I don't if these thoughts would be "approved" by Islam, yet nevertheless, here they are:
It seems to me that God gave Jesus this message for mankind.
Overcome evil by the aggressive use of love. Jesus was so intent on his teachings concerning the "Kingdom of God" that he was telling people to abandon their parents and sell all their possessions to follow him and spread his teachings.
He said:
Do good to those who persecute you and, in every good deed or holy dedication, make sure that they are done as anonymously as possible and in private (yes, I paraphrased).
It might have worked, who knows. It seemed to be working for a few hundred years. Many Christians refused to fight for Rome and were willing to die before bowing to the Emperor. In many cases, they also really seemed to love and take care of each other. So the Romans got smart and with the help of the priesthood corrupted it into a religion that served both of them.
The priesthood and the government both wanted their "cut" and as long as the priests could turn Christians into tenth giving church goers who would spread the gospel of church attendance and as long as the government could have Christians pay their taxes and be willing to fight, kill, maim and destroy in the name of the state, both would be happy.
Perhaps once God saw that man had successfully corrupted the teachings of Jesus in such a way that it was unlikely anyone would ever hear Jesus true, uncorrupted teachings again, he decided to give Muhammad a message that called for mankind's submission. This time, God was unwilling to send another message of pure, unconditional love. No, this time God was ready to tell mankind that "I am going to establish my authority and I will be praised if I have to command it".
You see, there is a definite pattern in the Old Testament of God striving with man. God gives man something good, man corrupts it, and God gets impatient with man and sends down destruction and a new covenant.
Jesus' message had real potential (and perhaps contained the "highest truth"). Those following his teachings could be aggressively and anonymously (when possible) blessing the world with their unending giving. You see, instead of joining in the "public hate" for their country's enemy, they could be sending people in that country gifts and messages of love in their attempts to be the peacemakers that Jesus called them to be. At the same time, these followers of Jesus could be making sure to do good to people who persecuted them or hated them for any reason. However, to really bless people in this way takes time and money. To do either of the aforementioned things would not make a country's government or a religion's priesthood very happy, because it doesn't serve their financial interest very well.
From the government's perspective, I want you to be a member of my country first, and a Christian second. As a member of the priesthood, I want you to be a member of my church first, and be a real Christian second. In both cases, the potential for true effectiveness as a Christian is highly corrupted by their primary allegiances.
And I am not the only one who has noticed that making Jesus divine is an excellent way to de-emphasize the importance of the message He sent by replacing it with much more marketable one "Jesus is God". After all, who really wants to do good to their enemies or turn the other cheek? To most Christians, that is crazy talk, and they refuse to do those things "literally".
So
God seems to be saying to man through Islam "You cannot handle such a noble message, I will give you a harsher, stricter, law, for, one way or another I will be praised and remembered by my people."
And as adultery has always been on his "Top Ten List" of things that are important to him, Islam's strictness concerning this seems to be right in line with God's heart on the matter.
I don't even know how God can bear America's devotion to adultery. Not only is it everywhere, but as I have said, so many Christians have watched and still watch it performed by Hollywood's idols. If so few Christians are willing to be truly Christlike, why wouldn't God decide to send another, more harsh message.
As I have said, the pattern for God doing this with mankind is all over the Old Testament.
In fact, I treat my children the same way. I will do my best to love them and guide them into doing right, but if they continue to disobey me-I will put a stop to it and when I do I will assert myself and compel my children to submit to my authority. There will also be an increase in accountability.
Sure, I can agree with many Christians that the love that Jesus speaks of is the most ideal teaching, but God has proven himself impatient in the past, and, by the look of things in America right now, He should be.
Jesus most challenging, yet powerful teachings from the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, get such little respect from today's church for a reason, people would rather emphasize who Jesus is, than what Jesus said.
In fact, the only use the church has for Jesus' beautiful teachings is that they can be used as evidence that Jesus is God. No one really expects them to actually be followed.
Peace2God'sPeople