Dear Mr. Cummins:

With all due respect to your converted faith, you are still viewing Islam through Western values, which ultimately are rooted in Christian teachings of benevolence, peace and good will toward all men, and tolerance towards even our enemies. And as for loving our enemies (whether you are a nominal Christian or Muslim who embraces Jesus as a prophet and the teaching that he taught his followers mercy and kindness towards others), this is impossible to do without the true Spirit of God indwelling and transforming/regenerating our hearts.

The Crusades were clearly against the essential teachings and doctrine of Jesus Christ, being conducted by theocratically-minded political religionists rather than souls regenerated by the non-theocratic saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet Islam in its essential doctrine has been an imposing and theocratic religion, which recommends and resorts to violence (when rhetoric and conditional love & respect fail) against those who blaspheme its legitimacy and/or resist its ultimate plan for Islamic theocratic rule in every society. And when the call to such jihad by the "extremists" is shunned, non-extremist Muslims must either side with the call or even die as apostates for shunning the call to fight for or sympathize with or prayerfully/financially support the cause of Allah on earth.

Yet the True everlasting and supernatural Kingdom of God shall not be imposed by human beings, but by the working of the INVISIBLE Holy Spirit of God in the hearts of human beings through hearing and free-willingly receiving the free gift of of what GOD has done for mankind (NOT what mankind does for Him in the name of any religion whatsoever, as though He would accept our sin-tainted "filthy rags" of self righteousness). The gospel of the True Living God must originate from God Himself - the True Merciful & Benevolent, yet Holy & Just Creator of all. God's true Nature is such that He desires His Love and Mercy to preside over His Justice, yet without compromising His Holiness (i.e. perfect sinlessness). In order for God to be true to His Nature, sin's punishment must be paid for in order for Him to extend His Mercy and Grace to sinners (i.e. every one of us) who turn to Him. - "For the Law [of God's Holiness and Justice] was given by Moses, BUT Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)...

No prophet since the fall of Adam and Eve has ever been sinless - no human being whatsoever until the One who was conceived of the Holy Spirit through a virgin came into this world - only this One possessed the sinless nature of God (fully embodied in the Holy Spirit) yet was clothed in the frailty of humanity to perfectly fulfill God's righteousness on our behalf, as well as pay the necessary blood price for sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins, just as Muslims intuitively (and even prophetically) sacrifice lambs before they approach the pillars where they cast stones claiming the defeat of Satan in their lives.

"For this reason the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1John 3:8). We cannot destroy Satan's hold on our lives by ourselves or our own self-righteousness alone. Only showing Satan the covering of the blood of the perfect Lamb of God (whom John the Baptist testified to be Jesus Christ, whose Sonship and very death the Qu'ran flatly denies) over our sins can defeat the true Shaitan. In order to defeat our true enemy (which is not human beings, but spiritual forces of wickedness that preside over the minds and hearts of human beings - i.e. Satan and his kingdom of fallen angels), we need to understand our hidden enemy in truth. Satan never was asked to bow before Adam and Eve - rather, he tempted them to commit the same sin as he did by making them desire to become like God and receive the honor and glory due only to God. And like the Qur'an's very founding is rooted in questioning/misunderstanding God's revelation in the Bible we have in our hands today, so Satan cast doubt upon Eve by suggesting "Did God REALLY say...?"

Let no religious book whatsoever dictate the truth to you without FIRST directly asking GOD the question Satan asks us. By turning Satan's question to us back towards God (who truly desires to answer the question if we will but just ask Him), we can begin to defeat Satan's hold on our minds and hearts in the realm of religious deception - "God, did YOU really say this or that?" Since the Sonship of Messiah has been the very point of contention upon which the Qu'ran has been founded, why don't you DIRECTLY ask the God of Messiah (whom you respect as a legitimate prophet) to speak to you directly, and allow Him to answer you rather than the dictates of your (or anyone's religion)?

You can sincerely ask Him something like this: "God, did YOU REALLY say whether Jesus Christ is the only way, or the message of the Qur'an or any other particular religion the only way? God, YOU show me, because if you are the Living God (as I believe You are), then You can indeed speak to me and open my spiritual eyes, even though I am not a prophet."

Sincere Regards in Messiah...