From a Muslim point of view\u2014<\/p>\n
1. Holy War is only one aspect of Muslim teaching regarding\u00a0Jihad<\/em>, which literally means\u00a0struggle<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0effort<\/em>in God\u2019s way.<\/p>\n 2. There are two broad categories of\u00a0jihad<\/em>:<\/p>\n a.\u00a0Greater<\/em>\u00a0jihad which includes:<\/p>\n i. struggle against one\u2019s evil desires.<\/p>\n ii. inviting people to Islam. (dawah<\/em>).<\/p>\n iii. working for betterment of society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n b.\u00a0Lesser<\/em>\u00a0jihad, i.e., armed struggle in God\u2019s way.<\/p>\n i. Some believe that it is only justified to defend your land from foreign aggression. It is an obligation (fard<\/em>) which is fulfilled if a sufficient number in that country participate (e.g. armed forces).<\/p>\n ii. Others see it as their responsibility to work to bring the whole world under divine rule in a single Islamic state.<\/p>\n iii. Jihad originates in the teaching of the Qur\u2019an and Traditions regarding the Prophet. When his followers faced non-Muslim enemies, they were to offer one of three courses of action:<\/p>\n \u2022 become Muslims 3. When Muslims are criticized about\u00a0Jihad<\/em>, they frequently point to the Crusades. The word\u00a0crusade<\/em>derives from the Latin\u00a0crux<\/em>, or\u00a0cross<\/em>, a reference to the injunction of\u00a0Matt. 10:38<\/a>. For this reason and others, the cross is seen as a symbol of confrontation, conquest and colonialism.<\/p>\n From a Biblical point of view\u2014<\/p>\n 1. Muslims also refer to the Holy War carried out by the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan.<\/p>\n a.\u00a0Deut 20:10-15<\/a>\u00a0— An offer of peace was to precede battle with neighbor nations, provided the nation agreed to become slaves to Israel (10-11). Otherwise, all men were to be killed (13).<\/p>\n b.\u00a0Deut 20:16-18<\/a>\u00a0— Nations of Canaan were to be completely destroyed. Gen. 15:16<\/a>\u00a0— the sin of the inhabitants 2. We need to make a distinction between our response as the church of Christ and as citizens of nations.<\/p>\n \u2022How do the roles of the church and government differ?<\/p>\n \u2022Is there any paradox between how we might act toward an enemy as disciples and how we might act as citizens?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 3. The \u201csmaller Jihad\u201d of Islam is inconsistent with Christ\u2019s teaching about His Kingdom (Jn. 18:36<\/a>).<\/p>\n 4. Even quarrelling is outlawed for those under Christ\u2019s reign (Matt. 12:19<\/a>;\u00a02 Tim. 2:14, 24<\/a>).<\/p>\n 5. The Christian is however called to greater Jihad, or struggle in God\u2019s way. These areas of struggle (agonizomai<\/em>) include:<\/p>\n a. Control of bodily appetites (1 Cor. 9:25-27<\/a>). From a Muslim point of view\u2014 1. Holy War is only one aspect of Muslim teaching regarding\u00a0Jihad, which literally means\u00a0struggle\u00a0or\u00a0effortin God\u2019s way. 2. There are two broad categories of\u00a0jihad: a.\u00a0Greater\u00a0jihad which includes: i. struggle against one\u2019s evil desires. ii. inviting people to Islam. (dawah). iii. working for betterment of society. b.\u00a0Lesser\u00a0jihad, i.e., armed struggle in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-538","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\u2022 pay a special tax, or
\n\u2022 prepare to die<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nWhy?<\/p>\n
\nDeut. 20:18<\/a>\u00a0— their bad influence on the Israelites<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nb. Suffering for Christ (Phil 1:29-30<\/a>).
\nc. Working for spiritual maturity in the Church (Col. 1:28-2:2<\/a>).
\nd. Praying for others (Col. 4:12<\/a>).
\ne. Personal godliness (1 Tim. 6:11,12<\/a>).
\nf. Persevering to the end (2 Tim. 4:6,7<\/a>).
\ng. Pursuit of holiness (Heb. 12:4<\/a>\u00a0\u201cstruggle\u201d).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"