CHRISTIANITY AND ISIS

Sermon Summary, March 6, 2016, “Christianity and ISIS”

(To get a full appreciation for the complexity of the issue, I highly recommend that you watch the forum on ISIS at https://vimeo.com/152643273.  It is essential to our role as Christian witnesses) Some sermon points:

Each religion has fundamentalists, for Islam those who interpret the Quran in 7th century terms.  Among the fundamentalists are extremists like ISIS who think those who do not believe as they do, deserve to live.  They are a threat to other Muslims as well as us, and to civilization.  They are “apocalyptic,” seeking to bring the final, end-time battle at Dubiq, a village in northern Syria (as well as the name of their magazine, “Dubiq”).

The world has 1.5 billion Muslims.  Only a few are our enemy.  Our Muslim neighbors are always going to be with us, and we must learn to live with them.  In fact, it will be impossible to prosecute a battle against extreme Islam without the help of Sunni Muslim nations.  We cannot fight, we cannot occupy, we cannot defeat radical Islam without them.  We need them.  Yet all of the players in the Middle East have security interests and conflicts (e.g. Sunni-Shia) that seem to supersede their desire to fight ISIS.  At this point, there is no coalition of the willing.  Somehow we need to change that.

The battle being waged by ISIS is primarily a “Narrative War.”  With a single beheading they outrage a world.  With two fighters they kill 14 in San Bernardino and terrorize a nation.  With eight fighters in Paris they kill 130 and still keep all of France under military emergency.  And they use “Narrative” against us.  We say, “No Muslim immigration.”  The say, “See how they hate us.”  We say, “No Muslim refugees.”  They say, “See how they hate us.”  We find it impossible to provide relief to starving villages.  They say, “See they do not care.” We need to overcome their story.

Paul wrote to a small group in Rome telling them “¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  (Romans 12:17-21)

By doing “good,” we enter the Narrative War.  We begin by loving our Muslim neighbors here; and with caring for refugees and oppressed there.  With good, we convince the Sunni nations we have their best interests at heart.  We collectively destroy the ISIS Caliphate, the rallying flag for extreme Islam; then with good, with Christian witness, we do overcome evil.