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Islam vs. Christianity(From Page 1) dynamics of God’s will and purpose. Many politicians, by themselves, do not see nor often comprehend the historical significance of this inner dimension which is often attributed to the realm of religious leadership. But, who among the religious leaders of our time is capable of undertaking this great challenge? The Pope? Dr. Billy Graham? The DaLai Lama? Or, one of the great Grand Muftis of Islam? In all honesty, we may agree that there is an overwhelming degree of parochialism and sectarianism emerging from the field of religion. The conclusion is; there must emerge a new religious leader in our world, sent by God; one who has a heart big enough to embrace all the parties involved: Jews, Christians and Muslims. A new era must begin in God’s providence which transcends the narrow dogmatism of Old and New Testaments limited models of thinking. What does this mean? Consider when Jesus came 2,000 years ago, he was confronted and blocked by the accumulated legalism of traditional Judaism. His conclusion was: “New wine must be placed into new wineskins,” meaning: the new words and methodology which he brought, must be received by the people through the renewing of their hearts and minds. He wanted them to see things in a new light, with a new spirit. Today, at the close of the twentieth century and the commencement of the new millennium, this quality is an essential status di mensis for peacemaking.
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The prophets of old spoke of peace, Isaiah had much to reveal. Jesus blessed those who would come forth to work for peace: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." (Mt.5:9). He left the promise of hope for peace, and the early disciples spoke in like spirit, exhorting us to pursue peace (1Pet.3:11; Heb.12:14; Rom.14:19).
The angels at Jesus’ birth were excited that peace would come to the whole earth seeing that the Messiah had arrived. But, in retrospect, it appeared that peace was not an easy catch, and had to wait for the time of the end, the Second Coming. Many would agree that we are living in such a time. Though the emergence of the Lord (Messiah) at the Second Coming may be a debatable and controversial topic for many, Jesus foreseeing this, said: “You shall know him by his fruits.” (Mt.17:16-17). Our central concern here, however, is not so much to debate the identity of the Messiah of the Second Coming, but to recognize who is centrally pioneering the way of true peace, that which goes to the heart of God and bring reconciliation to the people of the good Book. This person must be one who understands God’s methodology for peacemaking and is willing to selflessly invest his resources, time and manpower to pursue an absolutely God-centered path of repentance, forgiveness, and restoration for all. One who knows the mind of God and the right-timing of His providence. Is there such a person of God for our time? We will examine the above mentioned attributes and characteristics as they are reflected in the life and works of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, in their efforts to advance true peace in the Holy Land. (Continued in Next Issue)
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