Prayer and Submission
Many Christians are afraid of Islam. They worry about mosques being established in their cities. Spiritual risk never goes away, but submission and authority are the key to understanding spiritual danger.
Submission to any authority is dangerous, because when I submit to another person. I give them authority in my life. That gives any spiritual powers at work in their life permission to interfere in mine. Therefore, we should be very careful about whom we submit to and ensure their lives are holy and evil-spirit free.
All religion is spiritual, so submission to the leader of other religions is dangerous, because by submitting to them, we are also submitting to the spiritual powers that operate through their religion. The spiritual powers of evil love to work through false religions to spread deception.
People with authority have greater influence, because they commit the people who they have authority over. If we submit to a political or religious leader, we give the spiritual powers behind that leader permission to intervene in our lives. When leaders with authority over many people are deceived, the powers of evil that control them gain permission to intervene in the lives of the people under their authority.
The decisions and actions of people with authority have broader spiritual impact. They can release a bad spiritual power over the people who have submitted to their authority. This is why we should be cautious about submitting to political leaders (and religious leaders).
Followers of Jesus do not need to be afraid of places, because they are protected by the blood of Jesus. The real danger comes from being submitted to the wrong authority.
Christians should be wise when choosing whom to submit to. Many Christians have submitted to leaders who are influenced by a MIC Spirit. This has had a negative effect on their spiritual growth.
Avoiding submission to people who might have negative spiritual powers at work in their life is a key to spiritual protection. The following are examples of how these principles should be applied in the current situation.
I would have no problem in going into a mosque, if a friend invited to attend the prayers. What we should guard against is submitting to their authority. I am protected by the blood of Jesus, and provided that I do not submit to the authority of the Iman, the spirits behind them cannot touch me. Being submitting to the wrong authority is what is dangerous. If we are only submitted to Jesus, no place is dangerous.
I have no problems with a political leader attending a prayer service, provided that they do not submit to the authority of the Iman.
I am not concerned about an Islamic prayer service being held in my city. They have no effect on Christians, even if they attend, provided they do not submit the authority of the speakers.
The most serious situation in New Zealand is the meat industry, because the Meat Processing Companies have submitted to the authority of Islamic Imans and give Moslem slaughtermen permission to pray in their slaughterhouses. This is serious because companies that are important for the agricultural industry have submitted to the authority of religious leaders. Their submission to authority has opened them up to the spiritual powers behind Islam.
These situations are always come down to submission and authority. Going to particular buildings and places is not dangerous for followers of Jesus. Submitting to authority is dangerous, because it always has spiritual implications.
Living in Peace
Islam and Christianity can never stand in full unity, because they both want to expand into the entire world. Moslems want all things to be in submission to Allah (Islam means submission). Likewise, Christians want all people to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. They want all people to accept that Jesus is King of Kings and God of Gods. They believe that will happen as the good news about what that means is proclaimed and accepted everywhere.
In the past, both sides have used military force to try and expand their influence, but that is wrong. There have been some really embarrassing examples on both sides, but Jesus was absolutely clear that Christianity must not be expanded using violence and force. He wants people to freely choose to serve him, because they love him. (I do not know enough about Islam to confirm that the same applies to it).
People who claim that both religions should live alongside each other in peace are naive. They don't understand that spirits of deception and confusion are at work to lead people into false religious beliefs.
The idea that religious people should just get on with each other is unrealistic. It is the view of people who don't take religion seriously, who see it as nothing more than a cultural preference, like Morris Dancing or Victorian Literature. People who make that claim are pulling religion down by inferring that God is not real. That is an insult to people who believe in God, which is not living in peace.
Truth
Christianity and Islam are in competition with each other. This is an issue of truth. Both cannot be true. There can be diversity of beliefs, but there cannot be diversity of truths. If Christianity is true, Islam is false, and vice versa. If Jesus is divine, then Islam is wrong. (If secular humanism is true, then both are false). If Christians succeed in sharing the gospel and the people of the world acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, Islam will decline and disappear.
Of course, fighting wars for the truth is a mistake. The truth always gets lost in the pain and destruction of battle. This has happened too often in the past.
So, people of different religions should live together in peace, and debate their ideas, without being violent or using force to make people change their beliefs. People who have the truth should be confident that truth will win in the end, without the need to use force or violence to defend it.
The gospel of Jesus is the best news that I have ever heard. It delivers more than any other religion. It is far better than the promises of any political leaders. The Holy Spirit testifies to the truth of the gospel and confirms it with signs and wonders.
The gospel of Jesus can stand on its own. It does not need the power of the state to protect it or enforce it. If the gospel is listing in the market place of ideas, it is likely because it is not being fully lived.
Superior Religion
A common claim is that all religions are equal. This claim ignores the spiritual dimension of life. It assumes that each religion is just another cultural practice that people are free to choose between. This is not true. Every religion includes a view of the world and way of life. Some match the world better than others. Some support a better life than others.
I believe that Christianity as proclaimed by Jesus is a superior religion, because it better reflects the nature of the world (spiritual and material) and is true to the character of God. That makes it superior to other religions. The bonus with the gospel of Jesus is that God has sent his Holy Spirit to work in the lives of those who choose to follow Jesus. No other religion can match that gift.
I realise that adherents of other religions believe that theirs is superior to mine. I have no problem with that. When making choices about life, we all try to choose what is best. When deciding which school to send our children to, we try to identify the best one in the region. When deciding which club to join, we try to identify the best. I would expect people choosing a religion to follow to do the same. Once they have chosen their religion, I am not surprised that they will believe it is the best.
