The Bible Line - December 22, 2015

A caller wants to know whether it honors God for a Christian couple to use birth control to limit the size of their family? 

Jamie, Lilliwaup, Washington  - In a recent conversation I had with someone who defends moderate Islam, one argument given to me concerning the verses in the Quran which appear to support violence against Christians and Jews; it was compared to the Jewish practices in the O.T. that are no longer practiced today. The Quran provides specific injunctions to engage in acts of violence as part of the “holy war” (jihad) in the cause of their religion. People are drawing comparisons between Islamic terrorist attacks and the violence found in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. But are these comparisons valid? Are the commands of God to the Israelites in the Old Testament the same as jihad as prescribed in the Quran? 

When Hagar and Ishmael went out into the wilderness, they knew the God of Abraham. How is it that through them came the Muslim religion?

Dereena , Augusta, Georgia - In chapters 4-25 of the book of Job, Job's friends counsel him as to why they believe he is suffering. In chapter 42, God chastises Job's friends for telling Job that his suffering is because of his sin. What can be learned from what his friends said to him? In brief, what truths are there in his friends' counsel and what error is there?