Pope Francis tells Vatican’s guests that the Koran, and the spiritual teachings contained therein, are just as valid as the Holy Bible.
By Richard Bennett
As huge numbers of Islamic migrants continue to stream into Europe from the Middle East, there is great concern among Western people. Nonetheless, even with this astonishing background, Pope Francis continues to promote Islam. Instead of warning people against the dangers they face from the onslaught of migrating Muslims from across the world, Francis has left unaddressed Islamic persecution of Middle Eastern and African Christians, and indeed Europeans. In fact, Pope Francis’ outreach to Islam is simply an intensified application of the Roman Catholic Church’s Vatican Council II teaching.
The Roman Church has been consistently encouraging a massive influx of Muslims into Europe, even into the USA. Such immigration is a basic cause for the attacks that have already taken place. For example, there was the massacre in Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015, during which at least 128 people were killed, and for which the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has claimed responsibility. Incidents of Islamic terror, such as the Paris attack or the San Bernardino attack in the USA, are driven by a vile, totalitarian ideology. Islam has its own dynamic, and it is not based on any logical or rational grievances. Its totalitarian, ideological roots are grounded in the Qur’ân. It cannot be doubted that the Pope and his advisors know this.
The current exportation of Islamists to Europe was in planning at least since 2011, as the “Clarion Project,” challenging Islamic extremism stated,
“ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stated, ‘loud and clear that if ISIS cannot defeat the West by military means, they will overrun it with jihadists….The present predicament indicates, without any shadow of doubt, that al-Baghdadi is on the ascent. The Islamic State may have occupied vast tracts of land in Iraq and Syria over the past fifteen months or so, but that victory diminishes into insignificance in comparison to what he is up to now…He [al-Baghdadi] has stretched his hand to grab the crown jewel of humanity: European civilisation. Along with the hundreds of thousands of migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other parts of the Islamic State caliphate that have landed on European shores are large number of Islamic State jihadis mingled among them — with more millions on the march, trekking across the continents of Africa and Asia, heading towards Europe. …[there is evidence that] al-Baghdadi had the financial backing of rich Arab States, in particular, Saudi Arabia and Qatar…And while Europe’s leaders talk and talk, their countries are gradually being inundated with migrants and jihadists – exactly as planned by the modern day caliph.’”
Autumn 2015 Events
In Germany, which has 3.0 to 3.5 million Muslims, a Roman Cardinal spoke of Islam’s Qur’ân as a part of the historic heritage of Europe and the Near East.
“The Cardinal was Cardinal and Bishop of Mainz who emphasized before 250 listeners at the event center of the university that the Interreligious dialogue has a long history and started at Vatican II. Then Cardinal Lehmann stated that Quran-Research shows ways to read the Quran as a text of late antiquity. As a result the Quran does all at once not appear strange, but shows the nearness to Christendom and Judaism. The Quran is part of the historic heritage of Europe and the Near East,” says the Cardinal.”
Such is the dreadful compromise carried out in Germany. Never mind the truth that the Qur’ân is not part of “the historic heritage of Europe,” as the Cardinal himself knows. Rather, the Roman Catholic agenda is again to strengthen its influence across the world!
Another tactic, the support for both legal and illegal immigration, has for many years been the policy of the Papacy. Thus, on September 16, 2015, Pope Frances addressed legal and illegal immigrants in Spanish at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall saying,
“The Quakers who founded Philadelphia were inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love.” This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit.”
Consequently, with this Papal mindset, it is becoming apparent that the Pope and Roman Catholicism are promoting the immigration, both legal and illegal, of Islamic people as refugees into Western nations. Thus, it is reported on a Roman Catholic website,
“Syrians have left their homes, and four million have fled their country as a result of the civil war and the rise of ISIS within the borders…While the majority of these refugees have fled to neighboring countries, some have sought asylum in Europe. Pope Francis and the Catholic bishops have called on the U.S. and international governments to support the asylum seekers.”
Another Roman Catholic website reports,
“Pope Francis and the Catholic bishops have called on the U.S. government and the international community to provide support to both Syrian refugees fleeing violence and to countries that have been at the forefront of this humanitarian effort.”
However, five of the wealthiest Muslim countries have taken in no Syrian refugees, arguing that doing so would open them up to the risk of terrorism. Although the oil rich countries have handed over aid money, Britain has donated more than Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar combined. Rather, there is evidence that the ISIS leader al-Baghdadi might have been partially funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, along with three other of the wealthiest Arab nations. Undoubtedly, the Roman Catholic Church is rejecting analytical reasoning so that it can support both sides in the conflict, so that when there is a resolution to conflict, the Roman Church will be on the winning side.
The Roman Church Promotes Islam in Its Schools
The Catholic bishops of England and Wales desire that Muslim prayer rooms be opened in every Roman Catholic school. These bishops also want facilities for Islamic pre-prayer washing rituals in all Roman Catholic schools. Muslims say that Catholic schools would need to install bidets, foot spas, and hoses to facilitate such extensive cleansing rituals. The recommendations have been approved by Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, and the favorite to succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Catholic primate.
Catholic School Offers “Sacred Place” For Muslim Prayer
Pope Francis prays with Istanbul’s grand mufti during visit to Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Turkey
One is aghast that any Catholic religious school should offer Islamic students “sacred spaces” of any kind. However, such facilities are allowed in Roman Catholic schools, not only in England and Wales but also in the USA. For example, John Birney, president of “Brother Rice High School” in Bloomfield, Michigan has decided to permit a “non-Christian prayer room within the school to allow Muslims and other non-Christian students.” Birney urged people to ask if the prayer room is “something that compromises our faith and identity, or is it in fact consistent with the respect that we have.”
All of this assistance of Islam by immigration and Roman Catholic schools is happening under Pope Francis’s jurisdiction. What Francis has made abundantly clear is, first, that he has no concern to protect faithful Catholics from the Muslim onslaught, which, if successful, will end up with Catholics and Westerners having to live under Sharia law. Second, as a primary Western religious leader, he is encouraging the Muslim religious leaders to persist in their violent onslaught, primarily on the West, and on Christianity in particular, but also around the world in general. Third, it is clear that he is accommodating Islam for his own purposes of empire building and does so with no compunction to be truthful or Christian in his dealings with them. For example, Pope Francis has stated,
“The sacred writings of Islam have retained some Christian teachings; Jesus and Mary receive profound veneration and it is admirable to see how Muslims both young and old, men and women, make time for daily prayer and faithfully take part in religious services. Many of them also have a deep conviction that their life, in its entirety, is from God and for God. They also acknowledge the need to respond to God with an ethical commitment and with mercy towards those most in need.”
The Pope’s statement is deceitful adulation because it must be reconciled with the Roman Church’s official declaration that “the plan of salvation” includes the Muslims, quotation,
“The [Roman] Church’s relationship with the Muslims. ‘The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.’”
Francis knows perfectly well that the Islamic Allah is not the God of the Bible. Thus, it is that Pope Francis, representing the Roman Church, has accepted Islam and its peoples. The fact that the Roman Church and the Allah of Islam agree on “the plan of salvation” demonstrates to true Bible believers that it is against biblical faith. The biblical commandment not to venerate any strange god has been broken by the Rome Catholic Church in order to credit Islam and its adherents with holding to the faith of Abraham.
Islam Rejects the Trinity, Christ’s Divinity, and His Substitutionary Sacrifice
Because of what is happening, it is necessary for us to study the official teachings of Islam. Christians believe in one God, which, in this one Godhead, there exists three Persons. Islam rejects this Trinitarian concept as blasphemous. The Qur’ân declares,
“Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three; and there is no god but the one God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve” (Surah 5:73).
The Bible proclaims Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross in place of the believer, “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Islam passionately rejects the crucifixion of Christ Jesus. Thus, the Qur’ân declares,
“And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure” (Surah 4:157).
The Bible proclaims Christ Jesus as divine, being the brightness of the divine glory, and the express image of God. In the Qur’ân, Christ Jesus is debased to being solely an apostle of Allah. Thus, the Qur’ân states, “O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah…” (Surah 4.171). Christ Jesus declared, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” “I and my Father are one.” “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” A religion that rejects Christ’s divinity cannot be of the truth. It is abhorrent that Pope Francis and his Roman Church, in accepting the teachings of the Qur’ân implicitly, denigrate the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel and the Qur’ân’s Religious Philosophy
In the Bible, the Gospel is as the Apostle John declared, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” The whole “purpose” of the God of Scripture is clearly seen in the Gospel of John, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” This is totally different from the god of Islam who orders fighting, war, and punishment—by amputation, crucifixion, and murder. The following is just a sample of the primary concept of fighting for Allah that the Qur’ân requires:
“And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers” (Surah 2.191).
“…let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world’s life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward” (Surah 4.74).
The commandment of the Lord, however, is as different as darkness and light; for He says to those who are truly His own, “Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” While many individual Muslims may deplore atrocities committed in the name of Islam, it cannot be denied that these atrocities are encouraged and justified by Islamic teaching. Even the most moderate form of Islam is incompatible with biblical truth.
Pope Francis’ first foreign policy address in March 2013 made Muslim-Catholic relations one of his top priorities. Before an audience of ambassadors from 180 countries, he explained how he wanted to work for peace and bridge building between peoples. Muslims and Catholics, he claimed, needed to intensify their dialogue. Positive shockwaves were sent into Muslim-Catholic circles, and Muslim scholars and religious institutions around the world welcomed Pope Francis’ election. Thus Roman Catholics are in dialogue with the Muslims. Consequently, it is the blind leading the blind as each tries to move forward its own particular agenda. Neither agenda is about finding truth in a fallen world but rather both agendas are centered on building an earthly empire in which they will have absolute control. However, they have not properly considered who the Lord Jesus Christ really is and the fact that the God of the Bible works all things according to the counsel of His own will.
Conclusion
Pope Francis and the Roman Church’s promotion of Islam is an establish fact. Instead of warning people against the onslaught of Muslims across the world, Francis has left unaddressed Islamic persecution of European, Middle Eastern, and African people. Such Roman Catholic extremism is momentous.
The testimony of the Bible and history is that man by his own resources and research cannot adequately understand God. As Scripture states, “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The depths and riches of His wisdom are past human comprehension. The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the means by which a person is to know who God is and how He acts. He said, “sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
The Lord God’s written word, the Bible, not only contains the truth, it is itself truth. As descendants of Adam, we are sinful creatures, separated from our holy Creator. By ourselves, we have no way to be right with God. From the beginning, God’s word made it clear that even one act of disobedience would produce death. Death means separation. Mankind is spiritually dead, separated from the Source of life—the Lord God. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” The Lord God is all pure and all holy. As sinful human beings, we cannot have a relationship with Him, as He cannot tolerate sin. Thus, a person must die and face God’s righteous judgment. Of ourselves we are helpless sinners because, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” No amount of prayer, fasting, or good deeds can give us a relationship with the Lord God. We behold the answer to our spiritual position in Christ Jesus alone. God’s grace was planned before it was imparted, as the Scripture says, “before the foundation of the world” that we should be “accepted in the beloved.” The purpose and design of God from all eternity was that all gifts should come to sinful man in and through Christ Jesus. Grace in its most proper and authentic sense is definitely free, as the Scripture says, “being justified freely by His grace.” The reign of sin and false religion is overcome by the reign of God’s grace. As Scripture says, “even so might grace reign!” The abundance of grace far surpasses the evils of sin. Once a believing sinner receives Christ Jesus as his only surety before the All-Holy God, he finds himself not only freed from his sins, but also made to “reign in life.” Those who receive the abundant grace given by Christ are not only redeemed from the dominion of death, they live and reign with Him as they are sanctified daily through His word by the Holy Spirit, and by constant fellowship with Him. With Him they shall forever live and reign, world without end. Through Christ Jesus, grace reigns with sovereign freedom, power, and bounty! “Blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.” ♦
Richard Bennett of “Berean Beacon Ministry” – Website: http://www.bereanbeacon.org – Email address: richardmbennett@yahoo.com
References:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/world/paris-shooting/ 12/15/2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPZTYPpaiUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPZTYPpaiU
www.clarionproject.org/blog/europe/al-baghdadis-trojan-horse-arrives-europe 12/21/15
http://www.ruhrnachrichten.de/staedte/bochum/Bischof-in-Bochum-Kardinal-Lehmann-will-interreligioese-Gespraeche-mit-dem-Islam-foerdern;art932,2189134 Translated from the original German 12/15/2015.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/pope-francis-philadelphia-founded-haven-religious-freedomtolerance/story?id=34064928
www.societyofmaryusa.org/JPIC/JPIC-Action-HumanitarianCrisisInSyria110515.html 12/15/2015
www.usccb.org/about/migration-policy/syrian-refugee-crisis.cfmhttp://www.usccb.org/about/migration-policy/syrian-refugee-crisis.cfm 12/15/2015
www.breitbart.com/london/2015/09/05/gulf-states-refuse-to-take-a-single-syrian-refugee-say-doing-so-exposes-them-to-risk-of-terrorism/
Details on: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1091218/Muslim-prayer-rooms-opened-Catholic-schools-say-church-leaders.html#ixzz3ubVKMF6E
http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/catholic-school-offers-sacred-place-muslim-prayer
http://galliawatch.blogspot.com/2013/12/pope-francis-on-islam.html 2/20/14
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Para. 841
All quotes from the Koran are from this site: http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/
Ephesians 1:7
John 8:58
John 10:30
John 8:24
1 John 1:5
John 17:3
1 John 5:13
Luke 6:35-36
http://craigconsidinetcd.com/2014/01/24/pope-francis-christians-must-build-bridges-of-dialogue/
Ephesians 1:11, “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” Job 11:7-8
Romans 11:33; Isaiah 40:28; Ecclesiastes 3:11
John 17:17
Romans 5:12
Ezekiel 18:4
Ephesians 1:4, 6
Romans 3:24
Romans 5:21
Romans 5:17
Psalm 72:19
