Islamic Prayers at the Vatican

“I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God (Isaiah 43:12).” I was disappointed, but not surprised, when I came across the article entitled, “For The First Time In History Islamic Prayers to be heard at the Vatican.” According to the article, “For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” I am a firm believer that compromising your beliefs is the first step to giving them up entirely.  As a born again Christian, I don’t believe that the Catholic Church represents my views about the Christian faith. However, for many people in the world and inside Christianity, Catholicism does represent the faith. Therefore, to allow Islamic prayer to be heard in the Vatican is a not a sign of standing for the truth or being a witness for Jesus Christ. Besides, when has Christian prayer been allowed inside a Muslim place of worship? I am not aware of any time in the Bible where the nation of Israel found peace by compromising with foreign gods. In nearly every situation it led to God’s wrath, slavery, the destruction of lives and various other forms of suffering. Ultimately, it led to the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ! As Christians, we are told to, “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 1:3).” You don’t contend for the faith by compromising it. You don’t find peace by compromising with your enemies. Yes, the Bible does say, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18).” But, it never says that achieving peace should come at the expense of the truth or compromising with error. If that were the case, Jesus would not have said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34).” Jesus said this because the world doesn’t like hearing things like, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6)”” and “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)." These are statements that create enemies for Jesus Christ and for Christians. 

The only way to find true peace with your enemy is when one of the two parties surrenders to the other or war is waged. Because Christians proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ is God and the only means of salvation offered by the One, True God of the Universe, we are hated by the world. We are in a spiritual war; a war between the Truth of God’s Word and the lies of Satan and the world. When we compromise the truth, we are losing battles in that war. Christians are God’s witnesses to the world that He is God. The lost world and Christians who have lost their salt or who are not Christians at all love to hear these stories of “compromise.” Yet, true believers will shake their head and hopefully have a righteous anger stirring within them. My prayer is that the members of the Catholic faith who truly know the Lord will finally start to realize that faith has an object. The object of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ not a man-made organization claiming to be His representative on earth. It is time to stop allowing organizations like this speak for us when they compromise God’s truth. The true Church of God is made up of individual members of the body of Christ all over the world. Jesus said, “And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER '; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN (Matthew 21:13)." When Jesus found the Temple filled with people buying and selling He “cleansed” the Temple by driving them out and accused them of turning it into a “ROBBERS’ DEN.” He did not allow them to stay or invite them back. Robbers steal and that is one of the attributes of Satan, who is described as a thief who comes only to “steal and to kill and to destroy (John 10:10).” When we allow those who believe in “foreign gods” into the “Temple,” they are making it a “ROBBERS’ DEN.” It is time to “cleanse the Temple” and contend for the faith entrusted to the Saints. If the Catholic Church wants to facilitate peace between the Jews and Palestinians, it will only be found when all them come to faith in Jesus Christ, the “Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).”