Hatred breeds hatred. It is a foul disease that is virulent and contagious. That is why the Bible so strongly warns us ; 

1 John 2:11 (King James Version) But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 3:15 (King James Version) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

And exhorts us rather to...

Ephesians 6:11-13 (King James Version)11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13: Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

How much hate has been promulgated in the name of religion, only God knows. Mankind seems to think that he has to hate for God that which is in opposition to his beliefs. His "holy" hatred a welcome return to familiar ground; if indeed he has ever left his former state.

The Bible tells us what the fruits of the Spirit of God are, and what is acceptable and pleasing in His sight.

Ephesians 5:8-10 (King James Version)

8: For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10: Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Philippians 4:7-9 (King James Version)

7: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9: Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

History is replete with examples of Christian killing Christian, Jew killing Christian, Christian killing Jew, Christian killing Muslim, Muslim killing Christian, etc., etc. We don't even have the time to mention The Hindus and eastern religions or Jim Jones or David Koresh and so many others. Irish Protestants killing Irish Catholics and vice versa, Slavery, abuses of women and children, and the list goes on. I will present a little bit of history concerning the oppression of the Muslim peoples here because it seems as though after 9/11 and the events in Iraq and Afghanistan with regards to the suicide bombers in particular, that we may think that this is something new under the sun. Who started it first is a childish and inane exercise.

This is from a report by The Central Intelligence Agency of The United States.

"Ethnic Cleansing" and Atrocities in Bosnia
Summary
Evidence drawn from press reports, international relief agencies, refugees, and other sources of information indicate that ethnic Serbs are responsible for the vast majority of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.
Croats and Muslims in Bosnia have also committed atrocities and forced other ethnic groups to flee--the Croat destruction of Mostar is a noteworthy example--but the ethnic cleansing actions of the Bosnian Serbs are unrivaled in scale and intensity. There is no pattern of events, moreover, indicating that Croats or Muslims have planned or carried out systematic, large-scale ethnic cleansing.
Sustained campaigns of ethnic cleansing by Bosnian Serbs since 1992 have resulted in the likely deaths of tens of thousands of non-Serbs, the displacement of hundreds of thousands more, and radical change in Bosnia's demographics. Up to 90 percent of non-Serbs who lived in the 65 percent of Bosnia now under Serb control have been forced to flee, were detained, or were killed. Well over 3,000 settlements--mainly in Serb-controlled areas--have been destroyed and some 1.3 million Bosnians, primarily Muslims, have been displaced within Bosnia, mainly as a result of ethnic cleansing.
The Bosnian Serb Army, paramilitary groups, Bosnian Serb political leaders, and security elements have played pivotal coordinating roles in ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. Consistent patterns of political-military collusion and coordination are evident in Serb seizures of Bosnian towns. Many non-Serb refugees from throughout Bosnia have described Serb takeovers in strikingly similar terms.
The bloodiest rounds of ethnic cleansing took place earlier in the Bosnian conflict in 1992 and 1993, but Serb efforts to expel non-Serbs continue. More than 16,000 have been evicted from northern Bosnia since last summer, and thousands more have been forced from the eastern enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa this month alone.
The apparently systematic, widespread nature of Serb actions strongly suggests that, from the beginning of the conflict, Bosnian Serb political and military leaders have played a central role in the purposeful destruction and dispersal of Bosnia's non-Serb population.
Introduction
Ethnic cleansing has been carried out in Bosnia since at least early 1992, primarily by Bosnian Serb political and military forces opposed to the Bosnian Government's declaration of independence following a republic-wide referendum in early March 1992. The Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote. Refugees have indicated that Bosnian Serbs probably were planning takeovers of some towns, such as Brcko, before the referendum and reportedly sought help from the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and paramilitary groups formed in Serbia to do so.
In many cases, ethnic Serbs did not constitute majorities or significantly greater pluralities in key multiethnic towns that they subjected to ethnic cleansing. Official census data shows, for example, that in early 1992 Muslims constituted a majority of 56 percent in the northeastern city of Brcko. The Muslim population was about equal to that of Serbs in the northwestern town of Prijedor (39 and 40 percent, respectively), as well as in the larger opstina of Prijedor (44 and 43 percent, respectively). Both areas have since been virtually depopulated of non-Serb residents.
Well over a million of those displaced since early 1992, primarily by Serb ethnic cleansing, remain in Bosnia. A majority are Muslims forced into overcrowded enclaves and towns in Bosnian Government-held areas. Ethnic cleansing by Bosnian Serbs continues today, although the most brutal and widespread incidents took place in 1992 and 1993, when some of the most notorious detention camps were forced to close following extensive international publicity. More than 16,000 non-Serbs have been expelled from Serb-controlled areas of northern Bosnia alone since last summer, and thousands more have forced from the eastern enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa this month.
Croats and Muslims have also committed atrocities during the Bosnian conflict, but their actions have consisted for the most part of discrete--though sometimes fierce--episodes that lack the sustained intensity, orchestration, and scale of the Bosnian Serbs' efforts. (see page 7 text box) The majority of refugee accounts--corroborated by information from the UN, international relief organizations, and other sources of information--indicate that ethnic Serbs are responsible for the overwhelming majority of the destruction, displacement, and loss of life associated with ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.
Key Actors in Ethnic Cleansing by Bosnian Serbs
A substantial body of evidence indicates that political, security, military, and paramilitary elements all played central, coordinated roles in carrying out ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. Statements by refugees from affected towns as distant from each other as Prijedor, Brcko, and Foca reveal a strikingly similar pattern. They describe how non-Serbs were disarmed and Serb political, security, and military forces took control of towns, setting up new local government structures with identical names or functions in each case, and systematically rounding up, interrogating, torturing, and imprisoning or expelling members of non-Serb Žlites--usually Muslims. The almost simultaneous timing of the takeovers of many towns in spring 1992 also suggests collusion among Bosnian Serb authorities. The balance among these political and military elements appears to have shifted over the past two years--the military, for example, has expanded its role in ethnic cleansing through its offensives--but all appear to remain involved.
The Serbian Democratic Party and Internal Security
Local and regional members of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) appear to have been responsible for many tactical decisions involving the ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs. Numerous refugee accounts name the SDS as having orchestrated Serb takeovers of previously multiethnic towns, where they put in place new rŽgimes, set up interrogation centers, established mock "courts," and moved thousands of non-Serb civilian prisoners to detention camps.
The SDS mayor of Prijedor, who took office following the takeover of the town in April 1992, stated to a US news organization in a fall 1992 interview that the three principal detention sites in the area--Keraterm, Trnopolje, and Omarska, where thousands reportedly were tortured and died--were "formed on decisions of the Prijedor civil authorities." Many ethnic Serbs identified as local SDS activists have also been affiliated with local paramilitary or irregular units reported to have terrorized the non-Serb populace.
Local SDS officials have also worked closely with internal security elements. Interior Ministry officials traditionally control the local police, and their authority for dealing with public order gives them access to municipal records. Many refugees have reported that, in town takeovers, prominent local non-Serbs have been quickly rounded up by police using organized lists. Bosnian Serb internal affairs officials also reportedly have commanded interrogation sites and detention camps for civilians, such as Omarska, according to various refugee interviews.
Karadzic has consistently denied that Serbs have engaged in ethnic cleansing or that his rŽgime is responsible for any atrocities, but he and his associates apparently have exercised authority over some Bosnian Serb detention camps. Journalists, for example, have described having to arrange visits to detention camps in 1992 through Karadzic's office, and other Westerners reportedly toured camps accompanied by SDS "escorts." This information and the consistent patterns evident in the takeovers of towns throughout Bosnia strongly suggest that top SDS leaders, including Karadzic, knew about ethnic cleansing plans from the outset--and that they probably initiated them in coordination with internal security organs and the military.
The Bosnian Serb Military
The Bosnian Serb Army (BSA), which was formed from the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in mid-May 1992, has been a central participant in ethnic cleansing campaigns against Muslims and Croats. BSA units have conducted systematic ethnic cleansing operations, controlled detention camps, and methodically destroyed Muslim villages, in particular, most notably in northern and eastern Bosnia. BSA forces have often operated in conjunction with Serb paramilitary units identified as perpetrators of some of the worst atrocities of the Balkan conflict.
The BSA has operated many of the detention camps that have held primarily Muslim and Croat civilians--rather than bona fide POWs--according to press accounts and statements by refugees. BSA-run camps, notorious for their alleged brutality and death tolls, include facilities at Manjaca and Batkovic. A significant part of the Serb detention camp and prison system in Bosnia was an integrated entity organized within the corps structure of the BSA, according to information from various sources. Some former detainees claim to have been able to discern the military command structure in BSA-run camps and, in some cases, identify former JNA officers then serving in the camps' commands. The BSA's security service reportedly exercised command and control of the camp system using military police as guards.
As the BSA, under the command of General Ratko Mladic, has intensified its military operations, its role in ethnic cleansing has grown. The BSA has incorporated into its campaigns the systematic destruction of villages--primarily Muslim--to ensure that their inhabitants will not return. BSA forces in both the January-April 1993 Srebrenica offensive and the April 1994 Gorazde attack, for example, razed Muslim villages well after Bosnian Serb troops had control of the areas surrounding them.
Paramilitary Forces
Numerous Bosnian refugees have indicated that both Bosnian Serb and Serbian paramilitary units initially operated in conjunction with the JNA and later the BSA, as well as local police forces, to seize control of territory and ethnically cleanse areas in 1992. There is some circumstantial evidence that the JNA/BSA and the Serbian Interior Ministry armed Bosnian Serb and Serbian paramilitaries in 1992.
In many cases, the JNA/BSA secured the area around a town and fired artillery or tank rounds into the area to terrorize the population, according to a variety of reports. Paramilitary units appeared to operate in close coordination with the Army--if not under its command--typically following up on the Army's encirclement of the town by entering it to "ethnically cleanse" it through murder, terror tactics, and expulsions. The BSA appears to have disbanded most paramilitary units or incorporated them into the Army in the past two years for various reasons. Volunteer paramilitary units that have operated since that time appear to have functioned under BSA command or as part of BSA units.
The Toll of Ethnic Cleansing
There is no reliable estimate of how many Bosnians have died as a result of Serb ethnic cleansing, but information from refugees and press reports strongly suggests that they number in the tens of thousands. Information on deaths is mostly anecdotal and not the result of formal investigations or exhumation since most deaths claimed took place in areas under Serb control to which access for outsiders is denied. In many cases, however, refugees who have reported such deaths claim to have witnessed them.
Approximately 2,000,000 people from states of the former Yugoslavia have been displaced but reside elsewhere in their home republic or in another republic of the former Yugoslavia. About 1,300,000 of those displaced persons are in Bosnia, a majority of them Muslims forced to leave Serb-controlled areas. In addition, approximately 1,000,000 more refugees from the former Yugoslavia have fled abroad, according to UN information, most of them to Europe. Although it is difficult to estimate the breakdown of Balkan refugee populations by ethnic group, either within the former Yugoslavia or abroad, a clear but unspecified majority almost certainly is Bosnian Muslim.
Conclusion
Sustained ethnic cleansing campaigns in Bosnia over three years have radically altered the formerly multiethnic state. Restoring its pre-war demographic balance and ethnic distribution now appears virtually impossible. The actions of ethnic Serb political and military forces have created a Bosnian--mainly Muslim--diaspora. At the same time, ethnic Serbs have succeeded in securing their hold over large parts of Bosnian territory and made significant strides toward their apparent objective of establishing, or expanding, an ethnically pure Serb state.

This is nothing new, sadly. Not even for the Balkans region whose history seems to be written in blood. This is from " Infidels, A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam". p.244

"... This guerrilla war, in in Harold Temperly's view, led directly to the revolt in Bulgaria and all that followed. It was a cruel war on both sides. The first things that British consul Holmes saw as he entered Nevesinge were a Turkish boy's head blackening in the sun, and a bloody froth bubbling from the slit throat of a young Turkish girl." (cited and translated in Harold Temperly, The Bulgarian and other Atrocities 1875-8)".

Many other instances too cruel and too graphic to mention occurred. Both Muslim and Christian were savage in their hatred and brutality It was then and continues today. Consider reading on the Greek Revolution of 1822, where in one instance, "around Easter 1821, the Greek peasants of the Peloponnese began to kill all the Muslims in the land - men, women, and children alike. Almost 20,000 were slaughtered in a few months.". From "Infidels" p.233.

The Ottoman Turks whom the aforementioned rebels were trying to overthrow were just as cruel and I do not presume to cover over their atrocities, but am trying to show that there has been extreme hatred and cruelty on both sides. Consider also the ruler of "Christian" Wallachia, ( what is now southern Romania ), Vlad (the impaler) Tepes, who .." perfected the technique of mass death, skewering his enemies on a long spit or spear- the longer the stake, the higher in rank the victim. In 1461 Murad II's son, the young Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, was horrified when he saw the 20,000 rotting corpses hanging on sharpened stakes outside the walls of Vlad's capital of Tirgoviste." ( Infidels, p. 193)

Of course we had the Inquisition, the public burnings at the stake in early America of "witches" and other "heretics", The burning white crosses of the Ku Klux Klan at their lynching's of black Americans, etc., etc. Do I need to go on? We need to start loving our fellow man. Tell someone about Jesus today. God Bless you all.

This is from the Financial Times of London

World’s hungry ‘close to one billion’

By Javier Blas, Commodities Correspondent

Published: December 9 2008 10:04 | Last updated: December 9 2008 10:04

The food crisis has pushed the number of hungry people in the world to almost 1bn, in what the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation described on Tuesday as a “serious setback” to global efforts to reduce mass starvation.

“The ongoing financial and economic crisis could tip even more people into hunger and poverty,” the FAO added.

The Rome-based organisation said that a preliminary estimate showed the number of undernourished people rose this year by 40m to about 963m people, after rising 75m in 2007. Before the food crisis, there were about 848m chronically hungry people in 2003-05.

“High food prices are driving millions of people into food insecurity, worsening conditions for many who were already food-insecure, and threatening long-term global food security,” the FAO said in its report The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008.

Prices of agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn and rice jumped to record levels earlier this year, triggering food riots in countries ranging from Haiti to Egypt to Bangladesh and prompting appeals for food aid for more than 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Although food commodity prices have fallen about 50 per cent from this summer’s all-time highs, they remain well above pre-crisis levels. The cost of rice, for example, has halved since July, but it still trades at prices that are 95 per cent above 2005 levels.

In addition, the weakening of some emerging countries’ currencies against the US dollar has partially erased gains from the drop in commodity prices.

The new FAO estimates also show the food crisis has thrown into reverse a decline over a quarter-century in the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the world’s population. The percentage has risen now to about 17 per cent, up from a record low of 16 per cent in 2003-05 period, but still below the 20 per cent of 1990-92.

“Soaring food prices have reversed some of the gain and successes in hunger reduction, making the mission of achieving the internationally agreed goal on hunger reduction more difficult,” the FAO said.

Almost a decade ago, world leaders agreed in New York to the UN Millennium Development Goals, calling among other targets for a halving between 1990 and 2015 in the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

Jacques Diouf, FAO director-general, said in a foreword for the report that the task of achieving the UN’s hunger reduction targets in the remaining several years to 2015 will “require an enormous and resolute global effort and concrete actions”.

However, with leaders’ attention firmly focused on the global financial crisis and its economic ramifications, many observers now believe that the hunger and poverty reduction targets are no longer achievable by 2015.

The vast majority of the world’s undernourished people – more than 90m – live in developing countries, according to FAO estimates. Of these, 65 per cent live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia.

In sub-Saharan Africa, one in three people – or almost 240m – are chronically hungry, the highest proportion of undernourished people in the total population.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

While we're enjoying the Holidays with our loved ones, safe warm, and secure. Looking upon the wonderful bounty of meats and deserts and grandma's dressing and home baked rolls that the Lord has blessed us with, let us consider the hungry people who have nothing in this world. Those children whom one bite off your plate would be more than they could even dream of. I'm sure God has a very special place in His heart for them. We should too. Not just a prayer that they be comforted, but action on our part that they will be.

Matthew 25:34-40 (King James Version)

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

James 2:15-17 (King James Version)

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

courtesy of e-word today

May God richly bless you today !

Persecution of the early Church

This is from the good work of the folks at Wikipedia.com. I have reformatted and condensed it. To find more info that I left out, ( such as the references and links), go to the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution#Great_Persecution

Diocletian and Galerius, 302–303

Diocletian was in Antioch in the autumn of 302, when the next instance of persecution occurred. The deacon Romanus had come to the city from Caesarea Maritima, in Syria Palaestina (near modern Caesarea, Israel). Romanus saw many in the city visiting the pagan temples, and was angered. In protest, he visited a court while preliminary sacrifices were taking place and interrupted the ceremonies, decrying the act in a loud voice. He was arrested and sentenced to be set aflame, but Diocletian overruled the decision, and decided that Romanus should have his tongue removed instead. This being done, Romanus was sent to prison, where he would be executed on November 17, 303. The arrogance of this Christian displeased Diocletian, and he left the city and made for Nicomedia for the winter, accompanied by Galerius.
Throughout these years the moral and religious didacticism of the emperors was reaching a fevered pitch; now, at the behest of an oracle, it was to hit its peak. According to Lactantius, Diocletian and Galerius entered into an argument over what imperial policy towards Christians should be while wintering at Nicomedia in 302. Diocletian argued that forbidding Christians from the bureaucracy and military would be sufficient to appease the gods, while Galerius pushed for their extermination. The two men sought to resolve their dispute by sending a messenger to consult the oracle of Apollo at Didyma. Porphyry may also have been present at this meeting. Upon returning, the messenger told the court that "the just on earth" hindered Apollo's ability to speak. These "just", Diocletian was informed by members of the court, could only refer to the Christians of the empire. At the behest of his court, Diocletian acceded to demands for a universal persecution.

First edict

On February 23, 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly-built Christian church at Nicomedia be razed, its scriptures set to flame, and the treasures of the church collected as treasure. February 23 was the feast of the Termnialia, for Terminus, the god of boundaries. The emperors must have thought it appropriate: It was the day they would terminate Christianity. The next day, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published. The key targets of this piece of legislation were, as they had been during Valerian's persecution, Christian property and senior clerics. The edict ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures, liturgical books, and places of worship across the empire, and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship. Christians were also deprived of the right to petition the courts, making them potential subjects for judicial torture; Christians could not respond to actions brought against them in court; Christian senators, equestrians, decurions, veterans, and soldiers were deprived of their ranks; and imperial freedmen were reduced to the status of slaves.
The edict might not actually have been an "edict" in the technical sense; Eusebius does not refer to it as such, and when the Passio Felicis states "exiit edictum imperatorum et Caesarum super omnem faciem terrae", it may simply be as an echo of Luke's Gospel 2:1: "exiit edictum a Caesare Augusto ut profiteretur universus orbis terrae". Elsewhere in the passion, the text is called a programma. The text of the edict itself does not actually survive. Diocletian had requested that the edict be pursued "without bloodshed", in spite of Galerius' demands that all those refusing to sacrifice should be burned alive. The practice nevertheless became quite widespread in the East. In spite of Diocletian's request, the death penalty was widely used, following the discretion of local judges. After it was posted, a man on the street named Eutius tore it down and ripped it up, shouting "Here are your Gothic and Sarmatian triumphs!" He was arrested for treason, tortured, and burned alive soon after, thus becoming the edict's first martyr. The provisions of the edict were known and enforced in Palestine by March or April (just before Easter), and was in use by local officials in North Africa by May or June. The earliest martyr at Caesarea was executed on June 7; the edict was in force at Cirta from May 19. The first edict was the sole legally binding edict in the West. In the East, however, progressively harsher legislation was devised.

Second, third, and fourth edicts

In the summer of 303, following a series of rebellions in Melitene (Malatya, Turkey) and Syria, a second edict was published, ordering the arrest and imprisonment of all bishops and priests. Diocletian should not have needed this second edict; that he issued one indicates that he was either unaware the first edict was being carried out, or that he felt it was not working as quickly as he needed it to. Following the publication of the second edict, prisons began to fill—they underdeveloped prison system of the time could not handle the deacons, lectors, priests, bishops, and exorcists forced upon them. Eusebius writes that the edict netted so many priests that ordinary criminals were crowded out, and had to be released.
In anticipation of the upcoming twentieth anniversary of his reign on November 20, 303, Diocletian declared a general amnesty in a third edict: Any imprisoned clergyman could be freed, so long as they agreed to make a sacrifice to the gods. Diocletian may have been searching for some publicity with this legislation. He may also have sought to fracture the Christian community by publicizing the fact that its clergy had apostatized. The demand to sacrifice was unacceptable to many of the imprisoned, but wardens often managed to obtain at least nominal compliance. Some of the clergy sacrificed willingly; others did so on pain of torture. Wardens were eager to be rid of the clergy in their midst: Eusebius, in his Martyrs of Palestine, records the case of one man who, after being brought to an altar, had his hands seized and made to complete a sacrificial offering. The clergyman was told that his act of sacrifice had been recognized and was summarily dismissed. Others were told they'd sacrificed even when they'd done nothing.
In 304, the fourth edict ordered all persons, men, women, and children, to gather in a public space and offer a collective sacrifice. If they refused, they were to be executed. The precise date of the edict is unknown, but it was probably issued in either January or February 304, and was still being applied in the Balkans in March. The edict was in use in Thessalonica (Thessaloniki, Greece) in April 304, and in Palestine soon after. This last edict was not enforced at all in the domains of Maximian and Constantius. In the East, it remained applicable until the issue of the Edict of Milan by Constantine and Licinius in 313.

Nicomedia

Before the end of February, a fire destroyed part of the imperial palace. Galerius convinced Diocletian that the culprits were Christian conspirators who had plotted with palace eunuchs. An investigation into the act was commissioned, but no responsible party was found. Executions followed. The palace eunuchs Dorotheus and Gorgonius were eliminated. One individual, a Peter, was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds, and he was slowly boiled over an open flame. The executions continued until at least April 24, 303, when six individuals, including the bishop Anthimus, were decapitated. The persecution had intensified: Now presbyters and other clergymen could be arrested without having even been accused of a crime, and condemned to death. A second fire appeared sixteen days after the first. Galerius left the city, declaring it unsafe. Diocletian would soon follow. Lactantius blamed Galerius' allies for setting the fire; Constantine, in his later reminisces, would attribute the fire to "lightning from heaven".

Palestine and Syria
Under Galerius and Urbanus, 303–305
Palestinian martyrs recorded in the Martyrs of Palestine.

Palestine is the only region for which an extended local perspective of the persecution exists, in the form of Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine. Eusebius was resident in Caesarea, the capital of Palestine, for the duration of the persecution, although he also traveled to Phoenicia and Egypt, and perhaps Arabia as well. Eusebius' account is imperfect. It focuses on martyrs that were his personal friends before the persecutions began, and includes martyrs that took place outside of Palestine. His coverage is uneven: He provides only bare generalities at the bloody end of the persecutions, for example. Eusebius recognizes some of his faults. At the outset of his account of the general persecution in the Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius laments the incompleteness of his reportage: "how could one number the multitude of martyrs in each province, and especially those in Africa and Mauretania, and in Thebaid and Egypt?"
Since no one below the status of governor held the legal power to enforce capital punishment, most recalcitrant Christians would have been sent to Caesarea to await punishment. The first martyr, Procopius, was sent to Caesarea from Scythopolis (Beit She'an, Israel), where he had been a reader and an exorcist. He was brought before the governor on June 7, 303, and asked to sacrifice to the gods, and to pour a libation for the emperors. Procopius responded by quoting Homer: "the lordship of many is not a good thing; let there be one ruler, one king". The governor beheaded the man at once.
Further martyrdoms followed. On November 17, 303, the governor, Flavianus, returning to Caesarea from outside the province, tortured and executed Zacchaeus, a deacon from Gadara (Umm Qais, Jordan), and Alpheus of Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin, Israel), a reader and exorcist. More deaths came the next spring, when the new governor, Urbanus, published the fourth edict. Urbanus, on the advice of the pagans of Gaza, executed a man named Timothy for his recalcitrance on May 21, 304. On the same day, Urbanus sentenced Agapius and the Montanist Thecla (also Gazans) to fight wild beasts in the amphitheater. Their executions were delayed, however, until suitable games were held. On the day of the event, six young men followed Urbanus into the amphitheater, showing their support. These six were arrested and held until March 24, 305, when they, too, were executed. Eusebius probably does not list a complete account of all those executed under the fourth edict—he alludes in passing to others imprisoned with Thecla, for example, though he does not name them.

Under Maximinus and Urbanus, 305–307

The bulk of Eusebius' account deals with Maximinus. Maximinus took up the office of emperor in Nicomedia on May 1, 305, and immediately thereafter left the city for Caesarea (hurrying, Lactantius alleges, so as to oppress and trample the diocese of Oriens). Initially, Maximinus governed only Egypt and the Levant. He issued his own persecutionary edict in the spring of 306, ordering general sacrifice. The edict of 304 had been difficult to enforce, since the Imperial government had no record of city-dwelling subjects who held no agricultural land. Galerius solved this problem in 306 by running another census. This contained the names of all urban heads of household and the number of their dependents (past censuses had only listed persons paying tax on land, such as landowners and tenants). Using lists drawn up by the civil service, Maximinus used town criers to call all men, women, and children down to the temples. There, after  being called by name, everyone sacrificed.

Maximinus' first edict indirectly caused the martyrdom of one Apphianus. On March 31, 306, Apphianus had rushed past governor Urbanus' bodyguard, seized his hand, and told him to stop praying to lifeless idols and evil spirits. Urbanus' guards struck Apphianus, knocked him on the ground, and stamped on him. In prison, under torture, Apphianus refused to say who he was, where hehad come from, or where he was living. On April 2, 306, Urbanus ordered that he be drowned in the sea. Agapius, imprisoned in 304, was sent from prison to the arena several times, but kept being brought back. On November 20, 306—Maximinus' birthday—Agapius was brought into the arena with a small board identifying him as a Christian. Maximinus had ordered him to the beasts, alongside a slave who had murdered his master. Maximinus arrived at the arena soon thereafter, and, in a show of clemency, pardoned the murderer. Maximinus called on Agapius to deny his god and receive the same freedom. Agapius refused. Maximinus left Agapius to be attacked by a bear. Since Agapius survived, the next day he was thrown into the sea, and weighted down by stones tied to his ankles.
Eusebius characterizes Urbanus as a man who enjoyed some variety in his punishments. One day, shortly after Easter 307, he ordered the virgin Theodosia from Tyre thrown to the sea for conversing with Christians attending trial (and refusing sacrifice, of course); the Christians in court, meanwhile, were sent to Phaeno. On November 2, 307, Urbanus sentenced Domninus to be burned alive, three youths to fight as gladiators, a priest to be exposed to a beast, Silvanus, bishop of the churches around Gaza, and his thirty-nine companions to work in the coppermines (Silvanus was later beheaded), and a number of others (including Pamphilus of Caesarea, a priest, scholar, and defender of the theologian Origen), to prison. He also ordered some young men to be castrated, and sent three maidens to brothels. Urbanus, however, was soon dead. For unknown reasons, Urbanus was stripped of his rank, imprisoned, tried, and executed, all in one day of expedited proceedings. His replacement, Firmilianus, was one of Maximinus' trusted confidants and a veteran soldier.

Under Maximinus and Firmilianus, 307–311

At some point after the publication of Maximinus' first edict, perhaps in 307, Maximinus changed the penalty for transgressions. Instead of receiving the death penalty, Christians would now be mutilated and condemned to labor in state-owned mines. Since Egyptian mines were overstaffed (thanks primarily to Christian prisoners), Egyptian penitents were increasingly sent to the copper mines at Phaeno in Palestine and Cicilia in Asia Minor. At Diocaesarea (Tzippori, Israel) in the spring of 308, 97 Christian confessors were received by Firmilianus from the porphyry mines in the Thebaid. Firmilianus cut the tendons on their left feet, blinded their right eyes, and sent them to the mines of Palestine. On another occasion, 130 others received the same punishment. Some were sent to Phaeno, and some to Cicilia.
Eusebius notes that this event marked the beginning of a temporary respite from persecution. Although the precise dating of this respite is not specifically noted by Eusebius, the text of the Martyrs records no Palestinian martyrs between July 25, 308 and November 13, 309. The political climate impinges on persecutionary policy here: This was the period of the conference of Carnuntum, which met in November 308. Maximinus probably spent the next few months in discussion with Galerius over his role in the imperial college.
In the autumn 309, Maximinus resumed persecution by issuing letters to provincial governors and his praetorian prefect, demanding that Christians conform to pagan customs. His new legislation called for another general sacrifice, coupled with a general offering of libations. It was even more systematic than the first, allowing no exceptions for infants or servants. Curatores, duumviri, and tabularii, who kept the records, saw to it that there were no evasions. This edict also required food sold in the marketplaces to be covered in libation, and set sentries to stand guard over bathhouses to ensure that all customers sacrificed. This second edict caused the deaths of Antonius, Zebinas, and Germanus, who tried to stop governor Firmilianus from offering sacrifice. The men were beheaded on November 13, 309. On the same day, he executed Enathas, a virgin from Scythopolis, was executed, after having been stripped half-naked and flogged through the market places of Caesarea. Firmilianus also forbade the burial of martyrs, bringing (it was said) the pillars of buildings in the city to weep, although "the weather was fine and the air clear". The Palestinian Talmud also reports that the pillars of Caesarea wept in the same general period, although they attribute the tears to the death of Rabbi Abbahu (if Jewish, in sorrow; if Samaritan, in joy) instead of the deaths of the Christian martyrs. In spite of their apparent similarities, the two events may have happened on separate days—the Jewish miracle on a foggy day, the Christian miracle on a clear one, for example.
The next few months saw the worst extremes of the persecution. On December 13, 309, Firmilianus condemned some Egyptians arrested at Ascalon (Ashkelon, Israel) on their way to visit the confessors in Cilicia to various punishments. Three were beheaded; the rest lost their left feet and right eyes. On January 10, 310, Peter and the Marcionite bishop Asclepius, both from Anaia, near (Eleutheropolis, West Bank), were burned alive. On February 16, Pamphilus and his six companions were executed. In the aftermath, four more members of Pamphilus' household were martyred for their displays of sympathy for the condemned. The last martyrs before Galerius' edict of toleration were executed on March 5 and 7. At once, the executions stop. Eusebius does not explain the end, but it coincides with the replacement of Firmilianus with Valentinianus, appointed at some time before Galerius' death. Eusebius does not mention Valentinianus anywhere in his writings.

Under Maximinus and Valentinianus, 311–313

Even after Galerius' edict of toleration in 311, Maximinus continued to persecute. Maximinus issued orders forbidding Christians to congregate in cemeteries in Autumn 311, and began persecuting Church leaders before the year was out. Peter of Alexandria was beheaded on November 26, 311. Lucian of Antioch was executed in Nicomedia on January 7, 312. Many other Egyptian bishops, according to Eusebius, suffered the same fate. According to Lactantius, Maximinus ordered confessors to have "their eyes gouged out, their hands cut off, their feet amputated, their noses or ears severed". Persecution had begun again, and would not cease until Maximinus was defeated at the hands of Licinius in spring 313, when Maximinus was compelled to unequivocally assert full liberty for his Christian citizens.

Egypt

In Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine, Egypt is covered only in passing. When Eusebius remarks on the region, however, he writes of tens, twenties, even hundreds of Christians put to death on a single day, which would seem to make Egypt the region that suffered the most during the persecutions. In Egypt, Peter of Alexandria fled his namesake city early on in the persecution, leaving the Church leaderless. Meletius, bishop of Lycopolis (Asyut), took up the job in his place. Meletius performed ordinations without Peter's permission, which caused some bishops to complain to Peter. Meletius soon refused to treat Peter as any kind of authority, and expanded his operations into Alexandria. According to Epiphanius of Salamis, the Church split into two sections: the "Catholic Church", under Peter, and, after Peter's execution, Alexander; and the "Church of the Martyrs" under Meletius. This schism would persist long after the deaths of both Peter and Melitius.

Legacy

Contemporary Christian theologians held that persecution strengthened the Church: In the words of Tertullian, "The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of the Christians is the seed [of the Church]." According to this view, the example of the martyrs strengthened the faith of fellow-believers, inspired pagan onlookers and brought in new converts to the faith. It was also believed that persecution would root out those Christians who were weak in their faith. Early apologists for the Church had divided amongst themselves on how to deal with apostasy: Tertullian took a hard-line against the phenomenon, while Clement of Alexandria attempted to forge a compromise. Now whole Christian communities broke down along these lines, as the persecution drove a wedge between the lapsed, the hard-liners, and their respective fellow-travelers, leaving schisms that took take decades to die down.
In the absence of persecution, the ascetic replaced the martyr as the ideal Christian type. Between 260 and 324, asceticism became a popular expression of Christian piety. In the house of Pamphilus of Caesarea, for example, Pamphilus and his pupils lived simply, copied out the scriptures, and followed in the path set by the Christian philosopher Origen. Eusebius implies that monastic communities similar to the first-century Jewish communities of the Therapeutae were already in existence by the time he wrote his Ecclesiastical History (ca. 300). Saint Anthony, on the chronology of Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony, moved deep into the desert at about 285. After his return to civilization in 305, Anthony performed miracles—healing the sick, casting out demons, etc.—and convinced many to choose the monastic life. "The desert was made a city" by these new monks.
In future generations, both Christians and pagans would look back on Diocletian as, in the words of theologian Henry Chadwick, "the embodiment of irrational ferocity". To medieval Christians, Diocletian was the most loathsome of all Roman emperors. From the fourth century on, Christians would describe the "Great" persecution of Diocletian's reign as a bloodbath. The Liber Pontificalis alleges 17,000 martyrs within a single thirty-day period. In the fourth century, Christians created a "cult of martyrs" in homage to the fallen. The Christians responsible for this cult were loose with the facts: Their "heroic age" of martyrs, or "Era of Martyrs", was held to begin with Diocletian's accession to the emperorship in 284, rather than 303, when persecutions actually began; they fabricated a large number of martyrs' tales (indeed, most surviving martyrs' tales are forgeries), exaggerated the facts in others, and embroidered true accounts with miraculous details. Of the surviving martyrs' acts, only those of Agnes, Sebastian, Felix and Adauctus, and Marcellinus and Peter are even remotely historical. Hagiographers portrayed a persecution far more extensive than the real one had been. These traditional accounts were first questioned in the Enlightenment, when Henry Dodwell, Voltaire, and, most famously, Edward Gibbon questioned traditional accounts of Christian martyrdom.
Throughout the final chapter of the first volume of his Decline and Fall, Gibbon insinuated that Christians had greatly exaggerated the scale of the persecutions they suffered.
After the church had triumphed over all her enemies, the interest as well as vanity of the captives prompted them to magnify the merit of their respective suffering. A convenient distance of time and place gave an ample scope to the progress of fiction; and the frequent instances which might be alleged of holy martyrs, whose wounds had been instantly healed, whose strength had been renewed, and whose lost members had miraculously been restored, were extremely convenient for the purpose of removing every difficulty, and of silencing every objection. The most extravagant legends, as they conduced to the honour of the church, were applauded by the incredulous multitude, countenanced by the power of the clergy, and attested by the suspicious evidence of ecclesiastical history.
Throughout his history, Gibbon implies that the early Church deeply undermined traditional Roman virtue, and, with it, the health of its civil society. Some of Gibbon's contemporaries were displeased with the irreligious tendencies in his work. Later historians, however, took Gibbon's emphases even further. As historian G.E.M. de Ste. Croix put it in 1954, "The so-called Great Persecution has been exaggerated in the Christian tradition to an extent which even Gibbon did not fully appreciate." According to the estimate of W.H.C. Frend, only 3,000–3,500 Christians were killed in the persecution. Although the number of verifiably-true martyrs' tales has fallen, and estimates of the total casualty rate have been reduced, some modern writers are less skeptical than Gibbon of the severity of the martyrs' torture. As author Stephen Williams wrote in 1985, "even allowing a margin for invention, what remains is terrible enough. Unlike Gibbon, we live in an age which has experienced similar things, and knows how unsound is that civilised smile of incredulity at such reports. Things can be, have been, every bit as bad as our worst imaginings."

Revelation can be defined as " something revealed", or " A manifestation of divine will or truth". There are two types of revelation evident in The Holy Scriptures. 1. General Revelation, which is given to all men everywhere and declares the reality of the Creator-God. It is evidenced in nature, ( see Romans 1:20 ). Also it comes in the witness of mankind itself. Since man is made in God's image, man is personal. Being like God in this respect, he has capacities for love, creativity and intellect. This also equates God as a personal God and not inanimate or unreachable. The general revelation of God leaves man without excuse for he cannot claim that he is unaware of the fact and reality of God. ( see Romans 1:18-25 ).Man has a natural inclination to search out God. As St. Augustine noted, " Thou has formed us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee" ( confessions I 1:1 ). Paul in Acts witnesses to the Greeks in the great city of Athens, the intellectual capital of the world, that "... I perceive in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by,and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him I declare unto you. ". How many "gods" have we created since the dawn of time? Even the atheists have themselves as their "god". This general revelation is inherently limited because of mans fall from grace and fellowship with god, i.e. the "sin condition". Adam "talked with God" before sin entered the picture and broke the connection. The general revelation of itself is no longer adequate due to man's actions and fallen and abnormal condition.It is unknowingly distorted by man himself. Special Revelation becomes the necessary remedy for man's alienation from God. Calvin writes in Institutes of the Christian religion I:6:1; " It is necessary to apply to Scripture, in order to learn the sure marks which distinguish God, as the Creator of the world, from the whole herd of fictitious gods".  General revelation is the foundation upon which rests the next type of revelation.. 2. Special Revelation. Special revelation is necessary both because of the actions of man taking himself out of communion with God, and God's very character itself. God is transcendent and thus beyond human comprehension. Job witnesses to the fact in that.." Behold, God is great, and we know Him not, neither can the number of His years be searched out." [ Job 36:26 ]. See also 1 Timothy 6:15-16. The fact of human sinfulness along with the incomprehensibility of God make it absolutely necessary that, if God is to be known, it must be by His own initiative. Special revelation is therefore no accident, but by God's will.  A remedy for man's fallen and separate condition. It is the story of man's possible salvation and is therefore both the event and the written record of God's redemptive activity on behalf of His fallen creation. Special revelation comes in the form of History,( i.e. the Old testament accounts of the plan of God's redemption through The covenant with Abraham and Israel ), and revelation in His divine Word. Historical events are open to diverse interpretations, and inaccuracies in recorded versions, therefore the inspired word of God becomes a necessary buttress to history itself. Frequently the Word comes before the event. Prophecy. The completion of the Word as an event as exampled in so many instances in the Bible. Christ is the supreme instance of the event of revelation and the Word of revelation as one. The Word who was made flesh. He is the center of History, The Alpha and the Omega, God Himself to whom be the honor and the glory for ever and ever, Amen.

If by chance you don't know the personal God, in Christ Jesus... Please, take the time to look for Him.

"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."  [ John 3:17 ]

I got most of this from Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft.

(Slightly paraphrased)

CHARLES H. SPURGEON QUOTATION "I have heard of an army, who, being defeated in battle, endeavored to make good a retreat. The soldiers fled to a certain river, where they expected to find a bridge across which they could retreat and be in safety. But when they came to the stream, there was heard a shriek of terror--'The bridge is broken, the bridge is broken!' All in vain was that cry, for the multitude hurrying on behind pressed upon those that were before and forced them into the river, until the stream was glutted with the bodies of drowned men. Such must be the fate of the self-righteous. You thought there was a bridge of ceremonies, that baptism, confirmation, and the Lord's Supper made up the solid arches of a bridge of good works and duties. But when you come to die, there shall be heard the cry, 'The bridge is broken, the bridge is broken!' It will be in vain for you to turn round then."

Courtesy of ewordtoday.com

I Don't remember exactly where I got this. I think it was from www.answering-islam.org , one of the very best apologetics sites on the web. Refuting the vitriolic put out by many of the Muslim sites. Who accusing the Truth of being a lie, earn their own damnation.

Is the Bible unknown to the Qur'an?

When Christians use the testimony of the Qur'an in support of the Bible's integrity, some Muslims argue that the Qur'an does not relate to present day versions of the Torah and the Gospel. They say that the "Scriptures", which Christians and Jews had at the time of Muhammad (571 - 632 CE), were different from those available today. That the Jews of Muhammad's day were reading a different Torah, something which was "certainly not identical", "nor resembled anything like the Old Testament" which contains the reports, stories and myths of groups of people gone by. Similarly the Injil (Gospel) was "not at all identical with the New Testament or even the four gospels" available to us today (Izzat Khan and Abu Abdullah, Divine Revelations, The Muslims and the Bibles: A Clarification, pp. 4-6).

It is stated that when the Qur'an talks about a single book known as the Gospel (as given to Jesus) and a single book as given to Moses (known as the Torah) that they were not the four gospels as we find them in the New Testament nor the first five books of the Old Testament known today as the Torah. To conclude the matter, such Muslims add that even the title "Bible" for the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians is foreign to the Qur'an.

The word 'Bible'
Any good dictionary will explain that the word Bible is derived from the Greek word biblia (neuter plural), which means "books". As the collections of Jewish and Christian texts came increasingly to be considered as one unit, the term in Latin began to be understood as feminine singular, denoting "The Book". The same word has come through to Modern English in words like bibliography. So when the title Bible, the book, was used, it denoted a collection of writings or books of the Christian and Jewish Scriptures.

It is indeed true that the title "Bible" is not used in the Qur'an nor does it contain the proper title, "Bible" for the scriptures of the Jews and Christians but has identified it as "Kitab" (the Book) by calling the followers as "Ahlal Kitab", the people of the Book. Although, the Qur'an has borrowed many foreign terms and names like Tawrat, Furqan, Injil, Isa and Musa etc.; and Arabized them into its text, when it came to using the word Bible, it used its own Arabic words derived from Hebrew and Aramaic, thus calling the Jews and Christians "Ahlal Kitab", the people of the book, and referring to their scripture not only as "the book", Kitab, but also listing the parts of it as the Tawrah, Zaboor, Injil and Sahaif (Torah, Psalms, the Gospel(s) and the books of the prophets respectively).

Therefore the notion that the Qur'an does not mention the Bible is simply wrong. It will be like saying that the Qur'an does not mention "God". The Muslim listener will refer to many verses where Arabic words like "Allah" or "Rab" are mentioned. If those words stand for God in the Qur'an then it should not be difficult to recognize that the words Ahlal Kitab stands for Jews and Christians and their Kitab stands for their scriptures - the Bible - in the contexts as referred to them in the Qur'an.

Torah and the Injil
Some Muslim writers contend that the original Pentateuch and the original Gospel have disappeared and became extinct from the world. For example, the late Rahmatullah, whose writings are still prominent among Muslim readers, expanded this claim by asserting, "We strictly deny that the original Torah (Pentateuch) and the original Evangel existed at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and that they were not changed until later." He added further by claiming that, "The present gospels, chronicles and epistles are certainly not the Evangel referred to by the Holy Qur'an and so they are not, as such, acceptable to the Muslims."(Rahmatullah, Izharul Haqq, Part III, p.30-31)

Similarly, Yusuf Ali, whose translation and commentary is popular among Muslims in the West, claims that "the Injil (Greek, Evangel = Gospel) spoken of by the Qur'an is not the New Testament. It is not the four Gospels now received as canonical. It is the single Gospel which, Islam teaches, was revealed to Jesus, and which he taught. Fragments of it survive in the received canonical Gospels ..." (Yusaf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, p.292, (Saudi Arabian Edition, p.334)

Christians believe there is indeed one Injil, brought by Jesus, the Christ. The word Injil in Arabic is a transliteration of the Greek Evangelion as Yusaf Ali has rightly mentioned in his statement. The Greek word Evangelion means "happy message" or "good news". Distinguished Muslim commentators like Baidhawi and Zamakshari openly admit that Injil is not an Arabic word but is derived from the Syriac and/or Greek word Evangel - the Gospel, the good news. Taking this as true, one should look no further than among those who have been using this term for their scriptures in Muhammad's time and even before then. When we look at the documentary evidences available to us even before Muhammad, it can be concluded that a long time before Islam started, these titles were used for the collection of the Judaeo-Christian scriptures as available today.

If the Gospel and the Torah spoken of by the Qur'an are not the same as the Old and the New Testament (known also as the Injil and Tawrat among millions of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Turkish speaking Christians) and did not exist in the same form as in Muhammad's time, then what was the Qur'an referring to? Why did the Qur'an require Christians and Jews to accept the Old and New Testament of Muhammad's time? Why did the Qur'an tell the Jews and Christians to follow their scriptures if they were not yet in existence or were only available in corrupted versions? If a Muslim is to believe in the integrity of the Qur'an then he has also to believe that in Muhammad's time the scriptures of the Jews and Christians existed and that the Qur'an certified their message by saying that they contained guidance and light (Surah 5:47,49). If somehow the author of the Qur'an was doubtful of the integrity of the previous scriptures, why does it ask both Jews and Christians to follow them in their decisions?

Some Muslims assume that the Qur'an only confirmed and testified to the "original autographs" of the Torah and the Gospel, although the evidence within the Qur'an itself testifies that it was referring to that which was actually available, there and then, to the Jews and Christians. For example, to confirm and uphold their scriptures, the Qur'an uses the following words: musadiqalima mahum (confirming what is with them), musadiqalima bainah yadih (confirming that which is between their hands) and musadiqalima makum (confirming that which is with them) (Surah 2:41,89; 3:3, 4:47; 5:48; 35:31 and so on).

In the light of the available evidence of manuscripts (both incomplete and whole), it can be said with certainty that the Old and the New Testaments of Muhammad's time were exactly the same as available today. Today's Bible translations are based on existing manuscripts that go back even hundreds of years before Muhammad's day. Hence the logic of the Qur'anic verses immediately is that the Injil and Torah as mentioned in the Qur'an are the same as those available to us today in the New Testament and Old Testament of the Bible.

In Judaism, there is a book called "the Pentateuch" or "the five books of Moses" which are identical to those in the Bible. These books contain the major part of the Jewish law and are known as the Tawrat/Torah/Law. However, Jews often use the same term to describe the whole collection of books, which Christians call the Old Testament. It is interesting to read in a tradition of Islam that the Torah read by the Jews of Madina also included the book of Isaiah, which indicates that the Qur'an was referring to the whole collection of the Jewish scriptures with the word Torah and not just what was revealed to Moses. (See, for example, the Islamic tradition transmitted by Bukhari, Darimi and is available in Mishkat al, Masabih, Vol. II, p. 1232).

From The American Heritage Dictionary.

Polemic : n.  1. A controversy or argument, esp. one that is a refutation of or an attack upon a specified opinion or document. 2. Polemics. (used with a singular verb ). a. The art or practice of argumentation or controversy. b. The practice of theological controversy to refute errors of doctrine. 3. A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation.

Apologetics : n. (used with a singular verb ) The branch of theology that deals with the defense and proof of Christianity. 

Sura XLVII - ( Muhammad ):

[ Translated by John Meadows Rodwell ]

4 : When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads till ye have made great slaughter among them, and of the rest make fast the fetters.

5 : And afterwards let there either be free dismissals or ransomings, till the war hath laid down its burdens. Thus do. Were such the pleasure of God, He could Himself take vengeance upon them: but He would rather prove the one of you by the other. And whoso fight for the cause of God, their words He will not suffer to miscarry;

6 : He will vouchsafe them guidance, and dispose their hearts aright;

7 : And He will bring them into the Paradise, of which He hath told them.

[ see also Sura III - ( The Family of Imran ) verse : 194

Compare these verses to the command given by Pope Urban II in 1095 commissioning the first crusade. Remembering that the Pope was considered by the faithful to be God's voice here on earth, ( the Great Reformation came later ). These words to the Christians were in essence a command from the Almighty God.

I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to .... carry aid promptly to those Christians and destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it is meant also for those who are absent. Moreover Christ commands it.

All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them by the power of God with which I am invested.

O what a disgrace if such a despised and base race, which worships demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of omnipotent God.

[ from Infidels, A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam. P. 163, Andrew Wheatcroft ]

 Christ took another approach. He died for US.

" For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  [ Romans 5 : 7-8 ]

Aren't You glad ? Tell someone about Jesus today.

I am Human, therefore imperfect. I will make mistakes in judgement or in doctrinal matters at times. I assure you my heart is with Jesus my Savior and Redeemer. I am trying to help, but at times need help myself. Please pray for me to be able to do what God needs from me to do. It is my hope that I can build some bridges of love to the Muslim people. I may wind up offending some people on either side of the divide. This is not my intention. I use quotes from many sources and try to give credit to all references. I am not smart enough to think of all these things myself, but go where the Lord leads me. The Bible is the ultimate authority. Read it and study it continually if you want God to bless your life and answer your prayers. Windows live has rules and guidelines that need to be followed to use their blog space. No offensive language, hate speech,Spam, threats, etc. Anything that I consider in bad taste or against Gods law will not be tolerated. I will remove said items immediately. I do have an Amazon link to Christian items such as CD's and books that I feel would be of interest to Christians. I make a small commission for anything purchased, being an Amazon affiliate. I will use the proceeds in the ministry of Christ and will give account of the receipts and what I use them for, ( Bibles, tracts, educational materials, etc.) upon request. Don't worry, if the Lord starts using me, I will be proclaiming it to anyone who will listen. I love you all. May Gods Grace be shed upon you abundantly. Thanks, Stuart.

Is it fair that we could be expected to follow the laws of a God of whom we are ignorant of ? What about the person who has never heard of God ?  

Psalm 19:1-6 (King James Version)

Psalm 19

1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

2Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

3There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

4Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

6His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

This is what is known as natural revelation. Things revealed by God in very nature itself, and imprinted on the soul of mankind; like a watermark on the bare paper of our being. Though unwritten upon, it bears the seal of The Creator Himself. 

Romans 1:18-20 (King James Version)

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Thank You our Heavenly Father, that you have given the heart of every one of your Creation a need to find You. A "homing beacon", a desire, a yearning to find You. Like the needle of the compass inexorably pulled to true North. Thank You Father for the Map you have given us in Your Word; the Bible and The Word made flesh, Your Son Jesus Christ.

If you do not have Christ, you have nothing. Seek to find Him today, while there is still time.

2 Corinthians 6:1-3 (King James Version)

1We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Dear Partner in Prayer: In 1914, my grandfather landed on the shores of America. Like so many other emigrants of his time, Issa Masri was looking for a better life and fleeing violence in his home country of Lebanon. Grandpa had been enlisted to fight with the Turkish army in the first world war when his mother urged him to run away to the United States. I have a special place in my heart for immigrants from Muslim countries. My grandfather was one of them! Some things most immigrants have in common are 1) the pressures they face; and 2) their potential in God's Kingdom. The Pressure They Face Many Muslims you meet are immigrants or the children of immigrants. In some capacity, they will face pressures you may have never dealt with. They have left family back in their home country.Often they send money home to support their father, mother or brothers. They are struggling to learn the language.English is the key to applying for a job or obtaining a driver's license. They are finding where they belong.Making friends and assimilating the culture is hard work. It is easier to retreat to the familiar by living only among Muslims or being highly involved at a mosque. http://view.exacttarget.com/ftaf.aspx?j=fe891370736d0d7c73&m=ff011270706506&ls=fdfe1772706
7017875177072&jb=ffcf14 The pressures immigrants face open the door for us to serve them. How can you serve Muslim immigrants and internationals around you in practical, physical ways? Your Home: A Revival Tent Shortly after my grandfather settled in Toledo, Ohio, he was invited to a revival meeting by a Christian friend. It was there my grandfather first believed the Good News and surrendered to Jesus. Most immigrants aren't so fortunate. Ninety-five percent of Muslim internationals won't be invited to a Christian home, the 21st century equivalent to a revival tent.Think about it - your home could be a warm, inviting place where you boldly share with one Muslim or many Muslims the true meaning of Christmas this year. This is where potential comes in.The potential of Muslim immigrants is great because the impact they are able to have among their people. Often when Muslims turn to Christ, he or she becomes a witness to family and friends back home! Ali's Story "Ali", a Muslim from North Africa, turned to Christ while studying in a Western country. Now, he is actively sharing his faith with Muslims in his home country. Recently, Ali led an Islamic cleric to faith in Jesus Christ! As evidenced by Ali's story, Muslims are seeking God. They are curious about Jesus. God's Kingdom among Muslims is advancing because of your diligence in prayer. Today, pray about how God may be leading you to impact the life of a Muslim immigrant in your zip code. Immigrants are facing pressures you can't imagine. Can you help lighten their load? The impact could be far-reaching, to the ends of the earth! Reaching Muslims for Christ, Fouad Masri President, Crescent Project. www.crescentproject.org 

A Word from Fouad, I was watching the horrific aftermath of the Mumbai bombings on CNN when reporter Fareed Zakaria attempted to explain the events... Zakaria said that Muslims in India are marginalized. They are not represented in government and they are 3 times more unemployed than people of other religions. Therefore, he concluded, it is easy to radicalize Muslims in India. But here is my question: What is it about Islam that radicalizes people to kill innocent bystanders? It can't be simply poor living conditions and being unrepresented in government.Thousands of Christians in Muslim countries have the exact same situation. They are unrepresented and unemployed. Yet we have not seen Coptic Christian terrorists take the Pyramids at Giza, or marginalized Filipino Christians attacking the Burj-al-Arab hotel in Dubai. If Islam teaches peace, as so many scholars insist upon, how can you radicalize a follower of that religion to kill innocent people? I believe Jesus is right by saying 'if you hate your brother you killed him.' What we saw in India is depravity of humankind. No less, no more. When you harbor hatred, you get murder. I know the feeling! Jesus saved me from my hate, and He can do the same for all people today.

A note from Stuart ; 

" Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. " [ Galatians 6:2 ]. " And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." [ Galatians 6:9 ]

The Muslim people are not our enemies. The belief system that they are bound under is, for the Gospels sake, the enemy. " Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and be turned unto fables." [ 2 Timothy 4:2-4 ]

Pray for revival in the world. These are desperate times. Lord come soon !

C. H. Spurgeon

"Girt about the paps with a golden girdle."—Revelation 1:13.

NE like unto the Son of Man" appeared to John in Patmos, and the beloved disciple marked that He wore a girdle of gold. A girdle, for Jesus never was ungirt while upon earth, but stood always ready for service, and now before the eternal throne He stays not is holy ministry, but as a priest is girt about with "the curious girdle of the ephod." Well it is for us that He has not ceased to fulfil His offices of love for us, since this is one of our choicest safeguards that He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Jesus is never an idler; His garments are never loose as though His offices were ended; He diligently carries on the cause of His people. A golden girdle, to manifest the superiority of His service, the royalty of His person, the dignity of His state, the glory of His reward. No longer does He cry out of the dust, but He pleads with authority, a King as well as a Priest. Safe enough is our cause in the hands of our enthroned Melchisedek.
Our Lord presents all His people with an example. We must never unbind our girdles. This is not the time for lying down at ease, it is the season of service and warfare. We need to bind the girdle of truth more and more tightly around our loins. It is a golden girdle, and so will be our richest ornament, and we greatly need it, for a heart that is not well braced up with the truth as it is in Jesus, and with the fidelity which is wrought of the Spirit, will be easily entangled with the things of this life, and tripped up by the snares of temptation. It is in vain that we possess the Scriptures unless we bind them around us like a girdle, surrounding our entire nature, keeping each part of our character in order, and giving compactness to our whole man. If in heaven Jesus unbinds not the girdle, much less may we upon earth. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.

This is a Gem I accessed from The Spurgeon Archive online. It came through www.ewordtoday.com , a wonderful site I encourage everyone to look at.

Hebrews 2

1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

2For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Hebrews 3:12-13

12Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

13But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

My prayer for the day is that we will remain steadfast in service, and unshakeable in our commitment to the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our Prayer O Lord is that you will reach out with your redeeming Grace to touch that sinner closest to the fires of hell, to bring him into the fold, the congregation of the Righteous.

The world goes on in sin and desperation oblivious to the Love that Jesus gives. Like the band that played on as the Titanic was sinking into the cold deep; they go on to a cold Godless eternity refusing to get into the Lifeboat. Someone throw out a lifeline to someone today. You were in that ship not too long ago....

May God richly Bless You Today ! 

This is from http://www.bethinking.org/ a Josh McDowell Ministry

Q. Did Jesus really claim to be
God?

A. A previous article addressed the question,
‘Does the Bible really attest to the deity of Jesus?’
by looking at several instances where New
Testament characters pointed to the deity of
Christ. This article shows how the Scriptures
provide witness to Christ’s deity; only here we will
see that Christ himself claimed to be God.

On a number of occasions, Jesus implied that he
was equal with God the Father by receiving honor
and worship that only God should receive. In a
confrontation with Satan, Jesus said, ‘It is written,
"You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve
him only”’ (Matthew 4:10). Yet Jesus received
worship as God (Matthew 14:33; 28:9) and
sometimes even demanded to be worshipped as
God (John 5:23; compare Hebrews 1:6;
Revelation 5:8–14).

We see an example of this when Peter confessed
Christ’s deity after Jesus asked him who he was:
‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’
(Matthew 16:16). Jesus responded to Peter’s
confession not by correcting his conclusion but by
acknowledging its validity and source: ‘Blessed
are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood
did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in
heaven’ (Matthew 16:17).

Then we have Christ’s conversation with Thomas,
who said, ‘I won’t believe unless I can put my
finger into his nail scars.’ He said, ‘Look, not every
day does someone raise himself from the dead or
claim to be God incarnate. I need evidence.’ Eight
days later, after Thomas chronicled his doubts
about Jesus before the other disciples, ‘Jesus
came, the doors having been shut, and stood in
their midst, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he
said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see
my hands; and reach here your hand, and put it
into my side; and be not unbelieving, but
believing.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My
Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because
you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed

are they who did not see, and yet believed”’ (John
20:26–29). Jesus accepted Thomas’s
acknowledgment of him as God. He rebuked
Thomas for his unbelief, but not for his worship.

We also find instances in which Jesus not only
claims his equality with God, but he also clearly
asserts that he is one with the Father. During the
Feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem, Jesus was
approached by some Jewish leaders who asked
about his being the Christ. Jesus ended his
comments to them by saying, ‘I and the Father are
one’ (John 10:30). The Jews’ response only affirms
that Jesus was in fact claiming to be God: ‘For a
good work we do not stone you, but for
blasphemy; and because you, being a man, make
yourself out to be God’ (John 10:31–33).

Jesus continually spoke of himself as one in
essence and nature with God. He boldly asserted,
‘If you knew me, you would know my Father also’
(John 8:19); ‘He who beholds me beholds the One
who sent me’ (John 12:45); ‘He who hates me,
hates my Father also’ (John 15:23); ‘All may honor
the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who
does not honor the Son does not honor the Father
who sent him’ (John 5:23). These references
certainly indicate that Jesus looked at himself as
being more than just a man; rather he was equal
with God.

If anyone were to still doubt whether Christ
claimed to be deity, he should take a look at the
record of Jesus’ trial proceedings recorded in the
Gospel of Mark (14:60–64). Here we find one of
the clearest references of Christ’s claim of deity:
‘And the high priest arose and came forward and
questioned Jesus, saying, “Do you make no
answer to what these men are testifying against
you?” But he kept silent and made no answer.
Again the high priest was questioning him, and
saying to him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the
Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you
shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand
of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
And tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What
further need do we have of witnesses? You have
heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?”
And they all condemned him to be deserving of
death.’

At first Jesus wouldn’t answer, so the high priest
put him under oath. Being under oath, Jesus had

to answer. He responded to the question, ‘Are You
the Christ, the son of the Blessed One?’ by saying
‘I am.’

Excerpts taken from More Than a Carpenter,
Josh McDowell. Living Books, 1977.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New
American Standard Bible.

Which is Japanese for Good Morning ! The Classic Bible Commentaries site is even better than I realized. You have to check this out if you do any studying in God's word at all. It will become essential after a short time using it. God willing, ( The Muslims say inshallah ), we will start talking about Islam today. I guess a good starting point is some of the beliefs and misperceptions of their faith. ( note : this material is the product of the hard work of the folks at www.arabicbible.com ). What do Muslims believe in ? 1. God : There is only one God - Allah. Islam asserts the oneness of God, not His Trinitarian nature. ( The word God in Arabic is Allah, but their God is not the God of the Bible ).               2. Angels : Muslims believe in good angels and in fallen angels, whose leader is Ibliss. Sometimes called " Shaytan ". The most prominent good angel is Jibril, ( Gabriel ) who brought the " revelation " to Muhammad. 3. Scripture : There are 4 books which are considered inspired by Muslims,  The Torah ( Tawrat ) of Moses, ( the first 5 books of the Old Testament ). The Zabur, ( or Psalms of David ). The Injeel, or Gospel of Jesus as related in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ( for most, only the actual WORDS of Jesus, not the accounts of his actions ). The Qu'ran, ( Koran ), Which supercedes all others in authority. Muslims claim that the former three have been " corrupted " by Jews and Christians. Since the Qu'ran is said to be God's most recent and final revelation, it is seen as superior to all other writings. So according to Islam, The Qu'ran abrogates the Bible. 4. Judgement Day : They believe on the last day, the dead will be resurrected. Allah will judge each person according to their deeds, sending them to Heaven or Hell. Heaven being a place of sensual pleasures. 5. Prophets : The Qu'ran lists 28 Prophets, ( out of 124,000 messengers and Prophets ), including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, and Jesus, to name a few ( their Arabic names are used ). Muhammad is claimed as the last and greatest Prophet. Muslims believe that Ishmael, not Issac,  received the promise from God through Abraham. According to Islam, it was Ishmael whom Abraham offered as a sacrifice in Mecca, Arabia. Some Misconceptions about Muslims. 1. Muslims worship Muhammad. No they do not worship Muhammad. The Qu'ran asserts that he was only a man, and not to be worshiped. 2. All Muslims are radicals and hate the United States. No ! The average Muslim is like the average (so-called) Christian. They know enough to call themselves Muslims, but are basically materialistic, want a good job, and a comfortable life. The great majority are friendly and peace loving folk who are on the most part, more accepting of us than we are of them. Many if not most may hate the American government, but can differentiate between the government, ( who turn a blind eye towards Israel's brutality and excesses towards the Arab peoples and Palestine ), and the citizens. They seem to be fascinated by our culture and somewhat envious of our freedoms. The state of moral decay, ( i.e. crime, gambling, pornography, drug abuse to name a few ), in this country leads others to think that since we are a " Christian " country, that is what Christianity is all about. To be continued..........

Classic Bible Commentaries

This is a great site that has, ( to the best of my knowledge ), the whole Bible referenced and linked book by book from Old Testament to New Testament, with commentary by the great Bible scholars of our day and of days past. As with any explanation of God's word; Use Spiritual discernment, ( if be that you are mature in the Faith, [Hebrews 5:14] ), using the Word of God to prove the Word of God. " Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." [ 2 Timothy 2:15 ]

http://astore.amazon.com/stusblo-20

SabaaH El Khyer ! , which is good morning in Arabic. I hope that God will continue to Bless you, and give you growth in knowledge and wisdom. I have put some new items on the Amazon store that I found of interest. I'm still working on the site and will continue to learn and improve by God's Grace. I want to get my links up and running next. I have some good places to go to learn about what the Muslim people believe and how to share Christ with them. One really good one is http://arabsforchrist.org/ . If you have a passion for reaching souls for the Lord as I do, please check this one out. Recent estimates number the Muslim population of the world at somewhere between 1.3 and 1.5 BILLION. This is the fastest growing religion on the planet. We need desperately to reach out in love to these precious souls. Remember, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God", [Romans 3:22-23]. "For there is no respect of persons with God." [Romans 2:11]. I know we are still hurting from 9/11, and it is easy to hate those who hate us, but that is not what Jesus taught, [see Matt. 5:44]. Not all Muslims think that way and in fact are tired of the hatred and wars. This is opening doors and creating opportunities for Salvation that have never been there before! Praise God, and pray that His will be done. Thank You and Bless You until next time, unless Jesus comes before then. Please pray for me that I will have the strength and the knowledge to do Gods will in this matter. Anyone can reach me at sengland@netzero.com .

I found a very interesting site about the history of the Christian Church.( Church History ) I looked at historical records of the early church fathers and early historians from the first several hundred years after Christ, ( Praise His Name ), was crucified. I will give a tantalizing tidbit here.

Module 101: Didache
The Teaching of the Apostles. Translated by J.B. Lightfoot; Modernized
and abridged by Stephen Tomkins; introduced, edited and prepared
for the web by Dan Graves
“Be careful how you live.”
Module Introduction
The Didache meaning “Teaching” is the short name of a Christian
manual compiled before 300AD. The full title is The Teaching of
the Twelve Apostles. Some Christians thought Didache was
inspired, but the church rejected it when making the final
decision which books to include in the New Testament.
Didache contained instructions for Christian groups; and its
statement of belief may be the first written catechism. It has four
parts: the first is the “Two Ways, the Way of Life and the Way of
Death;” the second explains how to perform rituals such as
baptism, fasting, and Communion; the third covers ministry and
how to deal with traveling teachers; the fourth part is a reminder
that Jesus is coming again, with quotations from several New
Testament passages which exhort Christians to live godly lives
and prepare for “that day.”
Baptism
This is how you should baptize: Having recited all these
things, [the first half of the Teaching, “The Way of Life and
the Way of Death”] baptize in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, in running water. If you do not
have running water, then baptize in still water. The water
should be cold, but if you do not have cold water, then use
warm. If you have neither, then just pour water on the head
three times in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Both the one who is baptized and the one who
baptizes should fast beforehand, along with any others who
are able, the one that is baptized being told to fast for a day
or two.
Prayer and Fasting
Your fasting should not be like the hypocrites’. They fast on
Monday and the Thursday: you should fast on the
Wednesday and Friday. You should not pray like the
hypocrites either, but as the Lord commanded in his Gospel:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name; Your
kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also
on earth; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive
us our debt, as we forgive our debtors; Do not lead us
into trial, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is
the power and the glory for ever and ever. Say this
prayer three times a day.
The Eucharist
This is how you should give thanks at the Eucharist: First,
for the cup:
We give you thanks, our Father, for the holy vine of
your son David which you revealed to us through your
son Jesus. Yours is the glory for ever and ever.
Then for the broken bread:
We give you thanks, our Father, for the life and
knowledge which you revealed to us through your son
Jesus. Yours is the glory for ever and ever. As this
broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and
being gathered together became one, so may your
Church be gathered together from the ends of the
earth into your kingdom For yours is the glory and the
power through Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
No one should eat or drink this Eucharistic thanksgiving,
unless they that have been baptized into the name of the
Lord. As the Lord has said, “Do not give what is holy to the
dogs.” After everyone has had enough, thank God with
these words:
We give you thanks, Holy Father, for your holy name,
which you have revealed to us through your son Jesus.
Yours is the glory for ever and ever. Almighty Lord,
you created all things for your name’s sake, and gave
food and drink to people for their enjoyment, so that
they would thank you, but you gave us spiritual food
and drink and eternal life through your son. Above all
we thank you that you are powerful Yours is the glory
for ever and ever. Remember your Church, Lord.
Deliver it from all evil, perfect it in your love, sanctify
it and gather it together from the four winds into your
kingdom which you have prepared for it. Yours is the
glory for ever and ever. May grace come and may this
world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If any
man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him
repent. Maranatha. Amen.
Let prophets, however, give thanksgiving as they see fit.
Teachers, Apostles and Prophets
Listen to anyone who comes to teach you such things as
these, but if a teacher is led astray and teaches a different
doctrine that undermines what you have been told, do not
hear him. However if he comes to the increase
righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as
you would the Lord.
You should treat apostles and prophets as the Gospel
commands. Receive every apostle that comes to you as you
would the Lord. But he must not stay more than one day, or
two if necessary: but if he stays three days, he is a false
prophet. When an apostle leaves you, give him nothing
except bread until he finds shelter. If he asks for money, he
is a false prophet. Do not test or evaluate any prophet
speaking in the Spirit - this is the one unforgivable sin. But
not every one that speaks in the Spirit is a prophet, only
those who live in the way of the Lord. Thus it is by their
conduct that you can tell false prophets from true. Similarly,
no prophet shall eat while he is in the Spirit; if he does, he is
a false prophet. Even if a prophet teaches the truth, if he
does not do what he teaches, is a false prophet. However, if
a prophet that has been approved and found true, and lives
out the cosmic mystery of the Church, does not teach you to
do all that he does himself, you should not judge such a
prophet. His judgment must be left to God, for the prophets
in the past also did such things. If anyone says in the Spirit,
“Give me silver”, or asks for anything else, do not listen to
him. But if he tells you to give to others that are in want, let
no one judge him.
Receive everyone who comes in the name of the Lord. When
you have tested them you will know them, for you will be
able to discern true from false. If the one who comes is a
traveler, assist him, as well as you can, but he should not
stay with you more than two days - or three if necessary.
But if he is a craftsman who wishes to settle with you, let
him work for his bread. If he has no trade, use your
discretion to provide a way for him to live as a Christian
among you, but not in idleness. If he will not do this, he is
trading Christ for profit. Beware of such men. But all true
prophets and teacher who wish to settle among you are, like
workers, worthy of their food. Therefore you should always
give the first fruits of the produce of the wine-press and of
the threshing-floor, and of your oxen and sheep, to the
prophets, for they are your chief-priests. If you do not have
a prophet, give them to the poor instead. In the same way
you should give the first fruits to the prophet when you
make bread, or open a jar of wine or oil, and the same goes
for your money and clothes and all possessions, as you see
fit, in accordance with the commandment.
Sunday Worship
On the Lord’s day, come together, break bread and give
thanks, having first confessed your sins, so that your
sacrifice may be pure. Anyone who has a dispute with
another, must not join your assembly until they have been
reconciled, so that your sacrifice may not be defiled, for this
is the sacrifice spoken of by the Lord: ‘”In every place and at
every time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great king,”
says the Lord, “and My name is wonderful among the
nations.’”‘
Church Leaders
Therefore appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons
worthy of the Lord, men who are meek and not lovers of
money, who are true and approved, because they also
perform the service of prophets and teachers to you. Do not
despise them, for they are worthy of honor alongside
prophets and teachers.
Wrongdoers and Doing Right
And reprove one another, not in anger but in peace, as the
Gospel tells you. If one of you does wrong to another, do not
speak a word to him until he repents. Your prayers, your
giving to the poor and all your deeds, should be done in
accordance with the Gospel of our Lord.
The End Times
Be careful how you live. Do not let your lamps be quenched,
nor your loins ungirdled, but be ready, for you do not know
the hour our Lord will come. Meet together frequently,
pursuing what is good for your souls, for your whole time as
a believer will come to nothing if you are found to be
imperfect at the end time. In the last days the false
prophets and corrupters shall multiply, and the sheep will be
turned into wolves, and love will be turned into hate. As
lawlessness increases, they will persecute and betray and
hate one another. And then the deceiver of the world will
appear as a Son of God, performing signs and wonders, and
the earth will be delivered into his hands. He will do things
more unholy than any since the beginning of the world.
All of humanity shall come to the fire of testing, and many
will fall and perish. But all who endure in their faith shall be
saved by the Curse. Then the signs of the truth will appear:
firstly a rift in the heavens, then the sound of a trumpet,
and thirdly the resurrection of the dead. But not all will rise,
because, as it is said, ‘The Lord shall come, and all his saints
with him’. Then the world will see the Lord coming upon the
clouds of heaven.
Discussion Starters:
1. In what ways is the church reflected here different from
contemporary churches? How are they similar? How does it
compare to what we see of the church in the New
Testament?
2. Why do you think cold running water was preferred for
baptisms? Are details like this important?
3. “Your fasting should not be like the hypocrites’….” This
refers to the non-Christian Jews. Is it right to follow a
certain procedure just because it sets you apart from others
you disagree with? Can you think of other ways Christians
do the same thing these days? Cf. Matthew 6:16-18. Do you
think the writer has misunderstood this verse? How do you
think the importance of fasting here compares with the New
Testament? And how does it compare with our own
churches?
4. How does the communion service compare with today’s?
5. What rules does The Teaching lay down for prophets and
apostles? What is the purpose of these rules, and why do
you think they were necessary?
6. Do you think this is a writing that simply repeats the
teaching of the New Testament? Or one which fills in the
gaps, answering questions that the New Testament doesn’t?
Or is it going in a whole new direction from the New
Testament? Do you believe it is a genuine first-century
writing that accurately reflects the teaching of the apostles?
And would the Christian faith and the church be any
different if it had been included in the scriptures?
7. What can today’s church learn from The Teaching?
Bible Verses
Matthew 6:9-13
Matthew 7:6
Colossians 2:20-23

Until I can figure out how to arrange the others this will have to keep you interested. (note : Do not let any prejudices about the Catholic Church get in the way of studying their early records, as the Church started out an unorganized band of believers with wildly divergent views on critical theological truths that we do not take second thought of today, and was subsequently brought together under the banner of The Holy Catholic Church. Only later, things started to be corrupted). Thank You and God Bless You.

Hello, Good Day, Konichi Wa, Salaam Alaykum, Shalom..... and so forth. We all greet and welcome each other as a matter of courtesy. Start talking about politics, or religion and the discourse becomes a little more strained at times. I am starting this blog in an attempt to help my Christian brothers and sisters minister and serve the lost world. At this time my focus is on the Muslim world, seeing that the events of these times are leading to so much hatred, death, and destruction. I will be putting links on here to study on your own and There are some good reference materials on the Amazon link. I plan on putting some things from different books I've been studying here to talk about. The site is just starting and not fully functional yet so have patience. Thank You, and God Bless You. " I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.." [ 1 Timothy 2:1 ]. (I'd rather love them into Heaven than hate them into Hell).

Great Deals on Amazon.com