FEBRUARY 15, 2009: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ISLAMICA MAGAZINE:  - DISCOURSE ON THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT REGARDING THE CHRISTIAN AND ISLAM FAITHS [REVISED], BY IVAN ERICKSON, AUTHOR OF THE NOVEL, “SONG OF THE STORM WINDS”

TO: SOHAIL NAKHOODA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Greetings to you in the Name of our Beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION:

Please know that my objective on which this discourse is based is similar to that which was professed by the illustrious thirty-eight Muslim signers of The Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI – that being, a deeper love, dialogue, understanding and relationship between the beloved people of the Christian and Islam faiths, and between all people of all faiths of the world. However, my premise is that in order to achieve this precious goal, we must together first seek the Truth and the Light of the One True God who Lives, in order that we may gain the prudence to meet on a common ground for a final cause; that we may be inspired to realize in the marrow of our beings that this objective can only be made possible in the providence of the Spirit of Wisdom of our Lord. Thus, our common enemies, Satan and Its demons and the antichrist, from whom stem the root and the rhizome of the cause for propagating the hatred and conflict that is dividing and conquering all of mankind – including the beloved people of our respective faiths – must first be expunged and deracinated from our midst, in order to make possible a relationship based on mutual love and respect.

It is due to the obduracy of our human nature to accept the Truth that some seemingly strong and offensive dialogue and language may have to continue to take place between our respective faiths; but let us not allow matters such as this deter us from achieving our noble objectives. For we must bear in mind that myriads of those Truths that are written and spoken between the people of our respective faiths may of course sound offensive and untrue to the listener and reader when first they hear or read these Truths; but upon receiving the Truth of these matters into their hearts in the manner and the efficient cause by which they are proffered, the end result obtained by the infusion of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom in those that previously had not possessed the Truth and the Light may forever be cherished.

Thus, when I write of matters such as ‘slaves of Satan’, please know that I do not call people of any faith or race ‘Satan; that I have termed them ‘slaves of Satan’ for the salvation and the well being of those poor souls; that they might realize that they are under the Conditioning, Compulsion and Control of Satan; that they might realize that they must repent and change and seek and find the One True God Who Lives through His Truth and Light; and that they might put their faith, hope, love and trust in God’s Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in order that all those of whom the Lord loves may be saved in the Blood of the Lamb.

Therefore, in continuing in my toil to achieve this end, I am sending this Open Letter to you, Sohail Nakhooda, with the request that you and as many of the thirty-eight signersof the afore stated Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict may reply to me directly – as well as via an Open Letter online – and that your comments will be directed specifically to the six premises that I have established herein. For I sincerely believe in the heart of my soul that if the open minded, sincere Muslim will but open his heart to the irrefutable Truth of the Word of God included in those themes of which are incorporated in my six premises, he will be unable to stem the outpouring of Light sent forth by the Spirit of the One True God Who Lives; and thus will become motivated and inspired to seek and find a deeper understanding of this Truth and Light individually and collectively.

As stated, I love all people of all faiths, religions, races and ethnicities of whom God loves, and it is for this reason that I toil in love to bring this Truth and Light to as many of those who will but see with their eyes and hear with their ears! For Truth, like a diamond, shines with a dazzling brilliance, reflecting from seemingly myriads of facets; but these many facets must always agree in the Truth that the brilliant gem from which the Light effervesces is indeed a diamond! Thus, the original carbon from which the diamonds are formed cannot ever pass itself off as a diamond – it must first go through the process of a trial by fireto become transformed into a diamond before it is enabled to accept the Truth, and thereafter to shine in the brilliance of its Truth and Light! I write this for the sake of all people of all faiths and ethnicities, including the Christians, whom have not as yet been blessed with the Truth.

Thus stated, I will now divulge that I have in the past sent email attachments of the following discourse, requesting a reply, to: Janet I. Tu – Seattle Times religious editor; Ann Holmes Redding; Pamela K. Taylor; the late Imam W. Deen Mohammed; and to Aman Amir Abdul-Matin, and I have not as yet received a reply regarding my six premises. Deen Mohammed did not reply prior to his death, nor have any of the others listed, as of February 15, 2009. I can only conclude that these beloved people have found the words of the One True God to be irrefutable and too formidable – which they, in fact, are! The following is a copy of the discourse on The Truth and the Light Regarding the Christian and Islam Faithsthat I sent to Ann Holmes Redding, and subsequently to the others just listed:   

LETTER TO ANN HOLMES REDDING:

June 27, 2007

 

To: The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding

 CC: Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times religion reporter

From: Ivan Erickson, author of “Song of the Storm Winds”.

 

Dear Reverend Ann Holmes Redding, 

 

I enjoyed immensely the article I Am Both Muslim And Christian in the Sunday, June 17, 2007 issue of The Seattle Times, and was caught up in your poignant and courageous confession and disclosure of your struggle to seek and find the Truth and the Light regarding your faith, and especially He whom is so precious and special to countless souls here on this earth. I have great admiration for you in your precious goal to bring a mutual understanding and love between the Islam and the Christian faiths, for this is one of my goals also.

 

In the search for the Truth and the Light in this world, when ones feels in his or her heart of their soul that they have truly discovered the answers to those ardently sought after mysteries of faith, they must first ensure that what has been discovered is the True Light; for the Bible tells us that Satan can appear as “An Angel of Light.” Satan is also able to permeate the hearts of the unwary with a venomous euphoriant that dupes one into believing that he or she is in the presence of the Spirit of God, and therefore they allow themselves to be led away from the Light and into the darkness of the abyss. For these poor souls, the darkness then becomes their light! Thus, those of you who are members of the Clergy of any Christian faith – as well as any of us who are in a position to share our views with the masses of God’s people – must know in the heart of our souls that those things that we profess regarding faith and morals come from the One True God Who Lives, and not from any other source; for we must realize that we should not lead so much as one precious soul of any faith or ethnicity away from the Truth and Light of God.

 

The masses of people on earth once thoughtfor millenniums that the earth was flat. However, after Eratosthenes of Cyrene, Columbus, modern space flight and other scientific data have proved to the contrary, we have come to know that the earth is of a spherical shape.

 

Once we have become enlightened by the Spirit of Wisdom and understanding to knowthe Truth, only then are we enabled to teach these biblically substantiated truths to those others of all faiths whom are sincerely seeking the Truth and the Light.

 

I will now confess that I have discerned that most of the questions from those many beloved people of many faiths, who responded to the article in which you were featured by Janet I. Tu, The Seattle Times religion reporter, were very sincere and knowledgeable; but none of them got to the marrow of the heart and soul of the issues involved, in order that all may become enlightened to the Truth regarding the Christian vs. the Islam faith – for many of the premises established by yourself, as well as by many of those of whom responded, were built on a sandy, unstable foundation, rather than on the Rock of the Truth. I will now address some of the premises that I established in my book “Song of the Storm Winds” regarding these Truths:

 

SIX IRREFUTABLE PREMISES ON THE CHRISTIAN VS THE ISLAMIC FAITHS:

 

1. The first important premise to address is regarding the belief of the beloved people of the Islam faith – as well as by many people of other faiths – that professes that Allah is the same God as the God of the Jews and the Christians. To prove as succinctly as possible that this is not the Truth, I will ask you the following question, Reverend Ann, that you may seek the answers to this falsity in the heart of your own soul: If Allah is the same God as the One True God of the Christians and the Jews, why does Allah deny repeatedly throughout the Koranthat Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God, when God Himself prophesied 60 times and mentioned over 300 times in the Old Testament the future coming of a Messiah, a Suffering Servant, His Son who would die on the cross for the salvation of all mankind? Would God prophesy the coming of His Son, a Messiah and Savior, only to deny Him through Mohammed, who professed to speak for Allah? Would this not make God a liar?

 

2. The second premiseto address is the Islam belief that Jesus Christ was only a prophet – that He was not deity or the only Begotten Son of God. In 1 John, 2:18-23 we read: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth. Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. No one who denies the Son has the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.”iIn 1 John 4, 1-3 we read: “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.”ii Also, Jesus Christ professed many times in the Gospel that He was the Messiah, the only Son of God the Father. If the Islam faithful sincerely believes that Jesus was a Prophet, how can they at the same time not believe that He was God’s Son? – For a prophet is one who speaks the Truth for God, you see.

 

3. The third premisethat I wish to address is the Islam belief that Mohammed was the final prophet of Allah, and that he was inspired through the angel Gabriel to change God’s previous words of the Holy Bible in order to bring mankind His final words. After Mohammed’s death, Mohammed’s words were later written in their book called the Koran. The Koran, as you know, professes to contain four God-inspired books: the Torah of Moses; the Zabur (Psalms of David); the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus; and the Koran. In changing, deleting and adding to the Inspired words of God’s Holy Bible, Mohammed and his followers committed a grievous sin against God! In Revelation 22:18, 19 we read: “I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.”iiiMohammed and his cohorts did not merely add to or take away God’s words of His prophetic Book! They deleted the entire Book of Revelation! I sincerely believe that Jesus was stating that we must not add to, delete, or to desecrate any of the Holy words of the entire Old and New Testaments of the Bible, for He, being the Son of God, certainly knew that Revelation was the last Book of the Bible and was most likely speaking of the entire Bible as “The Book.” And please do not counter by rationalizing that the God changed His own laws and words via the alleged angel Gabriel and Mohammed! Jesus Christ, speaking for God, knew that the Islams, Mormons, and people of other false faiths would attempt to change God’s laws, words and Scripture in the future! This is why Jesus stated emphatically that He is the end of the law!

 

4. The fourth premise that I will address is regarding the allegedangel Gabriel who purportedly instilled Mohammed with Allah’s messages given to him over an approximate 22-year period with the words that later became the Koran. The alleged angel Gabriel repeatedly denied that Jesus was the Son of God! However, the true angel Gabriel, speaking to Mary the Mother of Jesus in Luke, 1:31-33 states the following: “’Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”iv God, in His infinite wisdom, does not have to give two of His angels the same name – He surely has given each of them a personal, special name, as He will do for all those whom enter God’s kingdom. So, how then can one reputed angel Gabriel of the Koran deny repeatedly that Jesus is God’s Son, when the true angel Gabriel that appeared over 5 centuries earlier had called Jesus “Son of the Most High”?

 

5. The fifth premiseis regarding the utilization by Mohammed and subsequently by the entire Islamic faithful of: the God of the Jews and the Christians; Abraham; the prophets; and a semblance of the One True God’s Holy Scripture in the Koran. Why did not the author of the Koran use his own text and credos, as the Hindus and the Buddhists have done? The reason that the author of the Koran utilized this ploy was so that a semblance of Truth, or a certain credence would be portrayed to the Muslim-Islams, in order that from that time onward they may more easily be duped and led away from the Truth and the Light when they read or heard the words of the Koran.

 

6. The sixth premise, Reverend Ann, is regarding your sincere belief that you can be an adherent of both the Christian and the Islam faiths. This, as you were made aware of in the above premises, is impossible, as the two religions are diametrically opposed to one another. For you must understand that the Christian faith stems from the words of Truth and Light of the One True God who Lives – the One Whom has proven to be the One True God; for He is the only God who is able to prophesy correctly those many things to come throughout the history of mankind and even until the end of the age. The Islam faith, on the other hand, stems from the antichrist of which was revealed to you above from the words of God in 1 John. Also, in 1 Corinthians, 10:14-22 we read: “Therefore, my beloved, avoid idolatry. I am speaking as to a sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

 

Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I mean that what they sacrifice, [they sacrifice] to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger? Are we stronger than he?”v

 

THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT EXPOUNDED:

 

My beloved Reverend Ann, you must know that by utilizing the above quotation, I was in no way referring to you or any of God’s beloved people of the Islam faith, or of any faith, as demons, the antichrist or in any other derogatory manner, for this is not the case. What I am saying is that the beloved Muslims and countless others of allfaiths and ethnicities are under the Conditioning, Compulsion, and Control of these evil forces! You must realize that I sincerely love all mankind throughout the world of all faiths and races whom the Father, Son and Holy Spirit love. For you must know that unless one has God’s Spirit and love in his heart, he is incapable of loving God or man. I used the quotation rather, to show you that one cannot offer sacrifice to both God and idols.

 

It is because of my immense love for God and His Son and the Holy Spirit that I dedicated many years of my life to the study of and research of the Holy Bible and other texts of the major religions of the world – including the Koran – that I may write in my three volume book, “Song of the Storm Winds” of those matters of the Truth and the Light of the One True God Who Lives, to teach all those of whom have ears to hear with and eyes to see with in order that they too can seek and find the words of everlasting Life in God’s Holy Bible. I have utilized some 150 quotations from the Holy Bible on which

to build my premises in my book, in order that I do not lead so much as one beloved soul of God away from His Truth and Light. If I fail to speak or write the Truth to you, and to all beloved souls not of the Christian faith – as well as the Christians – I could only look forward to standing before Jesus Christ at the Last Judgment in fear and trepidation for not having done so. How could I ever greet you, Reverend Ann, or greet or look any beloved Muslim or any person in the eyes, if I had withheld the Truth and the Light of God and Jesus Christ from so much as one precious soul? I must write the Truth in spite of the anguish that I feel for the trepidation that each of you will suffer when you first read or hear these words.

 

There is currently a vast, evil movement under way in the world! The storm windsof God continue to grow exponentially in frequency and magnitude in these days of darkness under the sun, in order that He may warn mankind to turn away from this evil force. This evil force is comprised of Satan, Its demons, the antichrist, communism, the secularists, atheists, agnostics and any of those other poor souls who profess the lie that Jesus Christ is not the only Son of God. There is even a retired Christian Bishop who has written a book denying – among other things – the Deity of Jesus and the veracity of the Holy words of God’s Scripture as well. He also has stated that no prophesy of the Bible has come true! The poor lost soul! Does he not know that he is a living portrayal – a phantasmagoria as it were – of the prophesy of the false prophets who would appear in the end of the age – who had in fact already appeared, who would deny both the Father and the Son? Pray that he will turn back to the Truth before it is too late.

 

Have you ever wondered why the vast majority of souls under this evil force in these current times are involved in such a bitter, hatred filled and angry assault upon the Deity of Jesus Christ – including the venomous, repeated lies that state that He is not the only Son of God? Why are not the masses attacking our true enemies – Satan, Its demons, and the idols of the world? Is it because Satan does not attack Itself? Through Conditioning, Compulsion and Control of their slaves, Satan, Its demons and the antichrist are vehemently attacking Jesus Christ because they knowthat Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him! Does Satan “denyeth too much” when It and Its cohorts deny Jesus repeatedly?

 

But glory be to God, together with His Son and the Holy Spirit, for they are the infinite Force´ Majeure´whom will fight the battle against this evil force for us. Jesus Christ is waiting with open arms to receive and forgive all those of whom are denying Him, if we of all faiths and ethnicities who are not already doing so will only seek the Truth and Light together, and put our faith, hope, love and trust in Him – if we will only believe in the heart of our souls that He is the only Son of the One True God Who Lives! If we will only believe in and obey the One True God Who Lives! 

 

I do not in any way judge the people of the Islam faith, nor do I judge any person of any faith or ethnicity in this world – now or ever! For my ancestors and the ancestors of all mankind – except the ancestors of the Jews – were once Gentiles, pagans and idol worshipers – for they had not yet heard of the Truth of the Gospel, you see. Oh, the Israelites did also revere idols at times, but they were of course not pagans or Gentiles. However, since Jesus came to this earth some 2000 years ago, lived, taught us, suffered and died on the Cross to bring death to sin and salvation to all those whom would but have faith in Him, we no longer have an excuse to live in darkness, to worship false gods, or to deny the words of God when we read or hear them spoken to us. We are now called to seek, to knock, to ask and to find those words of Truth and Light, and to live by them all the days of our lives without end, and forever more.

 

I pray, Reverend Ann, that you and all of those whom read these words will receive them in the love, empathy and sincerity in which I have written them. I pray that these words of the Holy Bible that I have herein written may be carried in the Spirit to inspire countless beloved souls of God to seek the grace and love of the One True God and His Son, in order that all whom need to do so will seek and find the only Truth and Light in this world – that the Word will lead all of you to accept and have faith in He whom is our Savior – the only Gate to everlasting Life for all mankind. I pray that you sincerely accept the Truth in your heart, Reverend Ann, so that you can bring the same Truth and Light to the Christians, Muslims and to all those beloved people whom God’s Spirit will help you to enlighten. I pray also that you will toil in the Spirit to inspire those whom may be contemplating publicly repeating the Shahadah and becoming a Muslim-Islam – now or in the future – not to do so, that they may not forever deny He whom is their only source of salvation and everlasting Life. For if you do this, you will one fine day shine like a star among the sparks of heaven, forever. Countless souls will greet you with hugs and kisses, and forever thank you for being the catalyst of Jesus Christ that helped them to seek and to find the Truth and the Light.

 

Why do so many poor souls in this world rush into the arms of lies and deceit whenever they rear their ugly heads? Why do so many poor souls flee from the rapturous love and open arms of Jesus, and from the Truth and the Light whenever these are offered to them – free of charge? What fools we are! How easily are we duped!

 

What further message do I have for you and other Muslims, Reverend Ann? I will tell all who will listen to or read these words that they must have courage and not fear to recant from the Islamic faith. For you must realize that you will not be denying Allah or your faith, and you need not fear the fires of hell; but rather you must know that you will be denying Satan, the antichrist, their demons and all those things that stem from the rhizomes of their deceit, lies and ruses that have kept you from the Light, as you have dwelt in the darkness of the abyss into which these evil forces have led and veiled countless of beloved souls for these many centuries. You will be renouncing Allah and the Islam faith, and gaining the One True God Who Lives, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. I realize that to do this, you will all suffer great anguish, at first. But once you have truly accepted Jesus and His Father, They will send you the Holy Spirit who will dwell in your hearts, and you will have peace love and joy from that day on, and forever more. You never will fear hell from that time onward, for Jesus has promised all who have faith in Him everlasting Life in Heaven. Also, myriads of you will become inspirations to the masses of Christians, because they will wish to emulate all of you, as you will be exemplary role models in teaching and showing others how a true, beloved person of the One True God worships Him, through your prayers five times a day and by living your newfound Christian faith in all aspects of your precious lives – just as you are now doing in your reverence of a false deity.

 

I would be very honored if you would reply to this letter, Reverend Ann – to agree or disagree as your heart leads you to do. You have noted that I also sent a copy to the beloved Seattle Timesreligion reporter, Janet I. Tu, in the hopes that she will find it worthy in the heart of her soul to allow your response to be printed for public view, that God’s beloved people of all faiths and ethnicities may again join together in love in our endless search for the Truth and the Light in these days of darkness under the sun.

 

May the Beloved God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit continue to grant you and your loved ones their peace, love, grace and blessing in all things, always.

 

[END OF LETTER TO ANN HOLMES REDDING]

 

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CONCLUSION:

 

Thank you for your kindness and care in this matter, Sohail Nakhooda, and may the Beloved Lord continue to grant you His peace, love, blessing and grace in all things, always. I will leave you with this parting quotation from the Old Testament of the Holy Bible: Deuteronomy 4:2:

 

“In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.”vi

 

God Bless you and your loved ones.

 

Ivan Erickson                              

 

icerickson@yahoo.com

www.ivan-erickson.com

 

i New American Bible, N.T., 1 John, 4:18-23, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), Washington, D.C., (1969, 1970, 1986, 1991), pgs. 375,376

ii Ibid, N.T., 1 John, 4:1-3, (CCD), pg. 377

iii Ibid, N.T., Revelation, 22:18,19, (CCD), pg. 409

iv Ibid, N.T., Luke, 1:31-33, (CCD), pg. 98

v Ibid, N.T., 1 Corinthians, 10:14-22, (CCD), pg. 255

vi Ibid, O.T., Deuteronomy 4:2, (CCD), pg. 178

 

NOTICE: Copyright © 2009 by Ivan Erickson. The above article entitled, The Biblical Truth Regarding the Christian and Islam Religions contains copyrighted extracts and other copyrighted text. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever – including transmitting in any form or means, electronic or mechanical – including email, photocopying, recording, or by any information, storage and retrieval system, or by any other method not yet invented or being utilized, without the written consent of Ivan Erickson.