Imagine, for a moment, one faith and one family. Imagine living in unison with everyone without the hassle of trying to get along. Imagine your family, friends, and coworkers sharing the same convictions with no disputes and no misunderstandings. Discord among the brethern and hurt feelings would be a distant memory. The world would be at peace, and you would be living in a new reality made possible by a unifying faith.
Pope Francis embraces these imaginings and speaks about them often. Many agree with him. He wants to remove barriers of division from among all faiths. This new dream for unity would allow believers, regardless of faith and tradition and nation, to join as soul mates vowing to build one global community sharing one faith.
These are inspiring words from the Pope, and an increasing number of believers feel the tug to unite in singleness of one faith and one fellowship. It would feel so right and so now, a desirable change from the way things are today. As proof of the tug, evangelicals are hearing the call to come home. Just this year Kenneth Copeland and other evangelicals (who share the Pope's vision) were so moved by the Pope's appeal they promised to join him in "prayer and spirit" to unite as brothers in Christ (
Source).
Advocates of Chrislam agree the call to join in one faith is venerable and even principled, but also essential if all are to walk the same path to rid the world of strife caused by clashing beliefs. Opponents of Chrislam argue a path to oneness in faith is unattainable, citing Amos 3:3 as the reason. Perhaps the opponents fail to recall the Bible says it will happen (Revelation 17:1-18). Chrislam is possible because Revelation says it will happen; and, by the looks of things presently under construction. But, how is such a pathway built to bring so many into one body of faith?
It begins with compromise, which is not always a bad thing. But, what a person chooses to give up or accept could be and herein the need for close examination (Acts 17:11). The Bible warns about compromise and especially when it means giving up the redemptive message of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul writes, "Beware lest anyone deceive you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8).
Chrislam is all about compromise. One high profile leader invested in this movement is Rick Warren. Now the End Begins, a Christian web site exposing Chrislam, posted:
Rick Warren, founder and pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County California, addressed the convention of the Islamic Society of North America. Warren stated that Muslims and Christians must work together to combat stereotypes, promote peace and freedom, and solve global problems. Christians and Moslems — faith mates, soul mates and now work mates! Chrislam! (Source)
The founding principle for justifying compromise, to work together as soul mates, comes from the idea that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Do they?
In support of this belief:
Pope Francis prayed silently alongside a senior Islamic cleric in Istanbul's Blue Mosque...Francis took off his shoes as he entered the huge mosque, before bowing his head in prayer for several minutes, facing Mecca and standing next to Istanbul's Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran, in what a Vatican spokesman described as a joint "moment of silent adoration" of God. (Source)
Earlier last year, the Pope said in an appeal to Turkey's President Erdogan and others:
To this end, it is essential that all citizens — Muslim and Christian — both in the provision and practice of the law, enjoy the same rights and respect the same duties. They will then find it easier to see each other as brothers and sisters who are travelling the same path, seeking always to reject misunderstandings while promoting cooperation and concord. (Source)
While the call to join is global and includes all faiths, this call is really all about giving up truth that divides to embrace truth that unites. Jesus did not come to unite light with darkness nor believers with unbelievers; he came to divide by calling out a remnant from the world for His name sake (Luke 12:51; Romans 11:5; 2 Corinthians 6:17).
Is Chrislam becoming center stage and a growing reality? Its leaders think so because they are working tirelessly making this new faith a global answer to the woes of humanity. While their cause may be noble, their greatest challenge is to justify the need for one faith by promoting what is common among all faiths.
The problem for the architects of Chrislam is the exclusiveness of the Gospel. They don't like what the Bible says about one way to God. Such an idea is a road block. The Bible says there is one path to God, a truth that is not open for reinterpretation. Some of the verses reminding us of this fundamental truth and its incompatibility with Islam follow.
• Jesus is one with the Father (John 10:30). He is the only Begotten Son of God and the sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29). Islam disagrees, saying that Jesus was a prophet to prepare the coming of Muhammad, stripping Jesus of his Divinity and role as Savior. Stripping Jesus of his divinity began 2,000 years ago when they tore off his robe. Today the stripping continues as they remove his robe of divine claim by promoting movies and television specials that fail to acknowledge him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).
• The Bible says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). "Islam asserts that Jesus, though born of a virgin, was created like Adam and is not the only way. Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross. They do not understand why Allah would allow His prophet Isa (the Islamic word for 'Jesus') to die a torturous death. Yet the Bible shows how and explains why the death of the perfect Son of God was essential to pay for the sins of believers (Isaiah 53:5-6; John 3:16; 14:6; 1 Peter 2:24)." (
Source)
• The Bible says Jesus saves by grace through faith and never by what can be done to earn salvation (John 3:16; John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8)...Islamic salvation is only possible by obeying the Five Pillars of Islam and then there is no guarantee Allah will show mercy and save you.
• Jesus says love your enemy (Matthew 5:44). Muhammad says kill your enemy (Quran (2:191-193).
• Muslims earn their salvation and Catholics also stress the need for good works to prove one's faith is genuine. But, the apostle James says if faith is real, good works will follow the believer without need for proving it (James 2:18).
These verses (and there are many others not cited) make up the cornerstone of the Gospel. These truths are nonnegotiable. There can be no omissions of these truths from one's faith. These verses are fundamental to the Christian eternal life. To remove or change the meaning of any one verse begins the transformation of the Gospel into another gospel (1 Corinthians 15: 1-2; Galatians 1:8).
As further proof to the rise of Chrislam and the disrobing of Christ, bible translations and hymnals have been changed over time by repackaging the Gospel into a seeker friendly presentation minus depravity (Romans 3:23), condemnation (Romans 5:18), and the blood atonement (Colossians 1:20). Jesus (as the Lamb of God) is a fading truth in the pulpits, in Bible translations, and in Protestant hymnals.
Russell More writes:
And this is not only a Protestant phenomenon. Roman Catholics — centered as they are on the Eucharist — often seem to go out of their way to speak of the 'real presence' of Jesus in the elements, without going so far as to mention that this presence is believed to be that of his body and blood, as well as soul and divinity. Even Catholic communion hymns, I'm told, prefer terms like the Cup to the Blood. (Source)
With the apparent abhorrence for the shed blood of Christ, compromising ministers have redefined sin to be nothing more than innocent mistakes and poor choices anyone can make. Repentance is now a matter of developing integrity seasoned with self-improvement programs, learning right motives and positive attitudes, and serving the brethern in in love.
While sweeping these essential truths out the door is widespread in the emergent movement and long standing in mainline churches, a recent sweeping occurred in in
The Bible series on the History Channel and then again in the
Son of God movie.
Burnett's two productions omit essential salvations truths by removing the divisions between Christianity and Islam. The
Son of God movie never mentions Jesus as the Messiah, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The producers withheld every claim Jesus made to his deity and divine role as the sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29). The producers did not mention the reasons for Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection because to do so would alienate Muslims.
Chrislam uses all the right words to arrest any misgivings about its agenda to remove barriers between faiths. Chrislam emphasizes what is common between faiths while disavowing what is uncommon. Chrislam gives the impression we are all God's children, brothers and sisters in one faith, and that Jesus is a prophet like Muhammad. Chrislam uses coalescing narratives promoting oneness and harmony and brotherhood. But things are never what they seem.
According to Bill Muehlenberg, Chrislam is a clever trap. He wrote:
Some misguided Christians believe they can somehow combine the two religions and still have something recognizable as the Christian faith. Sorry, but it can't happen.
Muslims are happy to use such versions of religious syncretism to gain entry into Christian circles, but it just results in the creation of more dhimmitude — Christians becoming second-class citizens.
Islam always wins in such attempts, while Christianity always loses. The truth is, the two religions are fully incompatible. They may seem to be similar (both are world religions, both have Abrahamic origins, both are monotheistic) but the differences are far greater.
Yet some quite foolish Christians think they can blend their faith with that of Islam and still remain intact, effective, and biblical. Sorry, but it just does not — indeed, cannot — happen. (Source)
Though many agree with Muehlenberg, Chrislam is moving forward and could become the first officially recognized religion in the New World Order; but if not, then a predecessor towards that end. The powerful outreach initiative by the Pope in recent months is drawing Muslims and Christians into a unity that is both revealing and sobering. In this initiative, the Catholics have a trump card they are playing to make it all work.
Jim Simmons writes:
There needs to be a common denominator between Muslims and the one-world religion. This common denominator may very well be Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Koran exalts Mary, not Jesus. The Roman Catholics also exalt Mary. This along with the numerous alleged apparitions of Mary witnessed by both Muslims and Catholics create a tether between the two religions. (Source)
While the Bible tells what will happen, it does not always tell how it will happen. John in Revelation says there will be a one-world religion just before the return of Christ (Revelation 17:1-18).
Are we beginning to see "how" the one world religion could come about? It would appear so. Part of Chrislam's agenda is to redefine tolerance to mean "acceptance of all believers of God regardless of doctrine." However and as part of that redefinition, any doctrine not fitting neatly into the Chrislam narrative of unity will be discarded.
As the Pope said without any misunderstanding in Istanbul's Blue Mosque, "Allah and Jehovah are one in the same." Is Chrislam's goal to replace the God of the Bible with the God of Islam? Is Chrislam a Trojan horse, a powerful deception? Will an increasing number of undiscerning evangelicals pull this faith into their hearts and then into the church? Revelation 17:13 says they will be of one mind as they hand over their power and authority to the Beast. Is this one mind made possible by one faith?
Dr. David Reagan seems to suggest the answers to all of these questions is yes. Reagan writes about the end time deception and says:
It is a subtle ploy of Satan to corrupt the Church from within. The deception sounds so appealing: "Why draw lines of fellowship over doctrinal differences? The only thing that's important is sincerity. Reach out and embrace all those who profess to believe in God, regardless of who their god may be. Ignore doctrinal differences. Do it in the name of Christian love. Do it for the sake of religious unity." (Source)
In closing, Chrislam is another gospel fashioned to worship another god. This notion of one faith appeals to Christians, Jews, Muslims and all manner of conviction because unity and love and brotherhood seem so right and so now when so much is wrong. Chrislam encourages divided-brethren from all walks of life and from every manner of faith to put aside differences and travel the same path as one.
Though Chrislam tugs on the heart, appeals to the soul, and promises peace through unity in one faith, it is not what it seems. Chrislam would appear to be the wide path that many will travel unaware (Matthew 7:13-14).
Note: If a church near you is planning to place Qurans next to Bibles in the pews, then Chrislam has arrived with all its deceivableness bundled in unbridled religious unity (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).
For more information on the one-world religion, click on this
link.