she married Joseph from her own tribe (Judah).  Therefore she passed  the bloodline of David to her son- Jesus.

Joseph and Mary Fulfills the Blessing and Prophecy of Sovereign God

Since Jesus is not the literal son of Joseph, the curse is not there on Jesus. But Jesus is the legal heir of Joseph so Jesus has the legal right to David’s throne. Moreover, Mary as she had no brother and married from her own tribe, could pass the bloodline of David to Jesus.Therefore Jesus is:

1. Literal Descendant of David
2. Legal Heir to David’s throne
3. But has no curse.

In first century, it could have been only Mary and Joseph and no one else who could have fulfilled all the blessings and prophecies about the lineage of Messiah without passing the curse.
 

How to Hit a Six against Muslim Tactics-Defending Faith-part1

Muslim apologists have been trying to undermine biblical truths tirelessly and pathetically for quite sometime. In their zeal they employ all kinds of questions that are basically fallacious. Prasanna answers six of those. Muslim apologists have been trying to undermine biblical truths tirelessly and pathetically for quite sometime. In their zeal they employ all kinds of questions that are basically fallacious. They seem to be willing to go down to any level of dishonesty if they figure out that it will help justify Mohammad and his deity. Here we can see some of the deceptive methods Muslim apologists devised against God’s truth, and how they can be countered logically and scripturally.  Fallacious Tactic #1 Muslim apologists tend to raise the following questions with Christians in order to prove that Jesus is not God. Their questioning goes like this… 1. Can God die? (Muslims assume Christians would say ‘no’) 2. Did Jesus die? (Muslims assume Christians would say ‘yes’) From the above assumptions they would love to conclude saying, ‘therefore Jesus is not God.’ This may work with unsuspecting or uninformed Christians. But when tried with someone who is well prepared or insightful enough to test the validity of the questions in the argument it simply doesn’t work for Muslim apologists who heavily depend on ignorance and deceptive tactics in persuading the Christians to believe the lies against Jesus’ deity. Let’s see how it can be tackled. If a Muslim or someone of that mentality comes to ask the question #1 the listener needs to get the clarification about the definition of ‘death’ first. The Christian should ask back for clarification: What do you mean by ‘death’? Cessation of existence or Separation of the physical body and soul/spirit? If the Muslim defines ‘death’ as ‘cessation of existence,’ which is unlikely unless he/she agrees with the so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses, then the answer to the first question is definitely ‘no.’ With this definition of ‘death’ the Christian can confidently say ‘no’ even to the question #2. The Bible never defines ‘death’ as cessation of existence. Instead, we see enough evidence in the Bible to the contrary (Lk.16-22-23; Rev.6:9-11). Furthermore, Jesus was in existence even after his ‘last breath’ and ‘giving up his spirit’ on the cross (Jn.2:19-21, 10:17-18; Lk.23:43; Eph.4:8-10; 1Pet.3:18-20). From here the Muslim can get nowhere. He/she cannot reach the point #3, which is his/her illogical conclusion. If the Muslim defines ‘death’ as ‘separation of physical body and soul/spirit,’ as Islamic theology teaches, then the question #1 turns out to be an irrelevant and illogical question. God in his eternal existence does not possess a physical body. Raising a question like ‘Can God die (be separated from his physical body)?’ would only prove that the questioner is either a fool or out of his/her mind (Of course, Muslim apologists fit into one of these two categories very well). It is like asking about a person who never married, ‘Can he stop beating his wife?’  Fallacious Tactic #2 Muslim apologists have come with the ‘ultimate question’ of their standard as a result of their insatiable tendency to quiz Christians about the belief in the deity of Christ. Here it is: Where did Jesus himself say ‘I am God’ in the Bible? (If he himself did not say that why do Christians believe that Jesus is God and worship him?). At the first sight the question might make sense to the reader. But if we analyze it carefully it becomes apparent that the question has been formed on shallow reasoning. One need not depend solely on a person’s own claim or disclaim or even silence to determine that person’s identity.  (1) Muslims believe that Jesus is… a Man a Prophet the Messiah (2) Christians believe that Jesus is… a Man a Prophet the Messiah the Son of God the Lord God All of them are true. However, none of them were directly claimed by Jesus. It is true that Jesus himself did not say ‘I am the Messiah’, ‘I am the Lord’ etc.  Muslims believe that Jesus is a ‘man,’ a ‘prophet,’ and the ‘Messiah’ not because Jesus himself claimed them, but because the Quran says so. In the same way, Christians believe that Jesus is a ‘man,’ a ‘prophet,’ the ‘Messiah,’ the ‘Son of God,’ the ‘Lord,’ and ‘God’ not because Jesus himself claimed them directly (he did that indirectly), but because the Bible says so. If the Muslim insists the Christian on answering the following questions: Do you believe that Jesus is God? If so, where in the Bible did Jesus himself say ‘I am God’? Christian should insist the Muslim on first answering these questions: Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah? If so, where in the Quran did Jesus himself say ‘I am the Messiah’? If the Muslim cannot answer the question yet wants to know the answer to his/her question, he/she is only demonstrating to the world that he/she is a big hypocrite and cannot even think logically and consistently.  There is enough evidence in the Bible that enables us to safely infer that Jesus is God beyond any shadow of doubt. The evidence can broadly be divided into the following three categories: 1. Testimony of the prophets/apostles (Acts 20:28; Rom.9:4-5; Tit.2:13; Phil.2:5-7) 2. Jesus’ own indirect claims (by using God’s name: Jn.8:58-59; 18:3-13=Ex.3:14; by claiming equality with God: Jn.10:30-31; 14:9; by accepting worship: Matt.14:33, 15:25, 28:9,17; Lk.17:16; Jn.9:38; Heb.1:6; Rev.5:8-14, 7:9-12 cf.Matt.4:10; Acts 10:25-26; Rev.18:21, 19:10, 22:8-9) 3. Testimony of the Father (Heb.1:8) Fallacious Tactic #3 Muslim apologists employ inconsistent approaches to understand God. On one had they believe and assert that God is unknown or beyond our understanding and definition, and on the other hand they demand Christians to make God understandable to them. Muslims have hard time to comprehend the definition of ‘Trinity,’ which is the Biblical concept of God. As a result of this they blindly try to attack the concept of ‘Trinity’ without even knowing what they are trying to debunk. In this childish effort they can come up with endless questions regarding this doctrine of the Bible. One of the most frequent arguments Muslim apologists use against ‘Trinity’ is as follows: 1. Does God know everything? (answer is ‘yes’)2. Did Jesus say that he doesn’t know the hour of his coming? (answer is ‘yes’) Therefore, they conclude, that Jesus is not God. God knows everything not because he ‘came to know’ them. He knows everything because it is he who caused or predestined or allowed them to occur/exist. Regarding the hour of his coming, Jesus says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt.24:36). 1. In the above Jesus’ statement there is a reference to three distinct categories of beings, namely, human beings, angels and God. 2. Jesus did not categorize the ‘Son’ as human being (‘no one knows’ includes all human beings), rather he distinguished the ‘Son’ from human beings by placing him in a different category other than human beings. 3. Jesus distinguished the ‘Son’ even from the category of the angels because the ‘Son’ is not even a part of the angels. 4. The ‘Son’ is a part of the ‘Godhead,’ however, within the Godhead the ‘Son’ is distinguished from the ‘Father.’ This is clearly maintained in Jesus’ statement. 5. In the above statement instead of using the generic term ‘God,’ which refers to both the Father and the Son, Jesus used the term ‘Father’ selectively in order to refer only to the first person of Godhead in this context. 6. The verb ‘to know’ means to receive information about something. With reference to God the verb ‘to know’ does not connote this same lexical meaning simply because God does not ‘come to know’ things. Either he knows things as the cause of their occurrence or as the one who ordains them for the future or as the one who permits them come to pass. 7. In the light of the above facts, the phrase ‘only the Father knows’ is tantamount to admit that only the first person of Godhead, i.e. The Father, has the prerogative to ordain the ‘hour,’ but not the Son. The difference between the ‘Son’ and the ‘Father’ is not in knowledge but in function. In short what Jesus is saying in the above statement is not that he cannot ‘come to know’ the hour, rather he is implying to his listeners that not he but the Father is the one who ‘decides’ or ‘causes’ it to occur.  This does not make Jesus less than God, but only different from the Father. Fallacious Tactic #4 Another Biblical doctrine that completely baffles Muslims is the ‘incarnation.’ Exposing their ignorance Muslim apologists ask questions like these: Can God pray to himself? (assumed answer is ‘no’) Did Jesus pray to God? (assumed answer is ‘yes’) Therefore, Jesus is not God. (Muslim apologist’s conclusion) Here Muslim apologist exposes two of his/her common traits, namely, hypocrisy and irrationality. Let’s see how these are playing out in this particular tactic. The first sura in the Quran, Fatiha, is a prayer to God. Muslims believe that the entire Quran is spoken by God. If that is true then the first prayer in Sura Fatiha is a prayer by God to God! Yet, Muslim apologists hypocritically ask Christians the first question. How to understand Jesus’ prayer to God? It is both logical as well as commonsensical to see Jesus praying to God. Jesus, the Son, is a part of the Godhead. He is God the Son, but not God the Father. In addition to this, Jesus had taken human form and nature as a part of his incarnation. Therefore, God the Son as human being is praying to God the Father.  When Muslim apologist fails to recognize these truths he/she only exposes his/her ignorance in this matter. If any Muslim asks the question, “Can God pray to himself?” Christian should respond to that by giving this counter question, “Yeah, that’s interesting. What do YOU think?” The Muslim will be more than happy to furnish the answer as ‘no’ to the question. At which point the Christian should immediately ask the Muslim, “if that is true, how come your God prayed to himself in the first sura of the Quran?” It would be very interesting and entertaining to watch and see how the Muslim tries to get out of this pit he/she himself/herself dug. Fallacious Tactic #5 In their zeal to prove Christians wrong in believing that God is ‘Trinity’ Muslim apologists use questions like this: Is God one or many? (assumed answer is ‘one’) Are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ‘one’ or ‘three’? (assumed answer is ‘three’) Therefore, Muslims love to conclude, Christians’ belief in ‘Trinity’ is wrong. Christians should respond to this kind of shallow reasoning cautiously. Christian can respond in the following way: Muslim: Is God one or many? Christian: Well, I want to say ‘one,’ but first let me know, what you exactly mean by one? If the Muslim can’t get it, say something like this… Christian: For example, I am one and you are one; Is that what you mean when you say God is one?  Muslim: (It is unlikely that Muslim agrees to this. In all probability he/she will try to prove to Christian that ‘God is one’ is incomparable to ‘man is one.’ By chance, if the Muslim says yes, which is unimaginable, Christian should help him/her to realize by that he/she is equating God to man!) Christian: Do you agree that God’s oneness and man’s oneness are different? Muslim: (must agree to this, willingly or unwillingly) Christian: If you agree to this fact then I can easily say that God is one. Muslim: Are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ‘one’ or ‘three’? Christian: One! Muslim: How can it be? It’s poor mathematics! Christian: No it is not. Please listen to this! I am one, you are one and my friend is also one. If we add these numbers we will get three. Likewise, in the case of God the Father is one, the Son is one and the Holy Spirit is one. However, if you add these numbers you still get one. This is simply because our ‘one’ is a mathematical unit, whereas God’s ‘one’ is infinitely different to our ‘one.’ God is infinite. If you add or subtract or multiply or divide an ‘infinity’ you still get ‘infinity.’ That’s what God is! If the Muslim cannot understand this leave him/her until he/she grows up enough to understand this reasoning. Fallacious Tactic #6 Muslims in general tend to ask very childish questions about Jesus being God’s Son without realizing the imbecility in their disbelief. Here is an example of that sort. Muslims ask Christians: Does God have a wife? (Christian’s answer is ‘no’) If God doesn’t have a wife how can you say that Jesus is God’s son? (implying the Biblical teaching “Jesus is God’s son” is wrong) It is both pathetic and tiring to hear the second question, either in the form of a question or in the form of a statement of disbelief, again and again from the lips of our Muslim friends. In this context Christians should ask Muslims the following questions: Can Allah have a wife? (Muslim’s answer is ‘no’) Is it possible for Allah to have a son without a wife? (yes/no) If the answer is ‘yes,’ then that’s all what Christians too believe. But if the answer is ‘no’ then Muslims should answer this question: If you say that Allah cannot have a son without a wife, why does Allah say in the Quran (39:4) that it is possible for him to have a son without a wife? It would be interesting to watch him/her trying to justify or clarify his/her ‘no.’  Thankfully, not all Muslims are foolish enough to ask questions like these. I have personally met Muslims who are wise, open, willing to and capable of engaging in meaningful dialogues in order to know the truth of God. Some of them have found it! God gave this promise, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”