The God Principle: Author's thoughts

ISIS: A Trojan Horse?

The Consequences of Misunderstanding the Meaning of Terms

All contents copyright © 2015 by M.L. Wilson. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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The fighting in the Middle East goes back centuries, if not thousands of years; war in this region is nothing new. The Biblical Old Testament chronicles one battle after another between the Israelites and various kingdoms. Canaanites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites … war appeared to be the rule rather than the exception.

That these were battles that seemed to be sanctioned by God Almighty only makes these stories all the more curious. While reading the scriptures, how many have paused and contemplated the fact that if God Almighty is the creator of all, then He is also the creator of the Canaanites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, et al. Can all of these other tribes be wrong with only the Israelites being correct and finding favor with God?

In 1^st Samuel 15:2-3, the Prophet Samuel is speaking to Saul, the King over the Israelites. Samuel explains that the Lord has given him a message that they are to take action against an enemy.

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came back from Egypt. Now go attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys’”  

Saul did as Samuel commanded him with one exception. Saul spared the Amalekite king, Agag along with some of the best of the livestock and, “…everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.”  (1^st Samuel 15:9)

Now later when Samuel found out what Saul had done (namely not destroy everything as the Lord had commanded), Samuel took it upon himself to kill King Agag after placing a curse upon him. It was also determined that God was not pleased He had agreed to make Saul King to begin with. For his part, Samuel decided he had had enough of Saul over this particular incident and the two never spoke again. (In life, that is)

I am not going to belabor the point that it is my opinion the “god” mentioned here in the scripture is not Creator God Almighty, but rather a Celestial Ambassador of Creator God Almighty. This is a contentious position which most Christians do not abide, much less believe. That is fine; most Christians do not know the history of their faith and have not done the intensive study to make an informed decision on the matter. Most Christians simply believe whatever their pastor tells them and that is the extent of their thoughts on the subject. This isn’t a criticism, but rather an observation.   

Were the Amalekites truly evil people? Did this evil extend to children and infants? Could it possibly extend to the livestock? Does such not give a level of sentient awareness to beings not capable of such due to their age or station? It is not a stretch to conclude that an infant, much less a donkey or camel, could formalize an opinion respecting the politics of two warring clans. Yet the creator of all there is; the creator of the universe and all within, has commanded the deaths of these children, infants, and livestock as though they had perpetrated the crimes against the Israelites themselves.

Now of course there is a thought that in life, one’s actions have consequences which extend to the innocents in their care. A man driving drunk with his children in the car with him is putting the lives of those children in jeopardy even though they had absolutely nothing to do with getting their father drunk. Their deaths are simply a matter of cause and effect. True enough, but that isn’t what we see here in this passage – and others – throughout the Old Testament scriptures. We repeatedly see the Lord commanding the Israelites to go and subdue and in many cases totally kill or subjugate their enemies. If one is a Canaanite child just playing outside and minding her own business, where is the justice in suddenly watching a horde of military men invade your home, screaming at you in a language you don’t understand and then killing your parents and your animals, raping you and then killing you as well? How is such behavior in any way just?

Sadly these are the events too often glossed over by pastors and Bible teachers with the throw-away explanation of, “Well God knew they were sinful. Even if the babies weren’t at the time of their deaths, they would have grown to become totally sinful if they had been allowed to live. God had to kill them to stop the infection of sin.” It would be my observation that such drastic actions on the part of the Lord have been met with resounding failure if that was in fact the intended goal. Sin clearly still reigns.

These events are now a part of Israel’s ancient history. As a people, the Jews haven’t engaged in such behavior in at least two thousand years or more. Of course there are those who will say that the Jewish treatment of the Palestinians is to the same level as their actions recounted in the Old Testament scriptures, but that is merely politics. Prior to the United Nations resolution which ceded British Palestine to the Jews in 1948, the Palestinians were as adrift amidst their Arab brethren as they are today; none of the neighboring tribes welcomed them then and refuse to do so today. Beyond being used as a tool, the Palestinians are as disrespected by their Arab brethren as they believe themselves to be by the Jews. Only the West refuses to see the situation as it really exists because the West remains willfully ignorant of too many details between the peoples of this region.

Which brings us to ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. (I refuse to play the word game propagated by United States President Barack Obama in calling this group ISIL – the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - as the term “Levant” is used to exclude the legitimacy of Israel as a nation.) ISIS is continually referred to as a “Radical” Islamic group. This is absolutely incorrect and those in Islam know this. Again the West remains willfully clueless to these word games and in much the same way they refuse to see the obvious differences with respect to the Old Testament God and Jesus Christ, they refuse to see that ISIS cannot possibly be radicals. Why do I say that? Let me explain.

To be a radical is to go against the norm. For example, if one is in a group of people who all part their hair on the right, it would be radical for one to then part their hair on the left or the middle; the move is radical as it does not adhere to the established norm of the group.

The actions of ISIS are not radical by the tenets established within the Qur’anic scriptures or the Hadiths. As I have already pointed out – and as much of the clueless West continually parrot, the ancient Israelites were obeying their god when they marched into a village or a land and killed or enslaved the conquered. According to the Old Testament scriptures, this was appropriate and an essential tenet of their faith. It is interesting that when we see the exact same tenets being expressed within Islam, we suddenly get all weak in the knees and back peddle. Why is it that the Hebrews are guilty, but the Muslims are not?

In truth, the actions of ISIS are not radical in the least. The Term “Radical Islam” simply does not apply from any intellectual point of view if one knows Islam and the meaning of the word “radical.” However in today’s Western media, any real effort to know one’s foe is simply too much work. Instead they attach themselves to words and terms that through Western eyes seem to make sense, but in reality only make the situation worse. What do I mean by that? Allow me to expand on that.

If one calling themselves a Christian were to go about killing others who do not believe as they do, subjugating others and generally acting in a manner which brought great pain and suffering to their fellow man, we could rightfully call this person a “radical.” We could do that because none of those behaviors are supported by the Gospels or the Epistles … none.

To be fair, Christian history is littered with people acting in just such a manner towards their fellow man, killing and enslaving those who did not conform as commanded. However on closer inspection, one would find that in order to support such views as a Christian, one must dredge up the Old Covenant since again, none of those aberrant behaviors are supported by the New Covenant … none.

I believe it is a fair observation for me to point out that few Christians, much less non-Christians, understand the significance of the two covenants. Too many Pastors and teachers of the scriptures really have no idea what the difference is. Those who believe they do know and understand the difference, look at the two covenants through the cracked and improper lens of Dispensationalism. Briefly, God acted differently towards His creation in different eras based upon covenants He made with Himself which restricted His movements. The time of Christ was a “Grace” dispensation which will soon be replaced at the time of the Great Tribulation and the Rapture.

The above mentioned points of doctrine are all manmade contrivances which are approximately one hundred, seventy years old. They were brought to us primarily through one man, a Plymouth Brethren pastor named John Nelson Darby. Even Darby had to acknowledge the gods in both covenants and the actual covenants themselves were vastly different from one another. This had led to confusion and outright abuse by the reigning clergy towards their flock. Darby’s theories respecting different dispensations which controlled God’s behavior towards mankind did much to remove the confusion. It essentially explained why God could order the rape and murder of little children in one part of the Bible and how Jesus could pronounce a curse upon those who would hurt little children in another part of the same Bible.

Suffice to say, Darby’s conclusions were absolutely in error. However that did not stop orthodoxy from adopting the theory wholesale and incorporating it into their teachings. Today if one is a Fundamentalist Evangelical Christian and does not adhere to Dispensationalism and the Rapture, one is close to being branded a heretic. Many churches and Christian ministries have incorporated this piece of Biblically unsupported doctrine into their statements of faith. Those who refuse to bow to this erroneous teaching, are prohibited from engaging in either church functions or those ministries.

To one who believes they have been called of God to go and preach the Gospel to the whole world, making disciples of them, such restrictions based upon these manmade contrivances make that task almost impossible; one finds that not only are they battling against the unbelievers, but also orthodoxy.

Here is a point to consider: The Jews as a people have not been fundamentalists in thought or deed for more than two thousand years. The modern state of Israel was not built to conform to the conditions as laid out by the Lord in Deuteronomy 11:22-32 and 28:16-68. Modern Israel was founded as a Parliamentary Democracy. As such, its present governmental structure violates most of the restrictions laid out by the Lord in Deuteronomy.  One could therefore regard the Jews today as either disobedient, or perhaps as Radicals; they do not follow the whole of the Law.

Now contrast Israel with that of most all its Muslim neighbors. Almost without exception, these nations are all theocracies, ruled by Imams. These religious leaders rule from the pages of the Qur’an and the Hadiths almost exclusively. From these Islamic teachings, a “code of conduct” or Sharia Law has been implemented. Strict obedience of these laws are not regarded as “Radical” as too many in the West would have you believe; the strict obedience of these laws is a fundamental part of Islam. Fundamental.

And here is where we have a breakdown in basic understanding between the East and the West. The West in its arrogance looks at everything in the world through a Western mindset. Thus if we find certain behavior as aberrant, we call it Radical because it does not hold to what we regard as normal. However to the Eastern mindset – especially those who are adherents to Islam, such behavior is far from aberrant; it is fundamental and pragmatic.

Islam demands conformity from all in order to achieve peace. If there must be a period of torment and death in order to achieve this conformity and subsequent peace, than such is as a blessing from Allah. This point cannot be dismissed or ignored: Islam is a Religion of Peace because it excises all dissent. Once dissent is removed, conformity reigns and peace follows.

This brings us back to the matter of ISIS and just exactly what is going on. When Barack Obama made the decision to pull out United States troops from Iraq prior to the 2012 election, he was strongly cautioned that such a move would create a vacuum which would quickly be filled by these Muslim terrorists. Obama ignored such advice from his military leadership and even fired some of them. Re-election was the only thing which mattered and if Americans believed that it was best to pull out rather than actually subdue the land, then that’s what should be done. Obama did so, was re-elected as predicted and Iraq fell soon afterward … also as predicted.

Like dominos falling, various Middle Eastern countries led primarily by secular military dictators begun to fall one by one. All the while, al Qaeda was growing into a different animal. This animal was finally reborn during the battle to unseat yet another of these Middle Eastern Dictators in Syria, Bashar al Assad.

To be certain, Assad is not a nice man. Syria has not been a particularly good friend to the United States and definitely has not been kind to Israel. However to the Fundamentalists Muslims of ISIS, he is little better than an infidel. These fundamentalist Muslims going under such brands as the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda or ISIS sought to unseat Assad from power just as they had done with Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Once these lands had been liberated from the “puppets” placed by the Western Imperialists after World War I, ISIS could create the Islamic Empire they’ve dreamed of since the time of Muhammad. And here is where the strategy they’ve employed comes about. This is a strategy no one in the West has yet to see … well ALMOST no one.

While we in the West are reeling over the barbarity of these Muslim terrorists towards the people they’ve kidnapped - watching them being beheaded, burned alive or shot, we are having seared into our collective consciousness how a “Radical” Muslim looks and acts. This is by design. We are then left to contrast the behavior of ISIS, The Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaeda, Hamas, et al with those “peaceful” Muslims who just want to pray to Allah and live their lives. Well that is all well and good, except for one thing: There are still the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith to deal with.

Why do we accept the fact that if ISIS will murder Westerners and even fellow other Muslims in order to achieve their goals, they will not also bring the same wrath down upon these “Peaceful” Muslims elsewhere in the world – including the West? As a point of consistency and continuity, they will not. Either these “Peaceful” Muslims are well aware that they are living on borrowed time, or this is part of a larger plan of deception. Here we have the “Trojan Horse.”

While we are fixated on the horror that is ISIS and other like terrorists, we are not seeing the “Peaceful” Muslims who are making great strides in our communities, implementing Sharia Law in place of Municipal, State or Federal laws. We ignore the fact that “special” rights are being afforded to these Islamic groups not enjoyed by others. Presently there are pending pieces of legislation which seek to make speaking out against Islam a Hate Crime. Even though such legislation is in direct violation of the 1^st Amendment to the United States Constitution, our lawmakers are vacillating and I believe they will eventually capitulate.

Once we cede our Constitutional rights to these theocracies, what protections do we as a people have left? Are we so eager to give up our hard won freedoms because we don’t want to be seen as bigots or racists? To be certain there are many well meaning people who think just that way. However our lawmakers are not so deluded. They have calculated the possibilities of success or failure and are hedging their bets.

In the end, most of them will have realized they chose poorly by aligning themselves with Islam over the protections afforded to us all by the United States Constitution, but it will be far too late. No country likes a traitor; not the ones from whom the traitor betrayed, or the country who benefitted by the betrayal. There is the thought (correctly, in my opinion) that a traitor remains a traitor forever and cannot be trusted by either side. Such people are therefore eliminated as soon as is possible.

We may be allowed to eventually defeat ISIS, but they are not the real threat. The real danger is taking place right under our noses by those “Peaceful” Muslims entering our governmental bodies presently, writing laws which subvert our Constitution and pushing for a greater voice than that which is granted to others. The danger lies with those “Peaceful” Muslims who are infiltrating our schools, colleges and universities, teaching lies about Christianity and about Islam. The danger of these stealth actions are not going to manifest overnight, but will visit us with the next fifteen to twenty years in a most dramatic fashion.

The Imams are fully aware that they have time on their side. The majority of their populous are illiterate, lead spartan lives and have no real voice. This situation has only grown more dire over the last several decades rather than improve. Most of the children in Western schools today cannot even fathom an Iran where women worked in jobs alongside men, wore Western style dress and enjoyed tremendous freedom and autonomy. That was the Iran which vanished upon the return from exile of the Ayatollah Khomeini from France in 1978 and the subsequent removal of the Shah. This was the first domino to fall and as we have seen, more have followed with the same blight following in their path.

The United States is presently under attack by Islam, but our youth are being sold out by the adults, the supposed “experts” who either do not know what they are talking about, or are traitors to their own country. Any cursory reading of the Qur’an and the Hadiths spell out quite clearly what is going on as a point of strategy on the part of these Muslim groups, but our leadership no longer cares.

If there is no action taken to stem the influx of Islamic thought into the West, we will cease to be the United States. Sharia Law will become firmly established in too many communities to be effectively rooted out and the United States Constitution will no longer be an enforceable document.

The choice really is ours: We can shrink back in fear because we cannot bear being called racists or bigots, or we can stand up and defend our country from the invasion which is nakedly apparent in European cities today such as Paris, Copenhagen, Madrid, etc. We have already suffered our own casualties in the form of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Boston. More will come; it isn’t a matter of if, but rather of when.

The first order of business is to cease playing the silly word games foisted upon us by an unthinking media. Such personalities as Sean Hannity may be well meaning in their designation of these terrorists as “Radical Muslims”, but he is entirely incorrect. These people are NOT radicals; they are Fundamentalists and should be regarded as such. A radical Muslim truly desires to be at peace with his neighbor and does not plot nor revel in their deaths.

The next dominos are already tipping and will soon fall. Are we as a still free people willing to do what is necessary to preserve that freedom, or have we already accepted defeat? If we continue to remain uneducated about the truth of Fundamentalist Islam, we are accepting defeat and that means not only our deaths, but those of our children, grandchildren and our entire way of life.