Do You Love the World?

The question remains, especially for American Christians. Do you love the world?

I recently read a book by Joel Richardson entitled Antichrist: Islam's Awaited Messiah. Interesting book. Mr. Richardson discusses Islamic eschatology (their view of end times) and compares it to Christian eschatology. He explains the importance of end times to Islam (ranked as #2 after devotion to Allah) and their perspective. They have a Messiah that they anticipate. They believe that Jesus (keep in mind -- it's not the same Jesus in which Christians believe) will return and be his "right hand man." They believe that there will be an end to Jews and Christians and all infidels. Interesting stuff, almost all of which I haven't heard. The comparison of what they believe about their Messiah and his right hand man with Christian eschatology was jarring. It sounds incredibly like the "Antichrist" of Christian eschatology. You know ... the Beast of Revelation. And their description of the role of "Jesus" was amazingly similar to that of the Beast's prophet.

It was an interesting read. I didn't exactly know what to do with the information. Was it real? I don't know. I'm not entirely clear on Christian eschatology. How much is figurative and how much is actual? Still, it was interesting. There were a few things that Mr. Richardson wanted to stress. In his section, "How Should We Respond?" (Thanks, man. I wasn't sure until you offered that. Seriously.), he suggested three things. First, pray. Second, share the Gospel with Moslems. Good. I like that. Then he suggested, "Prepare for Martyrdom." Now that was a little jarring. In fact, regardless of whether or not his thesis was correct regarding the correlation of Islam's Messiah and Christianity's Antichrist, he spent some time explaining how Islam is the future. It is the fastest growing religion in the world. It will soon outpace Christianity. And it is unapologetically anti-tolerance when it comes to other religions. So prepare for martyrdom.

And the question remains: Do you love the world? Or is it inconceivable to you that you would hold beliefs that could get you killed?

Newsweek has come out with an article that, amazingly, tries to make a Christian case for a linguistic non-sequitur -- "gay marriage." In it, the author, Lisa Miller, explains that we have no reason as Christians to bother believing what the Bible says. Sure, sure, she admits that the vast majority of Christianity rejects the morality of homosexual relationships. But she is quite sure they're all wrong. The concept of "marriage" as we see it isn't found in the Bible. (It is, but she denies it.) The "traditional family" isn't in there. (It is; she just doesn't know what she's looking at.) In fact, she's quite sure that "nowhere in the Bible do its authors refer to sex between women." (Again, she's blatantly mistaken, but if you're argument is that the Bible cannot be taken at face value and must change with time, what's the point of trying to actually find out what's in it?) She argues that love trumps everything, and you rotten Christians who want to take the Bible literally had better stop ... except, of course, for the parts that talk about love. But Newsweek has taken its stand. According to Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, "to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt—it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition." Got that? If you believe that the Bible is a reliable book, worthy of believing, you are "intellectually bankrupt," "unserious," and in violation of "the great Judeo-Christian tradition." (Please ... you go figure that out. I don't get it at all.)

We don't currently truly comprehend persecution here in America. Oh, there are some who will argue that we Christians are persecuted, to which I'd answer, "You ain't seen nothin' yet." The question remains: Do you love the world? What will you do if Islam becomes the superpower it is growing into? Will you stand against it to your own peril or would you rather live in some measure of comfort? What will you do if the New Atheists have their way and outlaw your beliefs? They continue to make noises about how dangerous Christians really are. Will you stand on your beliefs or will you run for cover and side with the world?

The corollary question has nagged at me for a long time. Is it to our benefit or detriment that Christianity has been so acceptable and powerful in this nation of ours for so long? Has it made us lackadaisical? Has the world enticed us to love it more than Him? Will we be finding out the real answer to these questions soon? Could be.