{"id":10702,"date":"2024-02-20T19:46:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T14:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/20\/5-crucial-things-christians-should-know-about-isis\/"},"modified":"2024-02-20T19:46:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T14:16:43","slug":"5-crucial-things-christians-should-know-about-isis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/20\/5-crucial-things-christians-should-know-about-isis\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Crucial Things Christians Should Know about ISIS"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The name \u201cISIS\u201d has been a dominant presence in the news in recent times, but the frequency with which we hear this name does not always equal understanding of it. Johnnie Moore, former campus pastor at Liberty University and author of Defying ISIS, provides insight into five crucial things Christians should know about the terrorist organization so that we can better understand world events.<\/p>\n

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1. What are the origins of ISIS?<\/h2>\n


\n\tMoore states that \u201cISIS has been around in some form for at least a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tMoore goes on to say that \u201cThey are not a new threat. They are an old threat that the United Stated underestimated, and now they control one contiguous piece of land larger than the United Kingdom and have affiliates in at least 30 countries.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tMalcolm Nance<\/a>, a counterterrorism consultant, adds that \u201cISIS is a child of the invasion of Iraq\u201d and \u201cis the fifth generation of al-Qaeda.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\tNance also said that the Syrian Civil War gave ISIS the political climate it needed to grow into the organization it is now.<\/p>\n


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2. What is ISIS\u2019 goal?<\/h2>\n


\n\tISIS is shockingly brutal, but also seemingly fearless. Moore says that radical ISIS militants have \u201cnothing less than total, global domination\u201d in view.<\/p>\n

Moore goes on to provide an insightful distinction between ISIS fighters and those who fight against them; a distinction he calls \u201ca significant and dangerous difference. \u201cEveryday they fight to achieve a goal they believe is inevitable. The best thing that can happen to any of them is to die in pursuit of that goal. For most of those fighting them the best thing that can happen is that they live to fight another day.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tThe lack of fear of death exhibited by ISIS militants poses a particular threat and brings to light why they have proved to be a formidable foe for the rest of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n


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3. Who is ISIS\u2019 target?<\/h2>\n


\n\tMoore succinctly sums up the answer to this question by stating, \u201cEveryone that disagrees with them.\u201d This includes Christians and other religious minorities like the Yazidis, he says, but even includes other Muslims.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\tHowever, ISIS\u2019 persecution of Christians is especially intense. In an\u00a0article for the\u00a0Christian Post<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on August 11, Moore called on world leaders to recognize that ISIS has created a Christian genocide and we must take action to stop them.<\/p>\n


\n\tWhile writing about Christians as the target of ISIS violence, Moore said that, \u201cIn every written or spoken statement by Baghdadi [the leader of ISIS] he has specifically mentioned marching all the way to Rome and along the way promising to break the crosses of the Christians and capturing and enslaving their wives and daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n


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\n\tPhoto: Families flee as Iraqi forces advance into Islamic State controlled west Mosul, part of the offensive to retake the city some two years after it fell to Islamic State, March 4, 2017. Iraqi forces have encountered stiff resistance with improvised explosives, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance.<\/em><\/p>\n


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4. In what ways did ISIS\u2019 rise to power lead to the refugee crisis, and was the crisis part of their plans to infiltrate Europe and America?<\/h2>\n


\n\tMoore unequivocally asserts that ISIS rise to power \u201cabsolutely led to the refugee crisis, and it is the most significant refugee crisis since World War 2.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tAccording to Moore, the implications of the failure of America and other nations to deal with ISIS in a way that befits the serious threat they pose has resulted in the necessity of spending as much money on resolving the refugee crisis as it would have cost to initially deal with ISIS before their actions led to the refugee crisis.<\/p>\n


\n\tAlthough Moore doesn\u2019t believe that ISIS strategically planned the refugee crisis, he does say that \u201cthey are very intent on using it to their benefit.\u201d He then cites the recent Paris terrorist attacks in which two of the attackers entered Europe by posing as refugees.<\/p>\n


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5. What is America doing to combat the violence perpetrated by ISIS, and what are Christians called to do in this circumstance?<\/h2>\n


\n\t\u201cToo little too late\u201d is the phrase Moore uses to describe what the U.S. government has done (or not done) to address the ISIS threat. Moore then cites a revealing example of the government\u2019s passivity.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cTake–for instance–the fact that this week we were the ones that provided the list to the French which they used in bombing ISIS sites in Syria. If we have had this list for so long then why haven\u2019t we chosen to bomb them?\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tAs for what God calls Christians to in the midst of such world events, Moore provides three calls to action.<\/p>\n


\n\tFirst, he says, we should put pressure on our political leaders to destroy ISIS. Secondly, we should pray for those who are suffering due to ISIS violence. Thirdly, we should provide for those in need.<\/p>\n


\n\tMoore goes on to strike a balance between compassion and national security. \u201cThe world should absolutely show abundant compassion to these refugees . . . but we must also require our leaders tighten the vetting and processing of these refugees in order to insure that ISIS or ISIS-sympathizers are not able to infiltrate the system. ISIS would be more than happy to use our compassion against us.\u201d<\/p>\n


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\n\tPhoto: An Iraqi family who have fled fighting as Iraqi forces advance into Islamic State controlled west Mosul, March 4, 2017. Iraqi forces have encountered stiff resistance with improvised explosives, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n\tPhoto courtesy: Martyn Aim\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n


\n\tArticle based on an email interview with Christian author, speaker, and pastor Johnnie Moore in November 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n


\n\tPublication date: May 2, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

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5 Crucial Things Christians Should Know about ISIS<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n