Devout Muslims

Today's local newspaper had an article byMuhammad Abdul Bari (pictured). He is Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain and he wrote: "Muslims living in Paris, London, and Berlin are more religious than the general public."

That would be true for New Zealand also. I have not met a Muslim man with whom I could not get into a discussion about religion. Many of them have shown signs of considerable devotion when we talked of prayers, sin and relating to God.

The New Testament shows us that God’s likes to bless devout people, like Simeon and Anna in the Temple (See Lk 2:25 37), like the devout men at Pentecost and like the devout household of Cornelius. (See Acts 2:5; 10:2)

Devout Muslims are coming to Jesus Christ through Christian friends and through visions of Jesus and through the example of Christian fellowship. I need to remind myself not to get side-tracked with discussions about the Trinity and the Incarnation but to go beyond the arguments to the intimacy with God that these doctrines indicate. Meeting up with Muslims can be a “blessed occasion” like it was for those devout people of the New Testament.

A Robust Faith

Whether we are up against the agents of the NWO or the Islamization of our culture, we need a robust faith.

Jesus encourages a robust faith.

‘Seek first the kingdom…all these other things will be given to you as well.’ [Mt 6:33]
‘Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm.’ [Mt 11:12] This is the violence of wrestling and God rewards wrestlers. [See Gen 32:29-31] ‘Have faith in God. In truth I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Be pulled up and thrown into the sea”, with no doubt in his heart, but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” [Mk 11:22-23]
‘In truth I tell you, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, and will perform even greater works because I am going to the Father.’ [Jn 14:12]

The Vision of Faith is Massive.

At its core faith is about salvation from sin through the person of Jesus. But faith is not just a "me and Jesus thing". God's plan for saving the world is to use a People that is devoted to him and is immersed in humanity.
This People is called the Church and it's mission is to establish the Kingdom of God in the world right now. That is why the Church is called 'The Universal Sacrament of Salvation.'
When Jesus returns in glory, "The whole of creation itself must be freed from the slavery of corruption and brought into the same glorious freedom of as the children of God." [Romans 8:21]Wow!!


Writing of such robustness, Scot McKnight has a good article "The 8 Marks of a Robust Gospel" in Christianity Today.

A Spirituality for the Conflict

(See Revelation Chapter 13)

End-Time Spirituality

The Bible presents us with conflict from beginning to end, from the "enmity" (Genesis 3:15) between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, to the dragon making "war on the rest of her children" (Revelation 12:17). And the New Testament gives us some great images of conflict for end-time spirituality:


· We have the example of Jesus, driven by the Holy Spirit into the desert, where Satan offers him the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would worship Satan. (See Matthew 4:8-11 & parallels)


· St Paul gives us the prophecy of the great apostasy and the coming of the “wicked one” (anti-Christ) who will take over God’s sanctuary. And he encourages us to stand firm. (See 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2)


· The Book of Revelation has a dramatic scene (see Chapter 13) featuring the dragon and the two beasts. The dragon is Satan, the first beast is Caesar, and the second beast represents the advocates of emperor worship.


“Take care that no one deceives you” (Mark 13:5) is the hallmark of this spirituality. Jesus spoke a lot about deception in his end-time talks. Deception is a major weapon of an intelligent enemy.


The ascetical dimension of end-time spirituality is about shouldering the burden that the world gives us as we walk in the path of Jesus (See Mark 8:34-38 and parallels.) It is not so much about fleeing from the world or confronting internal demons or doing great penances as it is about facing the pain of the conflict with the sinful world.


The mystical dimension of end-time spirituality is the realization that God is walking with us as we carry out our mission (See Matthew 28:20 and parallels). As the experience of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane shows, Jesus not only faced the pain, but he was still using the familiar term “Abba” (Mark 14:36) for God and he was encouraged by an angel (See Luke 22:43).


End-time Spirituality is future-oriented. The Spirit, our advocate in the conflict, “reveals the things to come” (John 16:13) and gives us a longing to hear those words from Jesus, when he returns to judge the living and the dead, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21) And as we look at the evil around us now, the Spirit gives us an understanding of what the world will be like when the effects of sin are finally cleaned out and we have a “new heaven and a new earth.” (Revelation 21:1)

Creeping Islam

In 1990 I spent some time in Whitechapel, London, and noticed how islamic that part of the East End was becoming. The Cockney humour had been replaced on the streets by the stridency of Muslims, talking about taking over that part of London. Today, the call for Sharia Law is finding a voice in the English media.

The following blog presents a step-by-step picture of Islam creeping in to take over

Islam in Action Blog
July 21, 2008 10:38 AM

Bapakgila said...
Well you know the old saying, "give them an inch and they will take a mile." However, just in case anyone here hasn't seen these statistics concerning Muslim immigration, here at some stats:
Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life.
Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.

Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges.

When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well. Here's how it works.

As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:

United States -- Muslim 0.6%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1.8%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. This is happening in:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris , we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam , with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections, in:

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 15%

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

• 100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 100%

Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.

Clearly, where ever Islam goes, freedom flees.

Click here to read more of Bapakgila

Catch the Fire

The way to catch the fire of the Spirit is to follow Jesus. He would begin a very busy day’s work by going off by himself to spend time with God (See Mk 1:35). He would address God as “Father”; he was familiar with figures from the Old Testament and he talked of pressing issues (See Lk 9:30-31). His prayer was caught up in loving God “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt 22:37)

So spend time each day with the indwelling Spirit on God’s terms (See Rm 8:8-9). Think of God as revealed in the Scriptures. When you have a “movement of the heart” towards God stay with it for as long as it lasts. Then move to the next thought. A sense of awe, thanksgiving, sorrow and determination are examples of movements of the heart, as is a simple “gaze” towards God.

Sometimes you will experience only “aridity”, which is a spiritual dryness. Check to see if there is unconfessed sin. If there is none, stay in prayer for your regular amount of time presenting your aridity to God. It is likely that God is strengthening your faith for an even closer walk with you. Watch out also for attachment to even “the things of God” instead of to “the God of things”. The Spirit will be leading you to a more simple faith in God, like the faith of Abraham (See Heb 11:17-19) so that you depend on nothing else but him.

When you leave such a daily time of prayer, you will find it easier to think like Jesus, feel like Jesus and act like Jesus. And when you follow Jesus that closely, you will catch the fire of the Spirit. Then nothing that the New World Order throws at you will overcome you for you will be "clothed with the power from on high" (Lk 24:49).

Core Business - Sin

The "core business" of the Church is salvation from sin. It is not running hospitals, educating people or supporting protests, as good as these may be. The readings of the Mass for the First Sunday of Lent (Year A) focus on why Jesus came. "Sin entered the world through one man...As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous" (Rm 5:12, 19).

Matthew has summarized the temptations of Jesus 40 days in the desert as putting right what the Chosen People did wrong during their 40 years in the desert. (See Mt 4:1-11) They had sought nourishment apart from God (See Dt 8:3: Ex 16). They tested God by saying "Is God with us or not?" (Ex 17:7). They worshipped a false God (Ex 32:1) as their leader. So salvation from sin is like zipping up something that has been unzipped; it reverses the process.

To carry out our core business, we need to recognise sin and to apply the salvation of Jesus Christ. We will be able to help others do that with sensitivity when we have recognised our own sin. (See Mt 7:5) The Lenten prayers call us to recognise sin in ourselves; it is a great time in the Church's year for a "spring clean."

Of course the agents of the New World Order, want us to ignore sin as being 'too negative', or re-thinking it as "Integrating the shadow self" (See my blog on Carl Jung) or as causing "bad feelings." But we all know sin exists because we can easily recall the people who have sinned against us.

Charisms Revisited

In 1969 I first heard of “Catholic Pentecostals”. Wanting to dismiss them, I said that we don’t have to recognize the Holy Spirit since he will get on with his job anyway. In the group was a professor of dogmatic theology who told us that a person would only be fully present if we recognized that the person is there. Similarly the Holy Spirit will not be fully active, if we do not welcome his presence. On the strength of that thought, I had a look at and then joined the Charismatic Renewal (as it became known).

In recent years, I walked away from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal because I had seen so much emotional self-indulgence and emotional manipulation. More especially, New Age practice had so permeated the meetings that the reality of sin and the power of the cross were actively avoided. There was none of the prophecies, miracles, deliverances and profound conversions that I had previously known.

Yet, the Church in western civilization needs the Spirit’s powerful presence even more, now that the social engineering of the NWO has a stronger grip that it had 40 years ago. So I have revisited St Paul’s teaching on the charisms that is found in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The teaching is wonderfully simple. The power that Jesus had in his ministry is shared among the members of his Body when we come together in prayer, bringing a “psalm, teaching or prophecy” (14:26) to build up the community (12:26) and to let the Spirit move us with “many different gifts” (12:4).

St Paul encourages us to “be ambitious for the higher gifts” (12:31). Instead of presenting us with programmes, techniques or seminars, Paul puts before us the way of unconditional love “which is always patient…is not boastful…and endures whatever comes.” (13:4-7)

We are to “be eager, too, for the higher gifts, especially for prophesying” (14:1) which not only teaches and encourages us but which tests the hearts of non-believers bringing them to “worship God, declaring that ‘God is indeed among you.’” (14:25)

Yes, I could buy into a charismatic renewal that is like that!