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Last Sunday, President Obama thanked Muslims for "building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy."
On the same day, ISIS---now called "The Islamic State," released a 30-minute video on YouTube and Liveleak with images of Muslims killing fellow Muslims, shooting them in the head, mass executions, at least 9 crucifixions and drive by random killings.
In both cases, the celebration was Eid-al-Fitr, the final day of the month long fast of Ramadan.
President and Mrs. Obama said in their statement that "'Eid' celebrates the common values that unite us in our humanity."
Most Americans understand there are Muslims that are radical terrorists and some who are not.
But it is a bit much for the average American to understand just how Islam "built the very fabric of our nation."
And has Islam "strengthened the core of our democracy?"
Charles Dickens spoke of "The Tale of Two Cities" as the "best of times and the worst of times" but this is beyond anything Dickens could have imagined.
The president also "welcomed their commitment to giving back to their communities."
Generally the reports we hear both in Europe and here in the United States are not so much of the Muslim community "giving back" but of the takeover of townships and local government.
"Eid" is a day for Muslims to unite, yet the "Islamic State" celebrated by displaying before the world a picture and narrative of murder and violence.
In his closing thoughts, President Obama's official statement was that he "wishes Muslims in the United States and around the world a blessed and joyous celebration" ending with "Eid Mubarak," which roughly means "blessed celebration."
Ironically, it is in America that wish can be realized---not in the Islamic State.
I guess one can understand the President's attempt at unity, but how can anyone link America's heritage to that of Islam or Islam's actions?
Newt Gingrich wrote in his book, "Discovering God In America," "For the colonists, the argument with the British government was an argument about first principles." Where did power come from? What defined loyalty? Who defined rights?
The Founding Fathers believed our "rights" come from God.
Which God? Jehovah or "a god?"
The only true God, the God of the Bible.
Patrick Henry defined which God and which "religion" the Founders were thinking of. He said, "The Bible is worth all other books that have ever been printed."
Some years later Daniel Webster said, "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible we will go on prospering..."
But it was John Quincy Adams, our 6th president and son of our second president, who best defined America's heritage. He said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."
Noah Webster, the father of pubic education said, "The Bible was America's basic textbook in all fields."
It is impossible to truthfully deny that America was founded on any other moral principles than the Bible and Christianity.
There is a vast difference between Christianity and Islam.
Islam, as a religion, was established by Muhammad, a member of the Arabic Quraish tribe from the West Central part of the Arabian Peninsula in the region of present day Mecca.
Muhammad was born in about 570 AD and died in 632 AD.
In 610 AD, Muhammad claimed to have received a revelation from the archangel Gabriel to be a prophet to the Arabic peoples promoting monotheism and a belief in Allah.
Allah is not Jehovah of the Bible.
At first Muhammad's movement started slowly, but when he moved to Medina, it began to pick up momentum. Later he returned to Mecca and conquered it. By the time of his death, his troops had conquered much of the Arabian Peninsula.
By physical force, Islam spread across North Africa and the Middle East, reaching India by about the 11th century.
Their conquest continues to this day.
The religion of Islam was birthed by violence, war and conquest.
Muhammad died in 632 AD.
Christianity is God's expression of love that led Him to become flesh and live among us and to die for atonement of our sins. His Kingdom is not of this world.
The world's calendars for the most part are calibrated around the birth and death of Jesus Christ, God's Son.
While Islam and Christianity have little to nothing in common, the most distinguishing factor is this.
Muhammad is dead.
Jesus is alive.
The biblical accounts explain His death and resurrection. An abundance of extra biblical accounts affirm his life and death and resurrection as well.
The most defining aspect is this:
Jesus taught that by accepting Him into our hearts we are "born again." Paul explained exactly what that meant in II Corinthians 5:17:
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come."
Christianity is about freedom and new life, Islam is about military conquest and death.
God help us.