COMMON GROUND?

By TODD BRAINARD, Pastor

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH

6331 CHESTNUT STREET

MILTON, FLORIDA 32570

E-MAIL: www.theprojector.org

At the Yale Divinity School's Center for Faith and Culture website is the written response of four Yale Divinity professors and deans to the unprecedented letter written to "leaders of Christian churches, everywhere" by 138 Muslim scholars and clerics.

There are over 300 signatures to the "Christian" response written by the Yale Divinity leaders. As you read the response, one is struck by the complete capitulation of the writers to the Islamic scholars and clerics.

Here are a few quotations: "A Common Word Between Us and You identifies some core common ground between Christianity and Islam which lies at the heart of our respective faiths as well as at the heart of the more ancient Abrahamic Faith, Judaism . . ."

What is extraordinary about "A Common Word Between Us and You" is not that its signatories recognize the critical character of the present moment in relations between Muslims and Christians. It is rather a deep insight and courage with which they have identified the common ground between the Muslim and Christian religious communities

Truth Mixed With Error

Creates A Lie

What is common between us lies not in something marginal nor in something merely important to each. It lies, rather, in something absolutely central to both: love of God and love of neighbor. That so much common ground exists – common ground in some of the fundamentals of the faith give hope that undeniable differences and even the very real external pressures that bear down upon us cannot overshadow the common ground upon which we stand together."

"Common ground" is mentioned six times in the response document to the Muslim clerics. What "common ground" did they find? They found, "that this common ground consists in love of God and of neighbor . . ."

We learn from the long list of signatories that their concept of "God" is different from that of the Scriptures (Isaiah 44:1-8: 45:6, 18, 22: 46:1-8).

The ecumenist assumes that the God of the Bible and the god of the Muslim are one and the same. President Bush has gone on re- cord as supporting this erroneous belief.

The "future interfaith dialogue" alluded to in the response document is based entirely upon a false premise. As with all false religion, truth is mixed with error to create a lie for the purpose of treacherous and deceitful designs upon unsuspecting souls.

It is true that the Bible says that we are to love God and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (I John 4:19-19-20). Yet to confuse the God of the Bible and the god of Islam as being one and the same is to commit heresy in the name of ecumenism.

However, this is the heart of the apostasy of the end times, the exchange of the truth for a lie (II Thessalonians 2:10-12).

We are seeing before our eyes the very first olive branch offer from the Islamic faith to the "infidels." Many Bible students have queried as to how and when the Islamic faith would come on board with the other religions of the world. Now we learn that they are open to "dialogue."

Whether their offer is legitimate is questionable, but time will tell. It is clear that the stage is being set for a one world religion and a one world government, supported by the beast out of the earth, the "false prophet" of Revelation 14:11-18.

Here is a list of some of the better known false teachers of New-Evangelicalism who have signed the response document: Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evan- gelicals; Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church; Duane Litfin, President of Wheaton College; Robert Schuller, Pastor-Emeritus of Crystal Cathedral; Timothy George, Dean, Beeson Divinity School at Samford Univer- sity; Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Community Church.

As we see the final days of the Dispensation of Grace near- ing its conclusion, we cry out with John to whom was revealed the end of the ages, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). V