Muslims Don’t Get Into Heaven

When I say Muslim's don’t go to Heaven, here is what I do not mean:

1. I do not mean that Muslims are ALL Jihadist 

2. I do not mean that Muslims are bad people

3. I do not mean that Muslims deserve to die.  

I do not make that statement to be flippant or to demonize Muslims. Muslims are not worse people than Christians. They do not deserve to die more than the rest of sinful humanity. I honestly believe that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I believe that I personally deserve to die every day, because I do not love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and I do not love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39). I believe that salvation comes through Jesus (who is God) dying on the cross for our sins, in our place, and then being resurrected. That is the gospel. 

Jesus said in Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Christians are called to love the Muslim, serve the Muslim, and if need be, die for the Muslim. If we don't have enough food to feed them and ourselves, we need to be the ones that go hungry. This is the type of radical love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross for those in the world that did not yet know or love Him. The only thing that makes Christians different than Muslims is the blood-stained cross of Christ. 

I can't even begin to imagine how disgusted God is when He hears some of the things that Christians say about Muslims. The lack of compassion, the lack of love, and the lack of grace we show that people group is appalling. Have you not read Ezekiel 18:23 “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” We ruin our testimony when we support politicians who have said openly that they have no regard for innocent Muslim life in their military campaign against ISIS. 

So when I say that Muslims don’t go to Heaven, here is what I mean: 

1. Muslims need Jesus. 

2. Military Operations should attempt to minimize civilian casualties. 

I believe that because these people don’t go to heaven when they die, we should be very careful when dropping bombs. Drones have proved to be extremely ineffective at killing ISIS military targets, with an estimated 90% of those killed by drones being innocent civilians. At this rate America is creating enemies faster than she can kill them, and most, if not all of those killed go to Hell. 

At the end of the day I do not control US domestic or foreign policy. I do not command armies of soldiers or weapons of war. For you reading this I would bet money that you don’t have that control either. What I can do is control my feelings towards Muslims. I can choose to remind myself of the gospel, and remind myself that Jesus loves these people. I can choose to love and serve these people. I have to ask, what would it look like if Christians would open up their homes to refugees fleeing ISIS in Syria? What would it look like if when our republican politicians said they plan on indiscriminately bombing Muslims with no regard to civilian causalities we tell them they will not receive our votes ever again? 

With all that said, here are some things you can do: 

1. Repent of any Anti-Muslim feelings you have in your heart.  

2. Prayerfully consider ways to serve and witness to the Muslims that cross your path. 

3. If our next President attempts to round up Muslims, engage in civil disobedience to subvert the Government’s actions. 

Response to comments from my previous post

I want to address 2 comments that I received after my previous post:

“This is inaccurate. They developed from the Syrian civil war and have been taking over parts of Iraq to create their own Caliphate. This is what happens if you have the tribes separate. One would try to dominate and take over the others by killing. The truth is not ignorance.”

ISIS stands for the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” The founder and leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was born in Iraq outside the town of Samarra. He was imprisoned in the US detention facility Camp Bucca. After his detention, al-Baghdadi joined the group al-Qaeda in Iraq that also went by the name the “Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).” ISI was founded in 2006.

ISI carried at different terrorist acts against US troops as well as the newly formed Iraqi government. In 2013, after the Syrian Civil War began, al-Qaeda in Iraq merged with the Syrian terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra. ISI changed its name to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It is worth noting that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was radicalized during his detention in Camp Bucca. He went in as a moderate who avoided violence and came out an extremist.

“When I read your post I was really shocked that you would say those things. You sounded arrogant and like you hated America. You didn’t sound like the Jeff Diego I know.”

Firstly, I want to say thank you for reading my previous post. Secondly, I want to say thank you for your courage to come talk to me in person in the spirit of Matthew 18; I really respect that. Thirdly, I want to say that I can love Jesus and love America, and at the same time denounce the evils that America has committed.

I wanted to remind my fellow Americans that in the past we have gone to war after being lied to by our elected officials. This is huge because that war resulted in a destabilized climate in the Middle East where extremism would eventually flourish. We lost the moral high ground when we tortured people. That war has caused over 100,000 civilian casualties and led to the rise of the most brutal and barbaric group of people in modern times. I was motivated to write those things because I believe that if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. Christians need to learn from those mistakes and be vocal when we hear politicians echoing the same policies implemented by the Bush Administration.