A Tale of Two Preachers + Islam

The irony should not be lost on us. Preachers – and Islam – made headlines across the world today, but there could not have been a greater contrast between their circumstances. • First, in Germany, an Islamist preacher, Sven Lau, was arrested for recruiting fighters for a militant group in Syria and purchasing and delivering military equipment to jihadists. • While in Northern Ireland, a judge in Belfast decided that Pastor James McConnell should also face trial on account of his exposure of Islamic doctrines and jihadist deeds in a small segment of a Gospel address which he delivered in May 2014. Both men have made it to court by travelling on polar opposite paths:

THE ISLAMIC PREACHER Sven Lau arrived in court in Germany today for his second appearance within a matter of days. Only last week he escaped punishment on account of setting up his own “sharia police” in which he and a group of vigilantes patrolled the streets of Wuppertal in high-visibility vests trying to stop people drinking and listening to music. However, a court ruled the group had not broken any laws. But Mr Lau, who is also known as Abu Adam, now faces much more serious charges of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation. He is suspected of recruiting volunteers and providing money and equipment for Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA), a jihadist group with links to al-Qaeda. Prosecutors allege Mr Lau recruited two volunteers who travelled to Syria to fight for JMA in the summer of 2013, and supplied the group with three night-vision devices worth a total of €1,440 (£1,000). They allege he travelled to Syria himself in November 2013 to hand over €250 (£180) in cash to support jihad. Along his route to court ... • In 2011, Lau tried to stage a memorial service for Osama bin Laden. • He made the statement: “Every Muslim is better than the best unbeliever. Every Muslim, all included.”

THE EVANGELICAL PREACHER By contrast, Pastor James McConnell attended his court hearing today, having retired from full-time Christian ministry in 2014 after he had reached the significant milestone of having pastored the same church in North Belfast for 57 years. Over that period, he had witnessed attendance at his services grow from an initial 10 people into hundreds, then thousands, and preached the Gospel to further thousands at other public venues. His evangelistic efforts have resulted in multitudes seeking Christ for salvation, including many former terrorists, hundreds of homes being transformed, and orphanages and schools established and funded in such places as Sudan and Kenya through which aid and education has been afforded to many children, including Muslims. Today, in Laganside Court Room Number 12, the pastors’ convictions were aired by means of some replayed radio interviews: “I love the Lord ... .” “I believe passionately in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ ... .” “I’m fighting on a principle ... I’m convinced there’s a sinister move in Northern Ireland to quash the Gospel and quash evangelists ... .” Pastor McConnell’s defence barrister, Mr Phillip Mateer, QC, submitted an application that the defendant did not have a case to answer – and while this was thrown out by the judge before proceedings ended today, this was not before Mr Mateer drew attention to the contents of Mr McConnell’s sermon on 2 Timothy 2:5-6 in which he said the Pastor had, “presented the doctrine of the uniqueness of the Person of Jesus Christ ... [emphasised] the saving nature of His substitutionary sacrifice ... the whole flavour of his address was that ... Jesus Christ ... is the Mediator, not Mary ... .” Phillip Mateer averred that this position was bound to bring Pastor McConnell into conflict with the views of Christ that are propagated by the Muslim faith: “The Christian religion places Jesus Christ at the centre of its religion and sees Him as part of the Godhead, whereas the Islamic faith does not recognise Jesus as being God’s Son and does not even recognise Him as the chief prophet.” He further underlined that the statements against Islam in Pastor McConnell’s sermon were simply the convictions of evangelical Protestants who hold that if another religion denies the uniqueness of Christ’s Person and Work, then the only conclusion that can be drawn is that this religion can only come from Satan, who is “the father of lies.” Other great preachers of the Word of God were mentioned in court today – John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, who spent 12 years in Bedford jail because of his fidelity to Jesus Christ, and William Penn, who was arrested for preaching in the streets and when he was found not guilty by a jury, the judge ensured that the members of that jury were locked up without food. A plaque is now fastened to the wall of the Old Bailey, marking the landmark decision that emerged from this trial. There may never be a plaque on the wall of Laganside courthouse as a memorial to the landmark case that is currently being played out in Belfast, but yesterday and again today, tremendous declarations of the uniqueness of Christ our Saviour have reverberated around Court Room Number 12. May this witness to the exclusiveness of our Saviour continue to bear much spiritual fruit.