The Position of the Bible on Freedom

Using freedom of choice in the Bible for selfish motives ends up in spiritual death (Genesis 2:17 and 3:3) and the loss of unity and peace. God showed Adam, the first man on the earth, what was good and what was evil. He pleaded with Adam to take His advice and use his freedom of choice in a way so as to not fall into evil temptation and lose his freedom as a result. Adam ignored God’s advice and was deceived by an alternative thought. We know the rest of the story of how Adam and his wife Eve were tempted by a new idea without evaluating its consequences and subsequently they lost their intimate fellowship with God and with one another.  The new idea should have helped them to enjoy a continuing healthy unity if it was right, but it wasn’t. 

The new idea came from Satan, anti-God or anti-Christ, according to the Christian doctrine. This anti-God is the god of disunity who injects lies into the human mind by tempting people to think that they are each eligible to do everything they desire without thinking about the rights of others. He twists the doctrine of pure freedom by adding to it some selfish or unknown things in order to make people self-centered and to create disunity among them all for his domination. The central mission of God is also to wake people up to the schemes of Satan and provide the way of salvation for them. Since God Himself is free by nature and respects freedom of choice, He therefore has no other way than to plead with people to enter a dialogue with Him, allow Him to reveal the truth to them and free them from the atrocities of self-centeredness.

We see that both God and anti-God speak about freedom. But their definitions of and approaches to freedom are different. It takes an heroic effort to distinguish the difference between these two tactics. Let me give you a few contemporary examples to see where God and Satan have been trying to take us.

The establishment of political atheism in the 20^th century shifted many people’s attention from Christianity to the formation of Communism, the arrangement of a social organization which was supposed to free people, mainly the working class, from any discrimination or exploitation so that they could have access to all things equally. Theoretically this looked convincing and attractive since it aimed to free people from bias and the misuse of power and to provide everything for everyone. However, soon after the institutionalization of Communism in some countries, everything, including freedom, took on a new definition and became subject to the power of the central government. As a result, people were only allowed to speak or act in accordance with whatever the dominant Communist government espoused. Therefore, the desire for equal social, political and economic justice ended up in another version of dictatorship which restricted freedom in numerous ways to house favoritism, mistreatment and misuse of power. Later on, millions of people were killed by Communist governments simply because they questioned the authenticity of Communism. 

Likewise, in the West, because of the influence of Post Modernism, many Western politicians have adopted a different kind of social construct which has fueled the growth of relativism and skepticism, especially towards Judeo-Christian beliefs and, in particular, the freedom that is central to the Gospel and the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. This trend has led Western societies to a place where they now put their hope in unsustainable notions like multiculturalism and/or pluralism. These ideas are full of fantasy. They are, in fact, an enemy to true unity that can only be found in the transformed life that Jesus opens up for us.

A third reason for the limitation on freedom is that the church in the West has not been discerning enough or courageously vocal enough in evaluating secular ideas about freedom and defending authentic, Biblical freedom. Negative views broadcast about Christianity have led many to reject the Bible without any personal knowledge about its true position of freedom. Now, there are many prominent leftist elites whose criticism about the Bible via YouTube are sadly indications of their illiteracy about the teachings of the Bible. Imagine the enormity of these scholars’ negative impact on people, especially on the young generation of our time who are not interested in personal investigation. The church is called to teach the manifold wisdom of God to the world (Ephesians 3:10), but most evangelical churches have fallen short in revealing the manifold wisdom of God to their own congregations. Churches mainly speak about a few parts of God’s wisdom such as prayer, unconditional love and salvation or spiritual freedom. Other significant parts of God’s wisdom are not taught so that people can learn to defend their true freedom in God with convincing reasons against the bogus freedom that has confused many in every way and created enemies of the church.

Biblical freedom does not only include the spiritual realm, but every aspect of life on earth. In its first pages, the Bible teaches us the significance of using our freedom of choice in a way to establish a unified society (the first family on earth).  Adam used his discerning power, named animals each according to their instinct and evaluated whether he would be able to establish a unified and free society with animals. He discovered that he wouldn’t be able to do so. Adam was convinced that none of the animals he named would become a suitable companion for him or have an intimate fellowship with him for a long-lasting unity. Animals have no creativity or organizational purpose. We can teach the cleverest among them to do only primitive things for entertainment, but they are unable to understand a plan, the ways for achieving it or the purposes behind it. They are therefore unable to enter a planned partnership with us. They are by nature subject to the law of wildlife and that law can in any moment escalate even among the most teachable of them to attack people. It is because that law of wildlife does not recognize any difference between good and bad. 

Isn’t it strange that we are asked by many of our contemporary, so-called intellectuals to pursue a kind of freedom or live a life that does not recognize any difference between good and evil and has no ethics? It is shocking that such irresponsible ideas stem from the minds of intellectuals who are employed using our tax-monies to teach discernment to our children. Instead they put pressure on students to leave their God-given freedom behind and follow this mindless alternative. Until our young are taught to correctly understand the teaching of the Bible on the issue of freedom, they will not be able to resist these silly ideas that aim to chain them with confusion. We are face-to-face with many silly ideas daily and we need to make our Biblical stand in God clearer and free people from misperception. 

The freedom in the Bible is a creative freedom which encourages people to use their minds, hearts and consciences to compare ideas and choose the one that establishes life with productivity, long-lasting unity and peace. The God of the Bible respects this creative freedom and calls upon people for reasoning and conscious decision making:

Come now, and let us reason together, says Jehovah; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18, MKJV)

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19, MKJV)

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32, MKJV)

Because of our freedom of choice, everything is within our reach for a reason. We are capable of basing our lives on reason or rejecting reason. We have autonomy to evaluate and reject a false idea or blindly bow down to it. In a comparable way, we are also free to respect the rights of others and avoid ending up in jail or breach others’ rights and go to jail. We are free to accept life and live eternally or follow the path of death and end up in hell. It is all based on our own conscious decision-making. We are free to use our brains, become creative and be a blessing to many or to remain indifferent and fall into the miseries of a random life. The path that lacks a consistent position on freedom will lead progressively downwards to a place where people will be hurt immeasurably.

Not many people in the world are able to grasp that an unstable and man-made freedom is the gateway to a progressive failure. It is for this reason that the freedom of the Bible supersedes the unstable man-made freedom which is 1. not reciprocal, 2. limits people’s ability to speak their minds and hearts and 3. lacks sound principles. No one with such limitations or ambiguities will be able to face the reality of life, hear the truth and thereby act freely. We have every solid reason to stand for Biblical freedom.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1, MKJV)

Christ and the Relational Problems of Our Generation

For over three decades I lived in two Islamic countries while I was a Muslim. I learned that practically speaking self-interest carried more weight than the family interest which carries a secondary weight and what is in the interests of the wider society comes last. Leaders, either amongst extended families or in other circles, speak to one another about their deeper desires and efforts for togetherness and the success of everybody, as if they are angels sent for establishing a harmonious life. But it is all to manipulate, overtake, leave others behind and gain more for themselves. Of course, there are a handful of people who want to have a simple life and stay away from these games as much as they can.

These relational and psychological problems are because the dominant belief has closed the door to humility, servanthood and self-sacrifice becoming the leading factors in leadership. It rather has opened the door wide for the accumulation of power in any possible way and through every means, as the saying goes, “The end justifies the means”. Under the authority of such belief you need to do everything it takes, ethical or unethical, to gain power at any cost and to establish yourself as the most authoritative figure. You need power to occupy the mind and heart of every person and thing, including media to become your political players for silencing others and to ensure the longevity of your rule. Then every truth-lover will be branded as betrayer or threat and all others will be called to rise, like a tribal movement, against the threat and destroy it at its conception. That’s why the Middle East has become the stronghold of bloodshed for centuries.

I also learned that leaders were always perfect and the most gracious ones. They do not need any opinion or advice to reform their leadership since they are faultless. Reformation falls only on the shoulders of followers in order to learn better ways to perform their duties that the new leaders expect from them. The leader is not accountable to anyone, but all are accountable to him. Nobody has the right to speak about the leader’s weaknesses or failure - everybody is obliged to present even the leader’s failures as his victories. The leader twists words and presents circumstances in such a way as to command praise from the people, such as presenting his leadership as extraordinarily good and that the country has never seen such a caring and gracious leader. Recently, I was listening to the comments of a self-established once-for-all-time president of a Muslim country on YouTube. This dictator was talking in a meeting, saying that his close companions were worrying that he had brought his country to a such a level of unimaginable overt freedom that it presented a risk of being confusing to the populace. Imagine that in a country where there is scarcely any freedom everyone is obliged to rejoice and say that they have abundant freedom.

Most contemporary Islamic countries’ laws speak in favour of freedom and equal opportunity, but they remain only inside the legal books just to give leaders a basis for lip service either nationally or internationally. Lip service has always been a practice in Islamic countries right from the establishment of Islam until now. It demonstrates how religious and ideological values and habits override laws in dictatorial ideologies, and how an authoritarian belief trains its adherents, directly or indirectly, to view laws and regulations as secondary to power.

Muslim leaders have always had two kinds of lifestyles, apparent and secret. The secret life is known to the immediate family members only and also to some extent to very close and trustable friends or companions. Whereas the apparent life is a show for demonstrating in a manipulative way that the leader is benevolent and ethical, all for him to pave the way for himself to penetrate and dominate endlessly. This dualistic lifestyle has become the cause of weighty psychological problems in all Islamic countries where people are forced to coat words with niceness and serve the interests of unjust people.

We see how Islam has affected the life of its followers negatively and endangered a harmonious life among its followers. It is impossible for Muslims to be cured of

these psychological and relational illnesses unless they leave Islam and come to faith in Christ.

Our jaws drop anytime we see similar kinds of psychological problems in the west, especially amongst many educated people who have turned their back on Judeo-Christian values. They too, like in Islamic countries, hide their real ideological colors behind talk superficially coated with democracy, freedom and equal rights. They do this in order to reach their goals in a hypocritical way as if it is too hard for them to invest their time, money and energy for the spread of their beliefs openly and with honesty. Not only this, they also react with coercion and intimidation, if a person standing true to his/her community exposes their insincerities.

Why do they do this? Because their ideas and beliefs, like Islam, cannot handle truth and reason. The followers are therefore unable to realize that in a democratic society actions and words need to be filtered for protecting the freedom and rights of all. Since these beliefs and ideas do not stand for the freedom and right of all, they push their followers to receive endorsement or allegiance via dishonesty and manipulation. We are all aware that dishonesty and deception are the two inseparable friends of discrimination, intimidation and war.

Anti-Judeo-Christian values in the west misled people with the notion of “all are true” in order to confuse people, create a cultural war between the national and minority cultures’ adherents for benefiting from these cultural clashes and thereby receive the support of people who fall into their traps. For them the power for domination comes from clashes among various people groups, like the “thesis and anti-thesis” of Socialism or “Muslims against non-Muslims” of Islam. This was the reason for the establishment of multiculturalism so that each cultural group could receive sovereignty for its culture and push its course until domination.

Unfortunately, their politics worked. Many surrendered to them blindly since they were unaware of their agendas and still are. As a result, they dominated and gave further legal power to minority groups to bully those who did not confirm their ways. Even many migrants, who have come to have a better life in the west, have learned from these narcissistic westerners that it is ok to disregard the fundamental values and constitutions in the west and stand for their own cultures, cultures that have failed in their own motherlands.

We can see how these beliefs and ideologies have incapacitated people and turned them to become the enemies of their own lives and the lives of people surrounding them. This is a spiritual war orchestrated by Satan. Otherwise, it wouldn’t encourage people to base their faith in deception, coercion and hostility. Satan has made these people sick from the top of their heads to their toes. They need proper treatment. They need the eye-opening words of Jesus Christ, His brain, reason, compassion, love and reconciliation in order to be able to know the truth and become free. For this reason, we, as the followers of Jesus Christ, need to look at them with the eyes of Christ and speak to them with the mind, heart and mouth of Jesus Christ. That’s why He told us:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15, ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Light makes things visible, reveals their beauties for acceptance but their defects for rejection. We need to shine amongst deceived people so that they can discover the remedy for their lives. We are the adherents of the truthful belief. A truthful belief does not hide its own objects behind deceiving words. That’s why the Gospel of Jesus Christ says:

[We] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2, KJV).

Freedom Necessitates Evaluation

Freedom cannot flourish in a society or survive without analyzing the merits of beliefs and values and without standing for the best out of all of them. Indeed, we can only demonstrate our freedom when our freedom of choice is esteemed in our societies and we are in no way under pressure to follow things blindly. In a free society, people have individual space to practice their autonomy and to put their analyzing power into practice. This helps them to make healthy decisions and to have meaningful lives based on good and rational reasons. 

Nothing should bother people's freedom of choice. This is essential if they are morally expected to be responsible for their attitudes and actions in a society. If regulations are made to limit the exercising of free will for evaluation or choice, then it rids people of any social responsibility. In other words, if the law limits me in my ability to think before I act, then I cannot be held responsible for my actions since I was forbidden to analyze and anticipate the consequences. 

So we see how vital it is for us to approach life with open minds and hearts, making a willful decision for whatever we want to choose or follow.  That’s why the Gospel of Christ asks Christians not to follow Christ blindly, but to be prepared and to give reasons for following Christ:

…. always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. (1Peter 3.15, ESV)

Living in a society, either with diversity or uniformity, makes us responsible to give reasons for the values we follow. Every follower of Christ is asked to give reasons for the establishment of his/her hope in Christ. These reasons reveal the life quality of Christ in every aspect of life either philosophically, doctrinally, politically, socially, economically or ethically. Unlike  all other beliefs and philosophies, the life in Christ is not compatible with vagueness. It is based on the knowledge of the truth which allows the truth to flourish in every sphere of life, creating freedom. This freedom in turn becomes the motivating factor in our lives to protect freedom. We do this through the exercising of our minds, hearts and consciences in all circumstances, and also in our relationships with others, friends or strangers alike, in order to educate or strengthen them to do the same. This creates openness so that people become interested in reading the chapters’ of each other’s lives and in searching for the best together.

This dynamic culture of Christianity was amiably welcomed by many organizations in the West after the protestant movement, and it played a significant role in making western organizations creative, productive and successful. It brought all employees together, no matter what their ranks and backgrounds, so that they could share the result of their investigations, experiences and knowledge with each other. This helped them to discover the best means for better and higher quality performance. The Gospel of Christ states that the members of one body are all equally significant and function in harmony. Western organizations also applied this principle so that their ‘members’ function in harmony in every aspect. They established the Benchmark and brought all, from the lower level worker to the chief executive officers, together in order to erase barriers so as to operate as a unified organizational body.  

It is amazing that this Christian principle has now become an inevitable part of the organizational culture in most successful businesses in the West (and in the world). Many of our contemporary business leaders and managers reject Christianity on the surface. But underneath they have allowed Christian participative leadership, relational values and work ethics to become the pillars of their organizational cultures. This has made for substantial success despite the challenges of competition. Very few of these leaders and managers want to compromise this Culture of Success with political correctness, multiculturalism and relativism since the result of compromise will be huge losses for them. We saw how some financial institutions in the West were deceived by Islamists and opened their doors to the Islamic Sharia Finance, but soon some realized the stagnant nature of Islamic economic principles which focuses on the interests of its adherents only. Some of them abandoned the Sharia culture and went back to their already dynamic Christian practices and values. 

My aim in saying this is to say that most leaders of successful businesses act as hypocrites and contrary to the practices of Christian values and ethics when involved in educational institutions and governmental organizations. They turn their backs on the same values that are the fundamental factors for success in their own organizations. Because of political correctness, they are unable to or do not want to understand the fact that their countries will go bankrupt and fail immeasurably if they do not support the practice of the same Christian principles for their own countries too. They are not far-sighted enough to see that the the biblical culture is woven into their organizational cultures, and their organizational life is a part of their countries’ economic life too. If their countries fail, their businesses will fail too. If they support governments and educational centers who turn their back on Christian values, the anti-Christian government’s norms will also, sooner or later, affect their own organizations negatively. In the same way, the universities’ anti-Christian graduates will also, sooner or later, become their employees and become a threat to their successful organizational cultures. Then it will be too late and difficult for them to defend their rights and to fight against the established rules, regulations and individuals who are out to erase their means of progress.

We see how subtly dualism and short-sightedness have occupied the atmosphere of the West now and do not allow people to pursue a meaningful life. Communities are forced to leave investigation, evaluation, discussion and healthy decision-making behind, bowing down to a failing culture of ignorance and indifference which progressively narrows their freedom and enslaves them to a complete totalitarianism. People’s growing dependence on this worsening culture is stealing their respect of Christ’s beliefs and values, subtly leading them to a future which will be the end of their freedom and civilization. We have lost our freedom in universities, schools and governmental offices; we will do the same soon in our worship places and homes too.

Freedom cannot function if people’s minds, hearts and consciences are restricted by governmental and school regulations. Individual autonomy for investigation, comparison, debating, rejecting or accepting is the sacred right in each person’s life and the landmark for protecting freedom. Any invasion of this sacred autonomy is the failure of freedom. 

The doctrine of Christ has proven itself practically to be the only cause and power of freedom in the West.  People need to be encouraged to relentlessly investigate this and to see how powerful and effective the values of Christ are for the establishment of freedom.  It is a violation of human rights if people are limited in their ability to investigate and discover the means for their freedom. It is our urgent responsibility, therefore, to wake up people to realize that understanding is the key for having freedom:

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32, ESV)

The West Is No Longer Fit to Enjoy Peace

The West is in serious trouble with many roadblocks to harmony and peace. Peace cannot happen and be enjoyed unless there is a sound ideological reason behind the desires of people who crave peace. Peace means that you and your community are free from adversaries whose aims are systemic destruction. Not only do we not see such freedom at present, but the West has further adapted itself to a chaotic culture, that of multiculturalism, which has become toxic to both freedom and peace. 

The voice of political correctness, the champion of multiculturalism, is louder and louder and present at every level of society, yet it is a poison to freedom and peace. Whether in schools, universities, government agencies and even in private organizations, people are afraid of naming this enemy for fear of losing their jobs or of other consequences. 

While all western societies are in daily fear of Islamic terrorism, when one makes a fair criticism of multiculturalism it is labelled terrorism in Western societies. The West is no longer effective in pushing back this dire enemy of its people. On the contrary, it has become expert in silencing the voices of those who stand for what is right and for the peace and comfort of their nation. This is because multiculturalism has created fertile ground for many Western leaders to devalue democratic principles at the cost of their nations’ security and peace. They have turned their back on the Judeo-Christian values – values that champion the right of people to question the claims of their political and spiritual leaders. Not only this, God has said that the people even have the right to take their case to the most powerful and mighty God and to defend their stance against leaders, because they were created with freedom of choice.

Moses, as a spiritual and political leader, said:

When a prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah, if the thing does not follow nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:22, MKJV)

The God of the Bible Himself says in the book of the prophet Isaiah:

Come now, and let us reason together, says Jehovah. (Isaiah 1:18a, MKJV)

Multiculturalism was initially introduced to the West as idealogically compatible with democracy but, in practice, it has been undermining democracy. It is very obvious that, in the West, accommodating multiculturalism, even its most hostile expressions, has meant that society has increasingly rejected the ‘Prince’ of freedom with His sanctioned autonomy for all persons. Such autonomy is now illegal in many offices in the multicultural West. People are frightened to speak freely. Only certain people who publicly endorse the validity of multiculturalism are free to speak out against the majority view. “My way or the highway” as the saying goes. Many so-called supporters of democracy now keep quiet out of fear since the creeping giant of multiculturalism is in control of so many aspects of people’s lives and has opened the door for a legal way to punish and silence people for their opinions.

Is it possible to have peace without autonomy and freedom? Absolutely not. Fighting freedom is fighting peace too. Lack of freedom is bondage, whereas peace is freedom from the torment of bondage. The words “freedom, security and peace” are still used by many politicians.  Yet, it is not because they are aiming to establish these qualities in society. Rather, they appeal to these notions as a temporary camouflage until people are made completely voiceless and made victims to these politicians’ guile and self-centeredness. 

The reason that the giant West has fallen short in its confrontation with terrorism is because its freedom is under siege from within. Its leaders have turned their back on their nations’ cultures, but given sovereign power to the culture of bondage in the form of multiculturalism and even to its terrorizing ideologies that see freedom as poison. 

No matter how thirsty a nation may become for peace, it will be impossible for it to achieve peace if its leaders are confused in the midst of many cultures and therefore unable to lead them through the maze of conflicting beliefs and values. The Bible teaches us a great lesson from a generation of Jews who were confused in the wilderness after departing from Egypt. They took a long and costly journey for freedom, peace and rest but were, for much of their journey, turning their back on the Prince of peace. That’s why God said to them:

…. they have not known my ways. As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.' (Hebrew 3:10-11, KJV)

While the Children of Israel loved their freedom from slavery, and the opportunity to become a sovereign nation and to find rest in peace from the hands of their slave-master, Egypt, they needed to learn obedience to the God of their Salvation.  Instead, they missed it because their hearts and minds were not freed from their slave-master’s culture. They were heading towards the promised land of freedom, Israel, but their hearts and minds were running in the opposite direction back to Egypt, craving for the security of its bread which had previously yoked them. (Exodus 16:3)

This is the same story with our double-minded politicians in the West and of those who support them. They won’t enter peace and rest because they are yoked to multiculturalism and have themselves become roadblocks to peace and rest. After decades of daily terrorist attacks across the world, they are not only hesitant to reveal and name the enemy of their nations. Rather, they punish those who do speak out. They have formed alliances with the children of their nations’ enemies in the name of maintaining courteous international relations, even when such compromises are dangerous to their own nations’ safety. They have tried to establish peace with the help of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran who, in practice, consistently demonstrate that they have contempt for peace,  even supplying more than 80% of the funds that the terrorists use to destroy western values and interests around the world.  Most leaders of Islamic countries are themselves abusing human rights, crushing freedom of speech and expression within their own countries. Just for criticizing his own religion, Islam, a young Saudi Arabian man was recently sentenced to 2,000 lashes and 10 years in prison. The cultures of these countries are warmly accepted in the West under the banner of multiculturalism. Leftists, radical feminists, and many others pushing for radical social reforms frequently speak out against Christianity whose founder is the Prince of kindness, peace and love. Yet they so often keep quiet or play at being conciliatory when it comes to Islam which has closed the door to peace in every aspect of life in Islamic lands and communities. In fact, Islamic leaders are singularly hostile to the ideas of those who want radical social reform – e.g. radical feminism, open homosexuality, etc . They warmly welcome Islam, the master of slavery across Islamic societies, but reject Jesus, the Master of peace.

We have an idiom that says, “You get in your spoon whatever you put in your soup.” This is the case with the West with its adoption of multiculturalism. As long as it continues to align itself with multiculturalism its spoon or cup will be full of restlessness. 

The West needs Jesus to free it from its enemies’ coercions. Multiculturalism, of itself, does not have any outstanding framework for peace in order to create a pathway to peace and rest. Instead, it has confused people with its multiple culturally-based models, including those that are opposed to peace. A true pathway to peace never accommodates a terrorist person or ideology. Almost every chapter of the Quran is colored by the blood of non-Muslims, infidels, simply because they do not join Islam. It says that jihad (war) against non-Muslims is ordained by Allah for every Muslim (Q. 2:216); that those who join jihad are better than those who stay back and do not pursue jihad (Q.4.95). Despite its hostile doctrine and the hostility of its committed adherents, Islamic culture is now firmly embedded within western multiculturalism and the West is still calling Islam a peace-loving religion. 

Almost all the leaders in Islamic countries, including the moderate ones, see western values and democracy as a threat to their despotic regimes. They hate multiculturalism in their own lands. Many of them spend huge amounts of money every year in one way or the other, to Islamize the West. Saudi Arabia is the forerunner in uprooting western civilization by funding and supporting Muslim ministries in the West and non-Islamic countries. Saudi Arabia does not allow a single Bible to be taken across its borders, but its embassies in Western countries are the centers of distribution for all kinds of Islamic books. 

There is not a shred of evidence in the history of Islam or in our contemporary time whereby we can call Islam a religion of peace. Islam promotes war and hostility. Islamic leaders across the nations of Islam are not all ignorant in their interpretation of the Quran when they criminalize freedom. They know what is sacred in Islam and have accordingly allowed its values to rule against freedom in their regimes. It is indeed Western leaders who willfully want to misinterpret Islam. However, accepting Islam or any other unfriendly and hostile ideology as peace-promoting obliges western governments to include the principles of those beliefs within their own approach to peace and social cohesion. This therefore signifies the kind of peace the West aims for: a kind of peace that appeases Islamists and the leaders of Islamic nations, despite the evidence that flows out of their own cruel regimes. Clearly, it is impossible for the West to have peace while embracing the contradictions of multiculturalism. The West is in desperate need of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in order to rest in true peace and become a light of peace to others across the globe.

Restless and Vocal until The Motherland is Liberated

Someone has been praying, crying, longing and taking necessary steps for nearly 30 years for his motherland not only to receive the light of freedom, but also to shine. He would love to boast of his motherland one day honoring freedom of rights, speech and belief. He himself was terribly persecuted in his motherland and was very close to losing his life, but fortunately found a way to save his life and escape. 

While tears poured from his eyes, he said that he had seen many lands more beautiful than his motherland in many parts of the world, but had missed her because of his family, friends and some good memories. He longs for the walls of separation and hostilities to be brought down in his motherland. Then people will experience in a practical way how beautiful a country can be if there is freedom in every area.

It is amazing that he calls his county of birth “motherland”, his mother’s land, even though it is an Islamic country ruled under the Islamic law. This phrase does not match Islam which gives less right to mothers than fathers. The father is the second ruler after the government in order to make sure that everything in his household is in line with Islam. He is called the owner of his wives (Quran 53:2), hence the mother is called the property of her husband. He can go everywhere he likes, but she is asked to sit at home quietly and not to go out (Quran 33:33). She brings children into the world, but does not have any right over her children if she is divorced. After the divorce she also does not have any right to visit her children who grew in her heart; children belong to their father. As an inheritance mothers receive only one eighth of their husbands’ wealth, including lands, in Islam. In such a restricting, harsh and masculine culture, it is amazing that a country is called the “Motherland”. 

This word, like some other influential words, has been a powerful tool for many exiled Iranians, in particular Christians, to voice their longings to their fellow men and women. They have been writing poems and songs; reciting, singing and broadcasting them via every media channel they can in order to express their restlessness for their motherland. The mindset in Iran had never been Christianized under the rule of moderate kings as much as it is now under the rule of the tyrannical Islamic Republic of Iran. Just express your concern about your motherland in a poem and read it on a radio or TV program or put it on a website. It will shake many. 

The word “motherland” is from the pre-Islamic era and it has remained in usage until now in Islamic countries. The ancient culture attributed the honor of ownership of the country to the most compassionate one in the family, the mother. Only a compassionate heart is able to cultivate and look after the land well.

In some other nations, countries are also called “Fatherland” because of the patriotic nature of their cultures. It encapsulates the way people can love their birth places and want to protect them from enemies. No matter what a birth place is called, it is a wonderful testimony of God that is left among various people groups whereby they can relate their birth places to the hearts of their parents in a loving way and care for their well-being. This will help them not to forget it as they do not normally forget their mothers and fathers. 

Maybe the love for motherland or fatherland and a heartfelt devotion for its well-being are gifts from the Creator of the universe. Maybe He wanted to endow people with compassionate, earnest and tireless longing so that they could seek the best for their nations to the extent that their deliverance could also become the means of deliverance for others. As we say, “To be blessed is for blessing others.” 

It is no wonder that the prophet Isaiah cries restlessly not only for the salvation of Jerusalem but also for her righteousness and salvation to shine like a burning lamp among others:

For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until its righteousness goes out as brightness, and her salvation as a burning lamp. (Isa. 62:1, MKJV)

These words reveal the height of Isaiah’s longing, prayer and mission for his land and nation to revive and further become the salt (righteousness) and light (burning lamp) for others. Not only did he want his nation to be liberated in spirit, but also to become a light of liberation for others.

Why would a person have a big picture in mind and a heart for his/her country and nation to become a bridge of blessing to other nations? Isn’t it enough to see that your own family, community or country has achieved success and is doing well? Why worry about the wellbeing of other nations?

Longing for true freedom, or having it, includes others too. True freedom can neither be limited by an individual’s nor a family’s nor even a nation’s motives; if it is limited, then it is not true freedom. When a heart becomes free, it changes and then spreads its light as a shining lamp to its surroundings. In a similar way, a city with freedom shines to other cities or a country to other countries. One reason that many people from various nations have been moving or desiring to move to the West is because of freedom in the West. True freedom is extraordinarily good and influential. It creates compassion or care in you and thereby enables you to see the miseries of others and to take initiatives for their liberty with the uttermost of your efforts, no matter who those others may be, friends or foes. It shines and changes people from all walks of life and makes them blessings to others too. So, any person touched by this freedom should not rest or become silent if his/her nation and others are experiencing any kind of darkness or misery. Any person should not rest or become silent until the splendor of his/her salvation reaches near and far. 

As it was in Isaiah’s time, faith in the true God is misunderstood by many. The values of Christ are unknown or misunderstood and thereby are not given a chance to shine in many places. Ignorance and misunderstanding will not go away unless the values of Christ are made clear to the extent that they become lights for people at home and abroad. This will not happen unless the followers of Christ become compassionate towards those who are drowning in ignorance and confusion and help them to see and receive the light. One great hindrance to the Gospel is that we, as the followers of Christ, have retreated and do not feel restless for the darkness around us. The darkness will be removed if it becomes the subject of our continual prayers and efforts. 

We are the vehicle of Jesus Christ’s sincere concern for our nation and others. He has called us to promote our position in Him and spread His light through our unceasing prayers, through our own individual mission and through encouraging others to take the light to coming generations until many take refuge in Him.

True Freedom Makes the World Panic!

All Islamic countries (especially the radical ones), all communist countries and all leftists in western countries become nervous when someone desires to live in real freedom. This real freedom can only be found through looking deeply into life and at differences among beliefs, in order to embrace the best. It is amazing and mind blowing that billions of dollars are spent, thousands of people’s blood is shed and many are made homeless each year around the world in order to block the way for people to have freedom.

It is like a deadly poison to the leaders of Islamic countries, even to the most moderate ones, if you go to their countries and take an opportunity to talk about your non-Islamic belief. If they are moderate and decide to be a bit nice to you, they just deport you. Otherwise, they can keep you in prison for years and accuse you of spying in order to make their inhumane initiatives look remotely legitimate to civilized nations. They can kill you with monstrous hatred too. Pastor Hike Hovsepian in Iran was mysteriously stabbed 26 times, whereas he could have been killed with just one stab. They then left his body in the street to show that Christians’ freedom is a serious threat to their dictatorship. Freedom makes them panic more than anything else.

When it comes to Muslims freely taking advantage of the freedom available to them in non-Islamic countries, they seize it 100%. Otherwise they will be offended and adopt the pose of being victims of discrimination. Not only do they want full freedom for themselves abroad, but a ‘criticism-free’ freedom too. They don’t care that criticism and even self-criticism are inherent components of western freedom. That is why we see that Islamists in non-Islamic countries have continually been trying to silence their critics in order to spread their dictatorial Islam. For example, Saudi Arabia distributes millions of Qurans in non-Islamic countries each year, but a non-Muslim is not allowed to take his personal Bible to that country. The rulers of Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries are terrified that a Bible may fall into the hands of a Muslim, teach him true freedom and reveal the unjust constraints of a dictatorial leadership style. They know that when freedom comes, dictatorship must go. That’s why the word “freedom” terrifies them.

The central motive of all Islamic terrorist groups in the world is that there are some people in the world who love freedom and may become a challenge to the spread of Islam’s tyrannical leadership in the future. According to the Quran, freedom lovers must be terrified since there is no option given to any man or woman to express their opinion concerning Allah’s and his prophet’s decisions in the Quran. (Sura (Chapter) 33:36; also read Sura (Chapter) 8)

It is interesting to note similarities under Communist regimes.  Communist theory regards the West’s cherished idea of the freedom for individuals to have a right to individual expression, ownership and wealth as anathema. Individual autonomy does not make sense in communist theory since the force of nature runs life randomly. A creative freedom, therefore, is nothing but a blocking enemy or a thesis that necessitates revolution through an anti-thesis. The real reason behind the establishment of the Berlin wall was to stop the flow of western freedom to the East which was in close proximity. Communism had to be protected from freedom. The destruction of freedom is the initiating step of Communism. The advanced Communist community must therefore be perpetually protected against freedom. That’s why everybody in a Communist country is under pressure to spy on others and to report if there is any hint of desire for freedom. If you know but do not report, then you are in trouble.

This is exactly what happens in most Islamic countries, in particular the radical ones like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

We also see hostility towards freedom and criticism in the midst of western societies by those who hate to be challenged. They get very nervous especially when you convey to them the words of Jesus Christ who says that it is the knowledge of the truth which sets people free. (John 8:32) They hate the knowledge of the truth since it threatens the underlying, but false, personal securities they have gained from investing in untruth. That’s why they hate freedom and even become vicious when someone speaks about it.

In most cases, the enemies of freedom have demonstrated that it was the threat to their own personal fortune, power or status that was the real cause of their panic and hatred towards freedom and freedom lovers, rather than their beliefs or ideologies.

During the thirteen year period when Muhammad, the prophet of Islam was not famous but a middle class Meccan money earner, he was peaceful. He even attended a church with his wife, just as some of our presidents and prime ministers do before elections. He referred to the Bible, in the hands of his contemporary Christians and Jews, as the light for people. The pinnacle point of his message at that time was “no compulsion in religion.

But that scenario changed after Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina, became a statesman and made a fortune. It was then that he forbade criticism (Quran 33:36) and outlawed the existence of any other religion and furthermore sanctioned that a pious Muslim had to be known to everyone as a terrorizing person (Quran 9:123). He even replaced some old verses of the Quran, which were barriers to his newly adopted anti-freedom ethics, and replaced them with new ones in order to legitimize his harsh attitudes and thereby safeguard his dictatorial fortune, power and status. So, practically, his beliefs became of secondary importance to him after gaining his fortune.
The history of Islam is full of this kind of shocking and capricious leadership style when leaders changed even the most sacred beliefs of Islam to protect their fortunes or their power. One example is the changing of the prayer direction from Jerusalem to Petra in Jordan by Muhammad, and then after his death the shift from Petra to the present Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is still the same among Muslim leaders. The Quran in verses 21 and 22 of its chapter 5 says that Israel belongs to Jews forever. In verse 104 of chapter 17 it also says that even scattered Jews will be brought to their promised land. But Muslim leaders do not care about their Quran’s sanction of the rights of Jews over Israel. This is because hostility towards Jews has created fortunes for them and will do the same for their children and grandchildren.

Mao Tse-tung, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro and their peers in Communist countries were and are the same. They too didn’t/haven’t cared much about the altruism in their Communism which was initially adopted for their nations to prosper. They all displayed very generous motives and intentions at the beginning declaring how they would invest their lives for their nations. That generosity came to an end when they became powerful.

Initially, people trusted their Communist saviours, joined them and opened the door for them to triumph. After, having experienced Communism, people have realized that it had not worked in the way they anticipated. Some decided to try something else, but were viciously killed despite still calling themselves Communists. History has never forgotten the many Communists, as well as others that were slaughtered by Stalin. If the ideology was a priority, they wouldn’t have wanted to kill their Communist peers for their criticisms. Rather, they would have acted as real Communists, gone to the corporate body of Communism, the working class or proletariat, taken a secret ballot and acted accordingly. They didn’t, because the ideology did not matter for them any more as much as their fortune and status did.

The ideology itself was also impractical to these infamous Communist dictators of history. Had they followed their ideology with integrity, their actions would have served the needs of the people rather than being ruthlessly self-serving. As a result, their regimes were based on egotism and were thus hostile to freedom. Their foreign policies were also centered on hostility to freedom, especially the western style of freedom that values time and life. If anyone from their lands took refuge in a western country, they would do everything to get rid of that person, fearing that s/he would reveal the weaknesses of the regimes in their homelands.

Opposition to freedom in western countries is also nothing more than a channel for safeguarding personal agendas and fortunes. That’s why some socialists have become millionaires in the West despite the inconsistency of that with the principles of socialism. They have learned how to make money and live by the motto:“Look like a socialist, live like a capitalist”. It is risky even if their own socialist peers criticize them. Some leftists have sacked their own leftist friends who challenged them ideologically. “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is a documentary that reveals how vicious some leftists can be even towards their own leftist peers who dare to challenge them. The very principle of socialism “the end justifies the means” is turned back on its own adherents. Interesting!

So the ideology (socialism, atheism, secularism or others) is not a big deal for these enemies of freedom. However, the fortune they have made is! They use the ideology just for mischievously caricaturing their critics or opponents in order to promote uncertainty in their opposition, and allegiance to themselves, so that they can penetrate and dominate. From there they dominate and their domination must continue with recklessness and without any challenge, hence silencing critics and opposition. In other words, the ideology was used to create a market of fortune for them, a fortune that even friends cannot challenge now.

Unfortunately, the West has become a place of fortune for everybody with every kind of belief. The most hostile belief has also made its nest in the West and now has the opportunity to destroy it. Multiculturalism in the West has opened the door for Socialists, Communists, Islamists and other minorities to reject their obligation to uphold freedom of rights (a core value of the West) in order to follow their own aggressive and unfair agendas. Now, more or less every practice of every group is valid, irrespective of how brutal or abusive it may be, since it is legitimate in that particular group’s culture or belief.

Multiculturalism has given sovereignty to almost every practice in the West. But this has been ridding the West of its own Judeo-Christian values which, in a great many cases, lie at the heart of western freedom. This outcome has produced great passivity among rank and file people so that opportunists can take over and be hostile to freedom lovers. This is what we get now. The arrows of the opponents of freedom are in the ‘western air’ even before we say a word in favor of freedom. Freedom lovers are called haters, fascists or Nazis by the children of multiculturalism and have been even attacked physically by them.

Why would an atheist or socialist or Islamist call a sincere Christian a ‘hater’ since hating is a sin in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  But hate is legitimate in the beliefs of contemporary secular ideologies? History has demonstrated that attributing bad names to others is a sign of invasion or destruction that is about to happen. Late in his life, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, called Christians and Jews animals and the worst of beasts in order to pave the way to destroy them. That’s what he did and butchered many like animals. Today, in any Islamic country (but especially in a radical one), if a Muslim is labeled ‘Americanized’, ‘westernized’, it means that his or her life is under a serious threat. This is, more or less, true in Communist countries too.

Multiculturalism has allowed all hostile cultures to penetrate and gain a strong foothold in the West. In Iran, Saudi Arabia or Malaysia you have only one enemy to your freedom – Islam. In communist countries the single enemy to your freedom is Communism. Thanks to multiculturalism, the enemies of freedom are from every corner of the world and have been brought to the West to root out freedom. Now the enemies of freedom are everywhere in the West preparing the way for multicultural hostilities. They are in our educational centers too. Even our youth in schools and universities are learning how to hate those who do not think or believe their way. Educational centers were originally built to be the places of higher understanding, tolerance, exchanging ideas, engagements and creative dialogues, but now are reduced to be the places of intolerance and hatred towards freedom of speech.

How do we handle these invasions and hostilities?

There are two ways for us to deal with the enemies of freedom; either we become worldly, as they are, compromise with their desires and receive their friendship, or, we stay honest to our faith in Christ and pay the price - since there is no benefit in having the world but losing eternal joy. Two thousand years ago, our Master saw our days and told us:

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, the servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My saying, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:18-21, MKJV) 

We cannot expect better things from the world since it does not know Jesus and does not have the joy of His freedom. Also, we cannot persuade people with truth if we are of the world and do not speak truthfully. Therefore, we need to rejoice in our freedom in Jesus Christ which is the power for our triumph over hatred and hostility.

Secondly, we need to stand on our heavenly identity and not invest our time and money for hatred or a worldly fortune, as worldly people do. We are fortunate that we are enabled to bear the hatred of the world, while not being like the world by  responding to hatred with hatred.

When Conscience is Suppressed

The last two decades have been an amazing journey for me in my encounter with people from diverse ideological, political, national and ethnic backgrounds. I have identified some key forces that form an obstacle to conscience having a voice in individuals. Lack of understanding or insight is the major obstacle to conscience’s voice, but other hindrances include fear, false pleasure, anger and hatred. Not many are able to realize that awareness is the key to freedom. Without awareness of truth, people violate their consciences and deprive themselves, their families and societies of the fruits of the truth, real peace and comfort. We will experience relief from anything that aims to keep us captive if we educate ourselves concerning what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and if we listen to the voices of our consciences.

Conscience, which the Bible describes as God’s law written in the hearts of all individuals (Romans: 2:14-15), is an amazing agent. It that stands up for truth in our inner beings, but only if it is given a chance. I sometimes hear people say that conscience can be dead in some people. But, conscience can only be silenced if it has no voice at all. Fortunately, it never becomes deaf and its voice never dies. It can surface at any moment when the blocking means disappear and the mind and heart start to function as they were intended. If the conscience was deaf and dead, the Gospel of Jesus Christ would never ask us to address our message of hope to the consciences of people:

But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2, KJV)

Our continual contact with people in declaring God’s truth is warranted because their consciences are alive and able to hear. Thereby, we hope that one day they will listen to us freely, become courageous enough to remove the limitations on their hearts and minds, allowing their consciences to gain freedom and be vocal for the truth. It is the strong voice of a conscience that breaks through the darkness of ignorance and paves the way for a soul to enthrone the truth in that person’s heart.

The whole concept of the absolute truth would be irrelevant and foolishness to a mind or heart apart from a conscience. But the truth will reveal its full beauty to every soul the moment the conscience is involved in listening, evaluating and decision-making. God has  built conscience into humanity as a witness for Himself so that every person can carry a measuring tool in him/herself  to distinguish truth from falsehood (Romans 2:14-16). A person will not be able to understand the truth and have a proper definition of it without a conscience. Therefore, a willful decision to disassociate conscience is a degradation of one’s mind and heart.

This is what we are face-to-face with in our contemporary societies in the West. Many are representing themselves as beings without a conscience; like a machine which knows no moral imperative and no boundary between truth and falsehood. For them, truth and falsehood are not fixed; everything is regarded as valid. The notion of truth these days is taken to be a part of a fluid, evolutionary and politically correct culture, reinventing itself continually and marching ahead without an absolute identity, anchor point or direction. This changeable and unpredictable post-modern ‘truth’ is not able to define things as they are. Instead, it is a part of a relative culture that promotes fantasy in order to get people involved in establishing and celebrating falsehood. It has become a bridge for opportunists to penetrate and spread ignorance in order to have their way.

Not many are aware that it is this capricious version of truth which has enabled many people to be lazy and unproductive and to establish their own parties with a leadership philosophy that relies on the income of others to finance their laziness. This is what is happening in most western countries where taxes have been progressively soaring higher in order to prop up unproductive leaders and people. The USA, once a productive and good role model in the West, has now become a bad role model where businesses are closing down and leaving, but to which consumers are migrating. The entire non-western world now desires to migrate to the West and benefit from unemployment benefits and other social security allowances without acknowledging that this will inevitably turn into social insecurity by the flood of immigrants. The West, which once prospered via true leadership and a strong positive work ethic will soon suffer the consequences of its relative truth, its situational ethics and its pragmatic relativist leadership.

Real truth cannot be fully workable in a nation unless that nation is deeply connected to God as the absolute source of truth. Godlessness hasn’t been a good choice for the West. Turning one’s back on God is, in the final analysis, turning one’s back on oneself. Many in the West have turned their backs on themselves, suppressed their own consciences and confused themselves with false ideas about almost everything. Godlessness has clouded the minds and hearts of people to such an extent that they do not believe that things surrounding them can be known deeply. Therefore, everything is presented with an underpinning ideological delusion, a postmodernist philosophy which embraces everything that rids people of their capability and capacity to discover the key factors of success for their lives. ‘Success’, in this context, does not make sense when the nation is confused. The West will therefore, in the longer term, ultimately lose the ‘success’ it has created through the years if it does not rescue itself from this contemporary post-modern confusion.

Jesus Christ is the solution for the confused West. The failure of the West must break the heart of every follower of Jesus Christ since great prices were paid for the establishment of truth and freedom in the past. There is a great responsibility on our shoulders as the followers of Jesus Christ to reveal the forgotten truth and rescue the West from the captivity of confusion and ambiguity. The truth can give freedom only to those who are given reasons to free their consciences, their hearts and minds in order to be able to compare, understand and make healthy decisions. How are they able to learn this if Christians are busy with shallow things and not ready to touch minds, hearts and consciences? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is right when it says:

How shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14c, KJV)

We need to discover every possible and ethical channel for proclaiming the solutions of Christ to our perplexed societies. It is not helpful to speak about problems without  having clear solutions and without  laying the foundation for people to hear and understand constructive remedies for their problems.

Liberty Ensures No Dictators

The words “liberty” or “freedom” are two much abused words today. Even our contemporary dictators call themselves freedom defenders in order to deceive international communities and pacify their own people. Part of their deception is to have their own people turn a blind eye to all failures, twist the truth and talk positively about their leaders. Their masked mobs will always be on alert to invade those who dare speak the truth.

For the past 30 years the Islamic Republic of Iran has been saying that the Sharia (law) of Islam has resulted in true freedom in Iran and that Iranians had never tasted true freedom in the entire history of Iran compared to what the 1979 Revolution has brought about. However, that so-called freedom-loving government has tortured, slaughtered and forced to flee hundreds of thousands of its own citizens who cried for freedom in the span of the last three decades. Oppositions were called ignorant, blinded by the external enemies (such as America or Israel), and incapable of seeing the freedom sourced by the Islamic Sharia. Leaders in Iran have been continually calling themselves freedom lovers but forcing people to surrender to their own way of life that is not compatible with freedom. To them, and for Islam, people are not capable enough to think and decide for their own best interests, thus unable of acting freely. The Quran forbids freedom:

…Accept anything the messenger may give you, and keep away from anything he withholds from you… (Q.59:7)

It is not for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and his apostle to have any option about their decision: If any one disobeys Allah and his apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path. (Q.33:36)

When power qualifies a person or a group to possess every right, it is then obvious that others will only be assigned to carry out duties blindly and avoid asking question. For this reason, the word “why” and the concept of a questioning dialogue are both missing in the Islamic vocabulary. A Muslim leader is free to question everything or anybody he likes, but no one is able to question him. Diversity of thought is a sign of invasion for him and must be fought from the outset. While everybody is expected to be subject to him, he is not accountable to his followers. Here is how the Sharia of Islam affects Islamic families and societies: At the family level, power is centralized in the father or husband; at the state level, in the governor; at the country and international level, in the government (caliphate) in order to dictate their unchangeable orders over their communities. People have to shape themselves wholly in a religious system as slaves in order to accept everything that comes from the mouth of a leader. This is the definition of “freedom” in Islam, giving birth to dictatorship and freeing a dictator to take his people as hostages.

The exercise of superiority over others by a person or a group of people is an ungodly and inhumane method according to the leadership philosophy of Jesus Christ which is founded on justice, servant-hood, meekness, modesty, and unconditional love. For this reason, Jesus says:

You know that the rulers of the nations exercise dominion over them, and they who are great exercise authority over them. However, it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be chief among you, let him be your servant. (Matthew 20:25-27MKJV)

Nothing creates more disruption among people than the desire for power by an individual(s) whose aim is dominance, whereby threatening democracy. A great leader does not thirst for power but shows earnest desire for exercising humility toward others, be they friend or opposition. Such a leader believes that nothing in him can make him greater than those whose presence and consent made him a leader. Since leadership is inherent in life and relationships, Jesus warns His followers and asks them to appoint leaders whose aim is not accumulating power to dominate over others but being in the service of others:

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Matthew 23:11 MKJV)

In a similar way, a husband or father is not a lord and tyrant over his household according to Jesus, but a wise and friendly servant whose job is to be in the service of his family:

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? (Matthew 24:45 MKJV)

No belief or ideology in the world has been able to offer a more caring and friendly leadership than what Jesus has left for humanity. In Jesus’ leadership, relationships are based on unconditional love so that every wall of separation is destroyed, the rights of everyone are preserved, and people can therefore function as members of one body in their communities.

It was the effect of Jesus Christ’s values that helped the western communities to prosper in every aspect of life, including leadership. It is sad that many people in the contemporary West have forgotten their past and turned their backs on Christ and are, intentionally or unintentionally, pushing their societies toward dictatorship. Some democratically elected governments are trying to accumulate more power under the influence of socialism, secular humanism, or environmentalism in order to push the values of Christ back and give weight to man’s power all in the name of defense for liberty.

Liberty is a God-given identity for individuals whereby they can come together in order to build free societies, establish governments to be in their service, and pave the way for them to protect their God-given autonomy. A government with a centralized power and without the active participation of its people will not be able to tolerate the people’s autonomy and liberty. The God-given liberty and autonomy are fragile because of their humble nature and therefore unable to go along with dictatorship or governments with centralized power. As a result, they must be safeguarded. The endeavors of great western men and women over the centuries have proven the truthfulness and necessity of such protection. It is therefore essential for us to wake up our societies to acknowledge that true liberty can flourish in every aspect of life if Jesus is accepted as the true spiritual leader and giver of life, and that vigilance and virtue are needed to preserve our liberty.

The Reason for Christmas

The Gospel states that the very reason for the birth and revelation of Christ is that He appeared to destroy the devil’s work (1John 3:8b), establish justice in the hearts of people (Matt.12:20-21) and enlighten the world with peace (Col.1:20). The revelation of Christ was not to breach the free choice of people, as many beliefs in the world do in various ways, but to free them from breaching each other’s rights, release them from a sense of superiority or inferiority and comfort them with joy, equality and peace:

And the angel said to them [shepherds], Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:10-14).

Many Christians, therefore, celebrate Christmas for Jesus Christ’s coming to release humanity from sin, hatred, hostility and establish peace and unity among them. In His entire mission on earth, Jesus did not teach hatred or war, but instead asked His followers to love and bless even their enemies, because nothing can change the heart of an enemy except for God’s Love. Who, other than Jesus, could change the heart of a fundamental Muslim like me, whose overriding focus was to spread the intolerance and hostility of Islam? For this reason, Jesus is called the ‘Prince of Peace’ and ‘worthy of praise’ in the Bible. And for this reason, an astonishing enthusiasm and reception is growing among Muslims and other non-Christians for the Gospel message of Christmas, even in the midst of relatives and friends who have sought to take the Name of Christ out of the Christmas season in the West. How wonderful and amazing is the love of Jesus, who approaches even His enemies with absolute and unconditional love!

Opponents of Christ, who have been doing their utmost to oppose His Birthday celebration, have not always succeeded in their attempts. They have not only been torturing our hearts but their own hearts also, as many of their own children and followers  discovered the true message of Christ’s birth - nothing but peace and joy, and withdrew from their false accusations and joined Jesus. There are many Iranian Muslims in Iran who love to celebrate Christmas and even have Christmas trees in their homes, a practice that entered the culture from the time of the ousted Shah of Iran who was very open to western cultural traditions. People have been forbidden to celebrate Christmas since the Islamic Republic of Iran considers it a crime. Despite this hostility, thousands of Iranians have been giving their hearts to Christ each year and celebrating His presence. We have heard many of them say, “Every day is a Christmas day for us. Some of us have become homeless for the sake of Christ and do not have a home for a Christmas tree and to celebrate Jesus’ birth openly. But every tree we see daily speaks of the glory of Christ and is a Christmas tree for us. Our Christmas gift to our children is the Cross we carry in our hearts for Christ and for our fellow citizens.”

What a powerful testimony of Christmas from the land of cruel beliefs and leaders! This will touch the heart of Christ and the hearts of His heavenly hosts so deeply. This loving sacrifice and enduring testimony will bring the tower of cruelty down in their lands. It is just a matter of time. They will see it because they are patient and have given all judgment to the Son of God. Their proclamation is the proclamation of the Bible that says:

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this (Isaiah 9: 6-7).

In the worst of times, their Master Jesus has comforted them. He is with them to bear their burden when they undergo persecution (2 Corinthians 4:9), and become the source of their joy when they grieve (2 Corinthians 6:10), because the Son of God was born to give them courage in this intolerant and cruel world (John 16:33) and lead them into perfection. Therefore, these children of Peace are called to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44), as Love is the only motivating source for true and lasting peace. The birth of Christ was to establish this everlasting love on earth.

Everything They Label Us With, They Are Doing

Contemporary secular humanists and leftists are stronger than ever before, pressing on with their historically failed secular-socialist agendas, favoring relativism, multiculturalism and arbitrary life over the culture of Christ, who teaches the search for the absolute truth that creates an everlasting unity among people. They claim themselves to be patriotic and real lovers of their countries, yet no patriotism fits in with their relativist and arbitrary philosophy that knows no boundary between what is inherently good and bad. They lack solid ethics to defend freedom against repression, openness against particularism, tolerance against intolerance and equality against racism, but when it comes to their attitudes towards Christians and freedom fighters, who observe the ethics of Christ, they label them as simple-minded, intolerant, racist, fascist or as equal to Nazism. Yet the very things they label us with, they are guilty of doing. Using every available avenue in the media, or their work places, they point their fingers at their targeted people, demonizing them; a principle that has been in the service of terrorist ideologies and tyrannical regimes throughout the history of humanity and since the beginning of the last century with the rise of communism.

Russian Communists invaded their surrounding countries, changing their languages and the names of their residents in favor of Russian names, yet they labeled Christians the enemies of working class. In a similar way, Muhammad and his followers invaded surrounding communities and countries, and changed their national identities so that everybody had to speak and live in a Saudi Arabian way, yet called their opponents cruel and the enemies of humanity. The Quran legalized slavery — Muhammad himself had a black slave and Muhammad’s sincere followers have been having heartbreaking role models in enslaving Africans (and also over a million white Europeans) throughout the history of Islam. Yet when it comes to Christianity, Islamists call it “the religion of the slave trading white people”. First Christianity is not from the West, but from the Middle-East, and second, when slave trading whites exploited people they were going against the teaching of the Bible.

It is ironic that the freedom of those who oppose the secular-socialists’ and Islamists’ ideologies is increasingly limited, while the latter continue to raise their voices as the marginalized victims. Our universities have now become the hot-bed of socialism and other isms. Almost every sign of Christianity has disappeared in them, and still the dominant secular-socialists and their allies (i.e. Islamists) are victims!? This victim mentality is a show in making more followers, pushing upholders of truth and free speech back, pressuring them to give up.

What do we need to do in the face of this subtle deceit that has been costing our nations spiritually and socially? As Christians, what should our response be when these ideological guerillas have disgracefully targeted every aspect of our lives and want to silence us? How do we need to act in such a time when their deceits have penetrated the minds of even our top politicians and leaders who have passed laws to limit our freedom and demean our heavenly identity?

Christ is the response in every way in approaching this significant problem. Philosophically and doctrinally, He is the eternal God and the source of all truth so that through His counsel we can distinguish the difference between what is false and true. Morally and socially, He is the light of the world, exposes deceits, false beliefs and lawlessness, freeing people so that they can use His light for the freedom of others. Therefore, we should not keep silent since He has a response for every problem.

"If you keep quiet at a time like this … you and your relatives will die. What's more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14).

Silence Will Overturn Our Freedom

Some ideologies, beliefs and individuals believe that freedom is evil and the root of every evil. They sanction its destruction in any possible way they can. Communist and some Islamic leaders fight against freedom in their countries via their established laws and even shed the blood of their fellow citizens who cry out for freedom. Islamists and leftists in the western countries fight freedom by putting pressure on governments to issue laws for limiting our freedom and enslaving us to silence.
Silence in the western countries has helped the enemies of freedom and Christianity to make enormous head way, especially in universities and government offices. The terrorist president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had a couple of speaking opportunities in American universities while he was visiting UN, and received applause from the audience despite his very obvious initiative in shedding the blood of many in Iran, the Middle-East and the some western countries. Yet these same universities are not open to those who aim to reveal the philosophies of those such as Ahmadinejad.

Many university leaders and professors have declared that the faith in Christ is irrelevant to contemporary life and has nothing to do with science and reason. Not only have they limited Christian activities in the universities, they have also sued some zealous Christians in the pursuit of their agendas, aiming to put an end to Christian activities in public places.

The majority of westerners identify themselves as Christian. Even though the minority leftist and Islamist beliefs are hostile toward us, we, as the majority, do not limit them in teaching their beliefs. In contrast they, as the minority, are not only trying to limit the scope of our influence but are also working to silence us and suppress any resistance to their agendas.

Time and again, these enemies of freedom start their approach by defending democracy and tolerance but do not share the spirit of democracy and openness with us. They, convincingly, present themselves as peaceful and freedom fighters on the one hand, while trying subtly to enslave people to their authoritarianism on the other. You expect them to value Christians’ tolerance and respect, but they don’t. The respect they expect is never returned. This is because they do not believe in mutual respect. 64% of the Quran, 81% of Muhammad’s biography and 32% of the Hadith (Muhammad’s instructions) are devoted to criticism, discrimination, hatred, fighting and killing of non-Muslims. The Quran states that if any one criticizes Islam, his head must be chopped off (Q.33:36; 8:12).

Leftists also have the same philosophy; they attribute blame to Christians and try to impose their beliefs on everyone or organization they can, but they consider no such rights for Christians. Their one-way tolerance philosophy works to increase their rights and success but decrease the rights of Christians and silence them.

Sadly, many politicians and governments in the West have been serving the causes of opportunistic leftists and Muslims in order to limit Christian influence. Under the shadow of this one way tolerance, leftist and Islamic philosophies are given more weight than the philosophy of Christ who gave His life for both friends and foes in order to bring the wall of hostility down among them and unite them in love and respect.

The sad thing is that many of us live as if there is no such war against our faith and freedom! How many of us are aware of this, want to break the silence and respond with the love, justice and courage of Christ? Are we ready to leave a good legacy for our children and future generations so that they can feel proud of us, make our mission their own and stand for freedom? Until a radical change happens in our mindset, we will not be able to speak out and protect our freedom. Such a transformation happens only in a radical encounter with Jesus Christ who did not keep quiet against the injustices of the enemy of humanity, but fought and gave His life for our freedom.

Let us stop compromising the Truth and speak out for the worthy cause of freedom.

Serious Problems Facing Our Nations

Authoritarian beliefs and agents are sinking their roots deeper in non-Islamic countries day after day. They are also dominating Muslim nations one by one. Yet people tend to keep quiet against these destructive powers, even if they are concerned and fear that their security is vanishing.  Subservience towards political leaders and an unquestioning faith in multiculturalism have made silence a common response among so many.

Western leaders and the media, in particular in America, supported the so-called 'Arab Spring' revolutionaries who were working for the establishment of freedom. But now we see that the vast majority of those Egyptian so-called 'freedom fighters' have revealed themselves to be defenders of Al-Qaida and the Shari’a of Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists have now won seventy two percent of seats in Egypt’s lower house, and are marching ever onwards to achieve the full dominance and destruction of any non-Islamic presence in Egypt.  One should also be aware that the Muslim Brotherhood has established a strong presence in America and across Europe, and is achieving success in imposing some Islamic beliefs on the non-Islamic majority.

In a similar way, western countries spent billions of western tax payers’ dollars in Libya and handed over the country to Islamists and pro-Al-Qaida fighters.

There we are! Our politicians are expected to do their best to protect their nation’s interests in Islamic countries, but through their support,  the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ has turned out to be a great loss for their own nations as well as the Muslim nations. They put pressure on Muslim presidents and prime ministers, who were fighting Islamic terrorism, to step down for the sake of democracy, which is indeed a cause worth fighting for. Yet these leaders have gone now and their countries have fallen into the hands of Islamists who support terrorism. The presence of five committed Muslims in the White House might have been a great factor in paving the way for the collapse of Hosni Mubarak, who opposed Islamic terrorism and posed no threat to western interests. The media who promoted these changes are now ignoring their own failure.  Instead they call this a great foreign policy success, though all the success seems to belong solely to the Islamists.

Isn’t this shocking! The collapse of the western allies and the rise of tyrannical Muslims to power is now trumpeted as successful foreign policy. Several months ago, the western media and politicians said that the Muslim Brotherhood was a small and insignificant group in Egypt and could not win a majority of votes. Now, the Islamists have won a majority, and the media is twisting the facts to present their abject failure as a success!

It was crystal clear to us, who lived in the Middle-East and knew the Islamists’ ethics, that the collapse of nationalistic dictators in the Middle-East would result in the rise of Islamists. We were also aware that if a country spoke or acted in favor of Islamists’ rule it would expose the interest of their own nation to the threats of intolerant Islamists. For this reason, we wrote and raised our voices against such initiatives and prayed for our politicians to suspend their support of the Islamists.
Sadly, our political leaders took advantage of wide-spread passivity and silence and went their own way. Now, radical Muslims in Egypt, Libya and others on the way are planning to send their representatives to the United Nation (UN) and replace their ambassadors.

Even though Muslim terrorists have hidden themselves so far, they have cost western security services trillions of dollars each year. But soon they will have representatives at the UN and ambassadors in each country. Imagine when supporters of terrorism are in charge in the UN, partnering with our politicians and taking part in global decision-making. The UN will be used (and is being used) as a launching pad for attacks against freedom lovers and Israel.

The problem is not just the access of Islamists to higher positions nationally or internationally, but their global threats to Jews, Christians and all others who do not align themselves with Islamic law. Their strength equates to strong persecution of non-Muslims.

A great persecution is awaiting the world, in particular western countries. If we do not wake up and speak out, making sacrifices for freedom, and do not become the light and salt of Christ for every aspect of peoples’ lives, including politics, a bitter persecution will overtake our nations and the generations to come.

Let us pray to the beautiful Christ to open our eyes to the depths of His love and care, so that we can love and care for our nations and the world and defend the rights of nations against the agents of terrorism and authoritarian rule.

I close with the words of Jesus:

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37, 38 (CEV)