Actor Who Played Jesus, Murdered!!
"A Lesson to the Enemies of the Faith"
Ron Ross
Bridges for Peace News
Email: ronrossbfp@hotmail.com
29th April 2007
Necati Aydin who played Jesus Christ in TURK-7's recent Easter television programming, was brutally murdered `for religious reasons.'
Aydin, husband and father of two young children was killed along with two other Christians. All worked for a small Christian publishing house in the city of Malatya.
"This is truly a sad week for Christians," said Terence Ascott, CEO for SAT-7 Christian TV. "We are praying for the families, for the Church, and for the nation of Turkey that God will bring some good out of this terrible tragedy.
Aydin, a man who portrayed Jesus on our broadcasts, was himself the target of religious hatred simply because he worked so that others would have a chance to understand the story of Christ in Turkish."
"The whole Christian community here in Turkey is shocked by the horrific way these men were murdered.
Our team is also truly saddened and upset." Said David Middleton, TURK 7 executive director. He said many Turkish believers fear that the killings could represent an escalating trend of attacks on Christians.
According to press reports the Muslims have admitted the crime. The paper Hurriyet quoted one of the suspects with the words: "May this be a lesson to the enemies of the faith."
In the Philippines this week seven hostages, six construction workers and one factory worker - all believed to be Christians - were beheaded by Abu Sayyaf Moslem militants
. The BBC said the seven were decapitated and their heads sent to troops on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, which is 950km (600 miles) south of Manila.
Abu Sayyef is the smallest of four Muslim rebel groups in the Philippines. It is believed they have links to al-Qaeda and the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiah.
No one needs be a `rocket scientist' to find the foundation of such brutality.
As recently as April 17 the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a rambling speech, gave specific details of his beliefs and ambitions. His audience was made up of the families of those he called `martyrs, the war-disabled, the former POW's and other devotees.' He labeled them `the best human beings of the era.'
He also said they were `the main guardians of the revolution and its values."
This is an important phrase. He considered those who died or suffered physically for his goals as the true champions of the cause. He entitled his message `the aim of creation.'
Ahmadinejad said, "Basically, what has mankind achieved during thousands of years of living? What has mankind seen by living in this world? What has been mankind's joy? What values have the people acquired? What state of perfection have they reached?
Let us leave our own environment for a while. "Let us study the course of past events and see what is happening today. We can see that more than six billion people of the world, that is, the majority of the world population, are living under tyranny, under oppression, under the rule of administrations which oppose values and under the rule of some individuals who prevent the perfection and elevation of human beings.
"Has this been the total point of creation? Is what we can see today and what we can experience the entire aim of creation? If the answer to these questions is affirmative, then I must say that mankind has not understood anything from the reality of the world."
He went on to outline what he believes to be `the aim of creation.' He clearly described his militant desire to see Islam spread worldwide.
"My dear ones! This entire world was created with the aim of establishing the rule of God, the rule of Islam and the rule of perfect human begins all over the world one day."
"That is, every individual human being will acquire perfect wisdom." (meaning individuals throughout the world will be perfected by accepting Islam as their faith)
"On such a day, the ritual of worshipping God will expand throughout the world, human ears will become more receptive, human eyes will become more discerning the truth of the world and human hearts will become full of faith and love for one another."
Ahmadinejad suggested that this perfection has existed on earth at an earlier time in history:
"I must, however, say that during a very short period in history, that is, during the early Islamic era, when the beloved Prophet of Islam established his system of government, human beings managed to enjoy such beautiful things.
Nevertheless, the Prophet's rule was a sort of shadow government which will be established in the world.
"My dear ones! God's aim in sending all the prophets was to help humanity to take a step forward towards the ultimate point. Basically, from the first day of the creation of mankind, a divine current was established in the world. The current resembles the movement of a convoy which is gradually moving towards the ultimate point. The convoy is moving along its path and invites mankind to join it to reach the promised point. Anyone who joined the convoy throughout history, that person will live eternally to enjoy the beautiful things of such a day. However, anyone who refused to join the convoy was destroyed and annihilated.
Note the future for those who refuse Islam!
They will be `destroyed and annihilated'
In the next phase of his message, the Iranian President introduces `the infallible Imam."
"My dear ones! Our major mission today is to invite everyone to understand this fact. Our mission is to invite everyone to follow the perfect infallible human being. All prophets came to encourage the people to follow the infallible Imam.
You must go and study this matter. I am certain that you have studied this and have heard that all the prophets have promised their followers the coming of a messiah, who will lead everyone to salvation.
All the prophets were wishing that they would experience the rule of the messiah in their lifetime. They wished they could experience so much beauty, such a degree of tenderness, such an extent of devotion to God and such a level of human perfection.
All the prophets came to help mankind to reach that point.
He sees Iran as the model for the nations of the world to follow in their government systems.
"Moreover, we wish to make our state a model and a symbol [for other nations] and a shelter, and as our second mission, we wish to invite the world to realize this fact.
This is the major mission of our revolution."
More about the Imam: "Some people think that the Lord of the Age is alive, but lives in a remote place during this occult period. They think that the Hidden Imam is busy with his own work and is not bothering about us. They think that the Hidden Imam is waiting for the day when he will enter the arena and take charge of world affairs. Such an assumption is wrong, it is null and void. "The Imam is in charge whether he is hidden or he is in the process of revealing himself. Whether he is present among us or absent from our view, he is our Imam and our link to divine grace. All the decent events in the world happen with the permission of the Imam. You know that Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him, was not in charge of the government in his time but he was running the flow of world creation with God's permission. In the same way, the Lord of the Age is running the entire creation with God's permission today. It is thanks to the Imam that you enjoy the benefit of faith in your hearts. It is all thanks to the Imam that you have traces of love in your hearts, belief in monotheism and you experience some success. It is thanks to the Imam's presence that flowers smile and beauty takes shape.This is because the Imam is the means through which divine blessings reach us. And anyone who has bonded with the Imam, he has in effect linked himself to the sea of divine mercy and compassion. And anyone who has become separated from the Imam will be destroyed. Such a person has nothing which could last.
"Imagine that you are living during the rule of Amir al-Mo'menin. Imagine that the Imam is ruling in his capital Kufah and you live in Shiraz. What sort of link would your thought, your heart, your status of mind establish with the Imam? Would you not wake up every morning and ask yourself the following question: What is my obligation today, what is the Imam's edict today and what should I do to carry out the Imam's order?
"The same questions should be in your minds today. You should pay attention to the Imam, your heart should listen to the Imam and you should respond to the Imam's call. This is our most important obligation today.
If anyone ever doubted the confrontation between Islamic fundamentalism and the free world is spiritual, this speech and the brutal actions taking place around the world should put such an argument to rest.
Ahmadinejad and others like him, believes Islam is meant to spread throughout the world.
Christians can have no argument with that goal because we have been told to `go into all the world and make disciples' for Jesus.
My concern is that one mission seems to be based on brutality and submission while the other is to be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit moving in love.
As Christians are murdered throughout the world by religious fanatics, there is a celebration of victory for Allah. In the Palestinian region people rush into the streets to share sweets and celebrate.
What is the challenge for Christians as this confrontation spreads and touches all nations.
We must know the importance of a genuine faith. Lukewarm will not work in the days and months ahead.
The importance of fasting and prayer cannot be emphasised enough. John 10:10 stands out as the passage which best describes our situation.
"The devil comes to maim, steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came to give us life and that life more abundantly!" His Cross is foolishness to so many. His humility infuriates the world.
One simple question: Where do you stand in the light of all this?
|
Three years ago he joined Bridges for Peace in Jerusalem to establish international radio news and an audio service webcast at www.bridgesforpeace.com Ron was Sports Editor of WINTV for 20 years before joining the full-time missions. You can contact Ron at : ronrossbfp@hotmail.com |
 |