Sermon Tone Analysis

! Jihad and Jesus

*John 14**:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.**

*

*Romans 15:33  The God of peace be with you all.

Amen.*

*Introduction*

*We live in interesting times!

Man, I thought the 70's were great, but this is even better!

And there are few things today that people are talking about more than Peace.

We know how to talk peace and we know how to have peace talks.

We have peace accords, and peace concords.

We have peace treaties, peace negotiations, and even the oxymorons peace protest and peace force!*

*And in the middle of it all, I can't help but notice that something is missing: Peace!*

*In fact, just before coming over I received a CNN newsflash email announcing, "Gunshots heard in Jerusalem."

So where's the news in that?

It sounds like just another day in the middle east to me.*

* *

*But here we are as followers of the "Prince of Peace" and the "King of Peace."

But what does that mean?

*

| *Now if I were to say that Elvis Presley is the King of Rock 'n' Roll, you would know what I mean, wouldn't you.*

|

| *And if I were to say that President Bush is the prince of the twisted sentence, . . .

* |

| *And if I were to say that Bill Clinton is the Prince of Scandal . .

.* |

| *These are just different ways of saying that /nobody does it better/.*

|

*So let me say it again.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and the King of Peace.

Nobody does it better.

If you want to know what Peace is, look at the way Jesus lived his life.*

* *

*But have you noticed that it is not until it is gone that we really appreciate peace?** *

* *

*I have a very early memory of being with my brothers and sisters as we visited a home.

I cannot tell you how young I was, but I was very young.

The details are all lost to time, but I do remember that at this house we were all standing and looking at a brand new set of puppies that had just been born and were all crowding around big black Mama Dog.

Of course, you know how kids are.

Baby animals have a magnetic affect.

So we were crowding closer and closer as we looked at those puppies.

The sun was shining, the puppies were cute, and we were all at peace with the world.

And then I suddenly noticed something.

Something about the eyes of Mama Dog which today due to my extensive theological training I recognize to have been demonic possession.

I come from a big family.

There were six of us kids and we were all looking at the puppies.

But suddenly Mama Dog's eyes caught mine.

I'll never know why she picked me, but she picked ME.

And then she started to move.

And in that instant, I knew, I knew that my peaceful world had just come to an end.

There was an eternal moment there where I was only conscious of two things: the teeth and the noise--like nothing I had ever seen or heard before and they were both coming for me.

It'll come as no surprise to you that a dog can move faster than a little boy--even if he is a very athletic young fellow.

But by the time she got to me I was back peddling as hard as my children's size 4 shoes would move.

I felt her teeth as she snapped at my stomach and it is only because I have always maintained such a trim physique that there was not more there for her to grab.

As it was, she just barely nipped me, but caught a good hold on my t-shirt.

Now folks, I had no desire to get to know that dog any better and to quote the eloquent Elsie DeWelt, "I was out of there like a bat out of . . .

a very hot place."

I left a great deal of my shirt there that day and no small amount of naiveté.

I've never really liked any animal since that event.

And I came away impressed that you never really appreciate peace until it is gone.*

* *

*Well, as you know, since 9-11 it's gone.

But we still talk quite a bit about it.

And some of the things we say are kind of funny.

*

*  *

*     I.

**Jihad*

*                 A.

**Islam: Religion of Peace?*

*                                  1.

**Less than one week after the September 11 attacks, (17 September 2001) our president delivered a speech in which he emphasized, **"Islam is /peace/"** and on another occasion actually said, "**Islam means /peace/**."

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by this \\ http:~/~/usinfo.state.gov~/usa~/islam~/s091701b.htm

\\ *

*                                  2.

**Two months after the attack, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar issued a statement saying " **Islam is (a) religion of /peace/, justice, tolerance**" 11~/13~/2001 \\ http:~/~/www.arabicnews.com~/ansub~/Daily~/Day~/011113~/2001111346.html

\\ *

*                                  3.

**Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak only a few days ago stressed that Islam **condemns terrorism and deplores /all forms of violence/.

He added that Islam calls for security, /peaceful/ coexistence and /cooperation/ among all nations.

\\ **Http:~/~/www.arabicnews.com~/ansub~/Daily~/Day~/011212~/2001121244.html

\\ *

*                                  4.

**Some of you probably saw that interfaith ceremony at Yankee Stadium on September 23, Imam Izak-El M. Pasha pleaded, "**Do not allow the ignorance of people to have you attack your good neighbors.

We are Muslims, but we are Americans.

We Muslims, Americans, stand today with a heavy weight on our shoulders that /those who would dare do such dastardly acts claim our faith.

They are no believers in God at all."/ \\ **http:~/~/www.christianitytoday.com~/ct~/2002~/001~/1.32.html *

*                                  5.

**Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Ebeid inaugurated the 9th International Holy Quran Competition a few days ago, stressing the importance of spreading the correct understanding of Islam as a religion of **tolerance and /peaceful/ coexistence**.

\\ Http:~/~/www.arabicnews.com~/ansub~/Daily~/Day~/011203~/2001120335.html \\ *

*                 B.

**Islam's History*

*                                  1.

**When I heard all this I must admit I panicked a bit.

After all, I've been teaching about the rise of Islam for years.

And I have always told my students that the word "Islam" means "submission."

Furthermore, I really did see how peace could possibly be used to describe Islam.

So I had to find out whether I had taught a generation of students a complete falsehood.

\\ \\ I have looked into it and I must admit that I believe an error has been made here.

While I am not an expert in Islamic history, I do know some Islamic history.

At the risk of being labeled Islamaphobic, let me share some of what I know.*

*                                  2.

**Don Walker ( http:~/~/www.chalcedon.edu~/articles~/walker011011.html ) says we need to \\ \\ **begin with the word "Islam."

It is an Arabic word that is etymologically related to the Hebrew word "Shalom," which is translated as "peace."

In the Western world, our understanding of "peace" differs to a great extent from that of the Middle Easterner.

To the Middle Easterner, "peace" connotes the idea of "having your foot on your enemies neck" i.e.; "surrender" or "submission."

To the Muslim, /peace/ can only come when there is a /surrender/ and /submission/ to Allah.

I dare say, this is a far cry from what most Westerners mean by "peace."

The noted historian Paul Johnson, writing in /National Review/, makes this comment, "The word /Islam/ does not mean /peace/ but /submission/."**

\\ \\ Indeed, look at any standard explanation of Islam and you will find the word consistently defined as "submission."*

*                                  3.

**Walker goes on to give a little history lesson,*

*Muhammad, whose name means, "highly praised," was born approximately 570 A.D. in Mecca.

He lived a rather unremarkable life until, according to Islamic tradition, the angel Gabriel visited him at 40 years of age and called him into the service of Allah.

Judaism and Christianity probably influenced Muhammad, along with the folk religions of the region.**

*

*As he sought to propagate his new religion, he was met with opposition.

Town after town rejected Muhammad, as he sought to establish himself as Allah's messenger.

Finally, the little town of Yathrib invited him and his small band of followers to take up residence.

The town later changed its name to Medina ("the prophet's city") to honor him.

Muhammad's move to Medina is called "the Hegira," meaning the "breaking off of one's own tribe."

Today this marks the beginning of the Muslim era: September 622 A.D.** *