"Muslim" is not synonymous with "monster"

Here's something I found online:

And you know what? It makes me angry. It makes my blood boil. "All I need to know about Islam, I learned on 9-11." That's like saying, "All I need to know about Christianity, I learned from Westboro Baptist Church."

Let me be clear. September 11th, 2001 (and no, I didn't need to look that up) was a very dark day. Not just for America but for the world. It marked a terrible tragedy, a crime that left so many people shocked, terrified, and grieving. There aren't enough words in the English language to describe what happened on that day. But.

It wasn't new. History repeats itself, again and again. 9-11 showed us what monsters we can be, but we've been shown that before and since. The Holocaust? Slavery? Pretty much any war? We have the capacity for great evil and depravity; we should remember that but hope and strive for goodness.

Muslims are not evil. I know, it's shocking, isn't it?* We all need to understand that man is not evil. We have, as I just said, the capacity for evil. We can be horrible and disgusting, but we were originally created for righteousness. Since then, we've allowed ourselves to become... Well, if you've ever read Ted Dekker's book Thr3e, you'll see it. "The Good, the bad, and the beautiful." We are humans; we struggle between good and evil, always having to pick a side. Those of us who have chosen light are still drawn back into darkness. My point is (I just realized how much I'm rambling), Muslims are no more evil than any other religion. In case you've forgotten, we're all human beings.

Now, I'm not compromising my beliefs here. I'm a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, but I don't believe He'd be very pleased with us for the prejudice we're showing our fellow man. He calls us to love them and teach them about Him. It's our job to give others guidance, letting them know that we Christians are not better than anyone else. We are broken and lost and royally screwed up, just like everyone else, but we rely on a perfect God to teach us how to be better.

Everyone chooses his own path. We don't force our beliefs; we don't hate anyone for their beliefs. We only teach, answer questions, and pray that God (not us; remember, it's God who saves, not Christians) gets through to them someday.

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" -- Romans 10:14

*Just a disclaimer. This is sarcasm from my own anger at the ignorance, not condescension aimed at any reader.

For God so loved you...

(This post got a bit rambly, but I can't decide on anything to take out, so... Enjoy. Thanks to Mrs. Lena Morgan for the idea and the title of the post.)

Easter is the day that we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. And why would we celebrate the death of our God? It was a truly horrific event, something so awful that it would be rated R when a movie based on it came out (Passion of the Christ). But it was also beautiful. Astoundingly beautiful. And here's why.

"For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For He sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but through Him the world would be saved." - John 3:16-17

Hell was not intended for man. It was not created for those who sinned because we were never supposed to sin. We were created to be pure, but we failed in that and became dirty. Hell was created as a prison for the devil (not as a place for Satan to rule over sinners), and it still is, but everyone who follows him will also be put there.

Hell is eternity away from God.

Sin is not what we see it as. It is dark and disgusting, and all of it, in God's eyes, is the same. Lying and hatred, adultery and murder are equal in His eyes, and He is perfect. Our God can't stand to look at something so disgusting, so we could never be with Him.

Think about this: God is everywhere. Every breath you take, every drop of rain, atom in the universe is filled with His presence. We have never been away from Him because He is all around us. Even when you don't think He's there, He is. And we can feel it in our souls.

Hell is a place without God. He is not there. Hell is dark and cold and empty. Conscious oblivion.

However, (however! Aren't "howevers" wonderful?) God loves us. Despite everything we did, despite how quickly we turned away from Him, despite all the sin inside of us! He loves us. And He died for us on the first Good Friday over two thousand years ago, and He became alive again on that first Easter! He is alive, so alive, and He still loves us. Even after we murdered Him, He loves us.

He is the one with the power to create high mountains and raging seas, the passion to paint rainbows and sunsets across the sky, the reach to spread the stars throughout the universe and sand across the beach, and the delicacy to shape tiny fingers and flower petals. And He loves us with the fire of a billion burning stars.

So often, we Christians preach love and forgiveness but practice deceit and cruelty. We are mortal, but God is higher. He loves you, and He will forgive anything you have done. Turn and face him today, and He will accept you.