I Don't Get It

Over the course of the last few days and weeks I have found myself in discussions with other believers about the Muslim world, the Iraq war and how it all relates to Christianity.  During these discussions (one face to face, the other over e-mail) the following statements have been made by those I was speaking to:

 - "I say we just wipe them all out then we will not have any more problems."

-  "The idea that there is a physical and spiritual war being waged between Christianity and             Islam is reality."

Both of these statements caught me off guard as once again they wee uttered (in one case written) by people who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ.   What I don't get is how as believers we can stand here and wish for the elimination of people.  That we can claim to follow Jesus, read His words and His teachings, say we love people, say we are pro-life and then claim that we are at war with them (Muslims) and that we believe they are the evil ones and hope for the mighty United States to wipe them out?  

How does that convey the love and the calling for Jesus?  

How does that compare with the Jesus who said He "came to seek and to save those who are lost?"

How does that show the love of our enemy or our neighbor?

There is no doubt according to scriptures that there is a spiritual battle between good and evil, but to label that evil as Muslim and then to buy into the political view point that the United States is somehow the Christian voice in this battle is one that I cannot comprehend.

I pray that God will use the church to bring the love of His son Jesus to the Muslim world and may we do it by serving them, feeding their poor, and being like our master Jesus.