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The Challenge of Islam According to the Reformers

6/3/2021

In expounding Daniel 9, Martin Luther noted that among others, the prophet Daniel was talking about the Muslim Turks, who at that time were invading Europe: "In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation… He will cause deceit to prosper and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power." Daniel 9:23-25

Luther wrote that the "two regimes, that of the Pope and that of the Turk, are… antichrist."

John Calvin in a sermon on Deuteronomy 18:15 maintained that Muhammad was one of "the two horns of antichrist."

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Celebrating the Scientific Heritage of Christianity

6/1/2021

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The Creation Museum near Cincinnati in the United States is absolutely magnificent. I spent two days exploring, examining and experiencing the Creation Museum. It was not nearly enough time. I look forward to returning again and again.

As one who has visited museums all over the world, I must rate the Creation Museum as one of the very best in the world. The Creation Museum is God-honouring, Bible-based, and Christ-centred. It is an experience no visitor can ever forget.

The Creation Museum is effective both in education and evangelism. Not only is the museum extremely well thought out and laid out, but it is inspired and inspiring. The Creation Museum is a modern equivalent of nailing of the ’95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Future generations may look back at the opening of the Creation Museum as significant an event for Reformation in our day as Luther’s bold protest was in the 16th Century.

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BATTLEFIELDS FOR REFORMATION

6/1/2021

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“If I had a place to stand, I could move the world.” The Greek engineer Archimedes was referring to the wonders of the lever. In principle, the capacity of a lever was unlimited. An ordinary weakling could move a rock the size of a house. All that he would need would be a fulcrum, a pole strong enough so that it would not break, and long enough to multiply the force. That, and a place to stand.

The force multiplying physics of the lever are a function of distance. The heavier the object, or the weaker the person trying to move it, the longer the pole would need to be, and the further away from it you would have to stand. However, with the right fulcrum, the right bar and the right distance, all you would need to do would be to push the lever down, and the boulder, no matter how heavy it was, would move. Theoretically, Archimedes famously declared, with the right fulcrum, bar and distance, you could put a lever to planet Earth and move the world itself. As long as you had a place to stand!

On 18 April 1521, a 37-year old Professor from the University of Wittenberg found himself hauled in front of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Standing before the assembled political and spiritual authorities of his day, Luther was presented with a simple choice: Will you recant, and reject everything you have been teaching about the Gospel? Or will you be cast out of the church and state as a heretic and traitor, to be burned at the stake?

Martin Luther’s reply moved the world. He changed history. Because he had a place to stand. Dr. Martin Luther declared: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand!” Our Lord Jesus declared that our Faith would be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Martin Luther’s Faith moved the world because he had a place to stand. He stood on the Word of God. The fulcrum he used was the Gospel. This was balanced on the bar of the Law of God.

Luther’s biographer Martin Brecht pointed out that in fact Martin Luther had fulfilled what the Greek engineer Archimedes had hypothesized about. Standing on the Word of God, using the bar of the Law of God and the fulcrum of the Gospel, Martin Luther’s Faith had not only moved mountains, it changed the world. It brought to an end the Middle Ages, and ushered in the modern world. The Protestant Reformation, and the resultant Scientific Revolution and Industrial Revolution, produced the most productive, prosperous and free nations in the history of the world. All this because Luther had a place to stand and he made his stand on the unchangeable Word of Almighty God.

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The Challenge of Islam According to the Reformers

Celebrating the Scientific Heritage of Christianity

BATTLEFIELDS FOR REFORMATION

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