Franklin Graham Slams
President’s Mosque Visit
Franklin Graham, son of international
evangelist Billy Graham, has lashed out at President Barack Obama’s visit
to a mosque, saying on Facebook that “the
foundations of this nation have nothing to do with Islam.”
They have “everything
to do with the Church of Jesus Christ,” said Graham, head of both the Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan’s Purse global charity. “Islam cannot save anyone from hell or open
the gates of heaven.
“Only
One can do that: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who paid the debt of sin for all
mankind by giving His life as a sacrifice on Calvary’s cross — where he
suffered and died for our sins, took our sins to the grave, and on the third
day, God raised Him triumphantly to life.”
President Obama visited the mosque, located
outside Baltimore, in a deliberate rebuke to Republicans, whom White House
aides say have stoked Islamophobia and bigotry following terror attacks
inspired by the Islamic State around the world.
But Graham said that Jesus Christ is “alive today. Muhammad is dead.“I worship a
risen Lord,” he added. “Islam can’t
compete with that.”
ISLAM VERSUS CHRISTIANITY
Islam is a religious system begun in the
seventh century by Muhammad. Muslims follow the teachings of the Qur’an and
strive to keep the Five Pillars.
In the seventh century, Muhammad claimed the
angel Gabriel visited him. During these angelic visitations, which continued
for about 23 years until Muhammad’s death, the angel purportedly revealed to
Muhammad the words of Allah (the Arabic word for “God” used by Muslims). These
dictated revelations compose the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book.
Islam means “submission,” deriving from a root
word that means “peace.” The word Muslim means “one who submits to Allah.”
Muslims summarize their doctrine in six
articles of faith:
1. Belief in one Allah: Muslims believe Allah is
one, eternal, creator, and sovereign.
2. Belief in the angels
3. Belief in the prophets: The prophets include
the biblical prophets but end with Muhammad as Allah’s final prophet.
4. Belief in the revelations of Allah: Muslims
accept certain portions of the Bible, such as the Torah and the Gospels. They
believe the Qur’an is the preexistent, perfect word of Allah.
5. Belief in the last day of judgment and the
hereafter: Everyone will be resurrected for judgment into either paradise or
hell.
6. Belief in predestination: Muslims believe Allah
has decreed everything that will happen. Muslims testify to Allah’s sovereignty
with their frequent phrase, inshallah, meaning, “if God wills.”
These five tenets compose the framework of
obedience for Muslims:
1. The testimony of faith (shahada): “la ilaha
illa allah. Muhammad rasul Allah.” This means, “There is no deity but Allah.
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” A person can convert to Islam by stating
this creed. The shahada shows that a Muslim believes in Allah alone as deity
and believes that Muhammad reveals Allah.
2. Prayer (salat): Five ritual prayers must be
performed every day.
3. Giving (zakat): This almsgiving is a certain
percentage given once a year.
4. Fasting (sawm): Muslims fast during Ramadan in
the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. They must not eat or drink from dawn
until sunset.
5. Pilgrimage (hajj): If physically and
financially possible, a Muslim must make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi
Arabia at least once. The hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic
calendar.
A Muslim’s entrance into paradise hinges on
obedience to these Five Pillars. Still, Allah may reject them. Even Muhammad
was not sure whether Allah would admit him to paradise (Surah 46:9; Hadith
5.266).
An Evaluation of Islam
Compared to Christianity, Islam has some
similarities but significant differences. Like Christianity, Islam is
monotheistic.
However, Muslims reject the Trinity—that God
has revealed Himself as one in three Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Muslims claim that Jesus was one of the most
important prophets—not God’s Son.
Islam asserts that Jesus, though born of a
virgin, was created like Adam.
Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross.
They do not understand why Allah would allow His prophet Isa (the Islamic word
for “Jesus”) to die a torturous death.
Yet the Bible shows how the death of the
perfect Son of God was essential to pay for the sins of believers (Isaiah
53:5-6; John 3:16; 14:6; 1 Peter 2:24).
Islam teaches that the Qur’an is the final
authority and the last revelation of Allah.
The Bible, however, was completed in the first
century with the Book of Revelation. The Bible warns against anyone adding to
or subtracting from God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Galatians
1:6-12; Revelation 22:18).
The Qur’an, as a claimed addition to God’s
Word, directly disobeys God’s command.
Muslims believe that paradise can be earned
through keeping the Five Pillars.
The Bible, in contrast, reveals that sinful man
can never measure up to the holy God (Romans 3:23; 6:23).
Only by God’s grace may sinners be saved
through repentant faith in Jesus (Acts 20:21; Ephesians 2:8-9).
Because of these essential differences and
contradictions, Islam and Christianity cannot both be true.
The Bible and Qur’an
cannot both be God’s Word.
The truth has eternal consequences.
“Beloved,
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know
the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from
God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is
coming, and now it is already in the world” – 1 John 4:1-4
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