The Rick Mathes Narrative against Mahomettanism

Appraising the Aderemi Akin or Rick Mathes "What Is An Infidel" also known as "Allah versus Jesus" also known as the "Dr Aderemi Akin vs Imam Story"

By Lucio Mascarenhas, November 22, 2020. https://www.vaticaninexile.com.

According to the orthodox understanding of Christianity, Jesus Christ claimed to be God incarnate, come to die for the sins of man, willingly allowed Himself to be seized, iltreated and murdered by Renegade Jews, rose again, ascended to Heaven, where, as true God and True man, the Hypostatic Union, He sits at the "Right hand of God," that He commanded His Apostles to go out into the fullness of humanity and to preach His Good News, and said that those who accepted would attain to Heaven, and those who rejected Him and His Gospel, would be Eternally Damned; the Bible also closed Salvific Public Revelation in Galatians chapter 1 and in 2 John chapter 1, verses 10-11, so that no subsequent promulgators of new salvific revelations, including Mahomettanism and Mormonism, can be accepted as being legitimately from God.

Galatians, chapter 1, verses 6-9, reads: "I wonder that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel. Which is not truly another Gospel, only that there are some that trouble and mislead you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed! As we said before, so now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be accursed!"

Thus St. Paul the Apostle and the Bible, the Word of God, barred the way as Accursed! for any other contrary or amending or supplantory "New Gospel," including those of Marcion, Manes, Arius, Nestorius, Muhammad, Peter Valdes, John Wycliffe, John Huss, Martin Luther, Jean Chauvin, Thomas Munzer, Henry Tudor, Jansenius, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Mary Ellen White, etc., etc.

Mahomettanism claims to be a further Salvific Revelation subsequent to, and superseding Christianity, which is totally excluded by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by the teachings of the Apostles in the Bible, particularly Galations 1 and 1 John 1, so that Mahomettanism is not a legitimate religion from God, but is a fraud, and is from Satan. Anyone who is a sincere, believing and orthodox Christian cannot but accept these truths and its condemnations of Mahomettanism as false, and as a fraud that emanates from Satan.

I received this on WhatsApp on Saturday, Nov 21, 2020:

«FROM DR. ADEREMI AKIN

«As it stands today, the Islamic religion is the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States, especially amongst the minority races!!

«Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session, there were presentations by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim religions who each explained their beliefs.

«I was particularly interested in what the Muslim had to say. He gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video. After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.

«When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Muslim and asked: "Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims), they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?"

«There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, "Non-believers!"

«I then responded. "So, let me make sure I have this straight i.e. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so that they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?"

«The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He sheepishly replied, "Yes."

«I then stated, "Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine that the Pope can command all Catholics to kill those of your faith or in addition, Dr Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!"

«The Muslim was speechless!

«I continued, "I also have a problem being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me!

«"Let me ask you a question: Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me too?"

«You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame.

«Needless to say, the organisers or promoters of the 'Diversification' training seminar were not happy with my way of dealing with the Islamic Imam and exposing the naked truth about the evil in Muslims' beliefs.»

There are many copies of this story attributed to "Dr Aderemi Akin" on the Internet. By searching further, i found that the original author of this write-up was not a Nigerian "Dr Aderemi Akin," but is a Protestant Pastor in the USA, Rick Mathes, of Chesterfield, Missouri, operating his "Mission Gate Prison Ministry" and who claimed this happened in May 2003 at the State Penitentiary, officially, the "Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center," in Fulton, Missouri, USA. See: https://www.rickmathes.net/2014/09/25/allah-or-jesus. See his "Ministry website" at https://www.missiongateministry.org.

Apparently, Mathes had initially titled his article or write-up, "What Is An Infidel," but later switched to "Allah Or Jesus." For convenience, I will refer to it as the "Mathes Narrative."

There are websites, entities, persons, groups, etc that claim to be "Hoax-slayers." Snopes.com is one. Snopes.com has given its take on the above Rick Mathes Narrative. Others are TruthOrFiction.com and Politifact.com. There are also others, as these three are but the leaders of a number of such "Hoax-slayers."

The first two of these have "rated" the Mathes Narrative, and rated it false, with others in this Echo Chamber parroting that.

Let's start with David Mikkelson's Snopes.com: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/allah-or-jesus.

«According to David Mikkelson of Snopes.com: "Reporter Greg Kearney, writing for the Lee News Service, came away with a decidedly different version of events from Missouri state officials. Tim Kniest, Public Information Officer for the Missouri Department of Corrections, described the event as a training program for prison volunteers, for which ministers from several faiths were invited to give presentations in order to acquaint the volunteers with the varied religious beliefs of the inmate population. The man who gave the presentation about Islam was not a Muslim minister; he was an inmate pressed into service to present a short film on Islam and answer some questions when the prison's Volunteership Coordinator was "unable to find an Imam to speak."

«Moreover, according to Mr. Kniest, the Volunteership Coordinator said that "The inmate did a good job. He was asked a few questions that were beyond his ability to answer. But he was not asked anything like what Matches claimed."

«"... the Volunteership Coordinator said that no such exchange as Mathes reported ever took place. "He certainly did not 'Hang his head in shame,'" according to Kniest. In fact, the inmate was thanked by the assembly before being escorted back to his quarters. Furthermore, the Coordinator does not recall any questions dealing with jihad [Holy war] against non-Muslims as reported by Mathes. Greg Kearney / Tim Kniest / Unnamed Prison Volunteership Coordinator denied Mathes' portrayal of the Muslim presentator as an Imam, or Islamic minister.»

Mikkelson goes on to add: «Regardless of whatever may have transpired at the prison training session referred to above, the larger point the writer is attempting to make in this piece is a grossly inaccurate one. Islam is not a monolithic religion in which unanimity of belief and action is coordinated from a central authority; it has well over a billion adherents in countries all over the world who belong to any one of a number of different sects with varying beliefs, traditions, and interpretations of scripture. No one Muslim (especially one who wasn’t even a cleric) could speak to what all of Islam believes, any more than a single member of a Methodist congregation could speak for every denomination and follower of Christianity.»

According to the original 2004 TruthOrFiction.com appraisal of the Mathes Narrative, "Rick Mathes says that the Muslim Presentator was introduced at the meeting as an Imam and that the story happened as he describes it."

The 2nd TruthOrFiction.com appraisal (See https://www.truthorfiction.com/infidels) is dated 2015 and is entirely excerpts from a Matthew Salmon's 2008 attack on the Mathes Narrative. I reproduce here the Salmon Excerpt from TruthOrFiction.com and from Matthew Salmon's own webpage (https://maffersalmon.wordpress.com/2008/06/21/response-to-%E2%80%9Callah-or-jesus-by-rick-mathes%E2%80%9D-forwarded-email):

«At first examination, I dismissed the forwarded email as a fabricated tale, designed to foster support for one denomination over the other, as well as to distinguish one culture as superior to another. Nevertheless, a quick Google search exposed the account as an honest and factual retelling of a particular occurrence in a prison in Fulton, Missouri, as retold by Rick Mathes. Rick Mathes is neither a trained theologian, nor schooled in Islamic Studies.

«Unfortunately, the retelling of this event, without proper understanding of the situation, individuals present and philosophical intricacies of theological/cultural/political discussion, leaves the reader with a false supposition of reality.

«To begin, the Imam in question was not trained in Islamic theology. In fact, the Imam was an inmate, recognized by his fellow peers within the institution as charismatic and devout.

«Unlike Christianity, in which the order of ordination and ministry often follows the examples of the ancient hierarchical structures of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, specifically honoring organization and accountability to higher recognized authorities, Islam has another unique organizational structure, involving community recognition and commonly accepted credentials, typically involving extended years of training and instruction. However, in a pinch, the Ummah, or community of believers, may recognize one as the leader of the group, albeit with reservation.

«The Imam does not act as the supreme religious head of most Ummahs, but more as the facilitator of group discussion and prayer, the responsibility of religious observation falling on each particular member individually.

«In this particular case, the Imam in question had an unfortunate complete lack of understanding regarding Islam (submission or worship of God), the Quran (The believed/accepted revealed Word of God) or the Hadiths of Muhammad (The traditional sayings and actions of Muhammad).

«I say unfortunate, because his response was completely misleading and erroneous....

«Islam, contrary to popular opinion propagated by news sources and talking pundits, is a religion of peace. Obviously, history has accredited much violence to the standard of the religion, but this is neither new, nor accurate. Contrary to the claims of atheist secularists such as Dawkins and Hitchins, religion is not the cause of human misery or suffering, nor is it the point of confrontation from which atrocities arise. Instead, religion has been used by the skillful and manipulative as the outward commonality under which political aspirations may be attained. Religion, on the other hand, is a set of principles, typically outlining peace, understanding, love and mutual respect. The Golden Rule is golden for a reason, because it transcends geopolitical boarders and philosophical differences, unifying religious thought throughout the world. Islam in particular advocated the love of the divine for humanity, and the continued process of revelation facilitating the twahid (unity) of all people. The central message of Islam states "there is no god but God." The statement may be read through a myriad of interpretations, but the most commonly accepted across nations and religious denominations concerns the unity of all natural existence, living and static. True harmony, Islam claims, exists when each recognizes the interconnectivity of all beings, and the dual nature of each reality. In this philosophical vein, only through understanding that which seems different can one understand oneself, and appreciate the manifestation of the transcendental, of the divine, of God, in everything.

«Islam, separate from later interpretations of nations, individuals and political groups, does not call for the death of anyone, nor does it claim any term such as infidel.

«In fact, no such word exists in the Arabic, the word from which infidel is usually translated, albeit poorly, is kafir, or literally 'One who covers, or is in hiding,' referring primarily to atheists or polytheists.

«Infidel in fact, has a uniquely English epistemology, and referred originally to those who rejected the divinity of Christ, or were free thinkers. Specifically, it was utilized during the crusades as a derogatory term for Muslims and Jews, and was used proficiently to persuade the Christian Knights, and later inquisitors, in the right action of war and inflicting death on the Saracen Muslims and Jews.

«Secondarily, the Quran, and Muhammad as well, specifically opposed the use of any violence, or derogatory term toward his Jewish and Zoroastrian neighbors, (who, by the way receive the honorary title 'people of the Book,' meaning people under covenant of God) under punishment of exclusion and expulsion from the Ummah, or Muslim community.

«Likewise, there are no promises for rewards in heaven for murder, be it for a kafir or one of the People of the Book. Such a passage does not exist.

«Rick Mathes comments more about his experience on his webpage, but continues to resist examining the reality of the situation further, and thus remains stagnant in the quagmire of false assumptions and overzealous faith in his own correctness of religious thought.»

From Salmon's reply, it is obvious that, by his research, he found that Rick Mathes' Narrative was substantially true or unrefutable, and so he, accepting that fact of the truth of Rick Mathes' Narrative, then proceeded to spin the facts, to claim that the Muslim Presentator was unqualified, and ignorant of Islam, while, he, a non-Muslim, claimed for himself a higher, intimate and Infallible knowledge of Islam, and certifies that it, Mahomettanism, is undoubtedly a Religion of Peace, and of brotherly love.

While Snopes.com and TruthOrFiction.com have taken a stand that is, in effect, against Rick Mathes and his Narrative, Politifact.com has ignored the Rick Mathes Narrative. I have searched and drawn a blank. However, Politifact.com does indeed take a stand in the Culture Wars for and against Mahomettanism, by affirming that Mahomettanism is indeed a Religion of Peace. One such specimen is this page: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/feb/11/chain- email/barbary-wars-did-us-declare-war-islam.

Politifact.com claims that: 1. The USA under President Thomas Jefferson did not declare war on Islam; 2. The attacks by the coastal Muslim states upon Christians, the abuse and enslavement of Christians captives, were all a "Protection Racket," and not religiously motivated ("Historians of the period say that religion was not a significant factor in the Barbary wars; historians say it was more like fighting the mafia than religious zealots; "Very little of this had to do with Islam, but had much more to do with trading opportunities and economics." Adrian Tinniswood, author of Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the Seventeenth-Century Mediterranean. "We (the USA) didn't attack them out of matters of faith. The Barbary Wars were all about freedom of the sea and protecting the U.S. flag," Lance Janda, a military historian at Cameron University).

Politifact.com then "sums up the case" and passes "judgment": "The Barbary powers were Muslim, and religion sometimes crops up in the historical record. But historians agree that the overriding motivation of American military action against the Barbary pirates was to secure a vital national interest, namely protecting the U.S. merchant fleet and its ability to conduct international trade. They see no evidence that Jefferson or his contemporaries were undertaking a religious holy war. So we rate the claim False."

It is true that the viral mails tend to add drama. That is how viral mails are structured: They are designed to shock and to grab your attention. Have the self- described "Hoax-Slayers" themselves been truthful as compared to those they sit in judgment over?

Politifact.com has played a sleight of hand. That the USA did not specifically go to war against Islam, is true; equally true is that the USA has always formally affirmed its irreligious foundation and nature, that it is not a Confessional State. The Viral Mails claim, that the USA went to war against Islam under Thomas Jefferson, is still true, because the USA found itself under attack by Muslims who affirmed that the reason they were waging their war, is because they are commanded to do so, by the Muslim religion, and so the USA was forced into a Defensive War against Islam in the Mediterranean Sea, against the Barbary States, even when it went on the Derna Offensive against its enemies.

Politifact.com, Snopes.com, TruthOrFiction.com all sedulously ignore the narrative of the First Barbary War. This Barbary War Narrative is included by Wikipedia, itself a Frontline Champion of Inclusivism, Pluralism and Islamophilia, just as Snopes, TruthOrFiction.com or Politifact.com are.

«In March 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went to London to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy, ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman (or Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). When they enquired "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury," the ambassador replied: "It was written in their Koran, (that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise). He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once." Jefferson reported this conversation to the US Secretary of Foreign Affairs John Jay, who submitted the ambassador's comments and offer to the US Congress."» See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War.

This is the Wikipedia page footnote: "American Peace Commissioners to John Jay," March 28, 1786, "Thomas Jefferson Papers," Series 1. General Correspondence. 1651–1827, Library of Congress. LoC: March 28, 1786 (handwritten). Philip Gengembre Hubert (1872). Making of America Project. The Atlantic Monthly, Atlantic Monthly Co. p. 413. Some sources confirm this wording, some other sources report this quotation with slight differences in wording.

The Statement of the Ambassador of Tripoli Mr Adja are a part of the US Congressional Record, beyond controversy, a part of the public record. It is only, however, one such statement of evidence. The successor state of Tripoli is Libya.

One can search carefully Snopes.com, TruthOrFiction.com or Politifact.com for a refutation of the Wikipedia page on the First Barbary War, on the encounter between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams with the Ambassador of Tripoli, Abd-ur-rahman Adja, and one will find nothing, zilch. This is a truth that cannot be refuted.

Another piece of Evidence is the Story of the Sudanese thinker and reformer Mahmoud Mohammed Taha who was executed as an Apostate from Mahomettanism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Mohammed_Taha.

Taha went against the Consensus of Mahomettanism that, affirms as Muhammad taught and affirmed, that the Revelations at Medina superseded the Revelations at Mecca, and that consequently, orthodox Islam considers the Meccan Revelations as abrogated and negated, superseded by the Medinian Revelations. The Meccan Revelatons taught peaceful coexistence and the rejection of violence against non-Muslims, while Muhammad was ruled by and lived under the political power of non-Muslims. The Medinian Revelations were made when Muhammad had seized power for himself in Yathrib, henceforth Medina, revealed his true face, rejected peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims, and commanded as an urgent obligation that all Muslims are to wage war against all non-Muslims, until the non-Muslims either submit to a slavery called Dhimma, as subjects and the common property of the Muslim Community, or convert to Islam.

Taha advocated that the Medinian Revelations be rejected and that a Reversion be made to the prior, Meccan Revelation. Such a suggestion Militates against Orthodox Islam, and he paid the price by being arrested, tried and being executed as an Apostate. He was and is not alone: Over the centuries from the lifetime of the False Prophet Muhammad, hundreds and thousands of men and women have been murdered throughout the world by Muslims and by Muslim States and Governments for saying or suggesting the same thing.

Ahmed Hussein Harkan is an Egyptian Muslim, who had been raised a fundamentalist, and who, from 2010 to 2020, had been an Atheist after rejecting Islam as inhuman. After years of severe persecution, imprisonment and harassment, in late March 2020, he announced his return to Islam. Harkan famously asked, a poser that no one has ever refuted, "What has ISIS (Daesh) done that Muhammad did not do?" ISIS / Daesh and Al Qaida are ultra-ultra Muslims, more Ultra than the Saudis or Deobandis, and look to rigidly and literally do as Muhammad did, including as a rapist, robber, murderer, pederast, etc.

To illustrate his bigotry and malice, Mikkelson added this made-up Scenario: «If one is willing to ignore history, context, and actual practice when quoting scripture and other religious texts, followers of just about any religion can be painted as uniformly fanatic and intolerant. By presenting misinterpretations and fringe activities as the norm, one could claim that mainstream Christianity tolerates or promotes child molestation and stoning and could recast the piece quoted above as follows:

«The minister gave a great presentation of the basics of Christianity, complete with a video. After the presentations time was provided for questions and answers. When it was my turn I directed my question to the minister and asked: “Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but I understand that in Exodus 35:2, the Bible instructs Christians to kill everyone who works on the sabbath: ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.'"

«There was no disagreement with my statement.

«I responded, "So, let me make sure I have this straight. God has commanded Christians to kill everyone who works on Sunday, even Muslims and other non-Christians?"

«The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He sheepishly replied, "Yes."

«I then said, "Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine the Prophet Muhammad commanding all Muslims to kill those of your faith for not observing the Muslim sabbath."

«The minister was speechless.

«I continued, "I also have problem with your Bible commanding all Christians to stone to death anyone who criticizes your God, as detailed in Leviticus 24:16. Let me ask you a question... Would you rather have your God who tell[s] you to kill me in order to go to heaven or my Allah who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and wants you to be with me?"

«You could have heard a pin drop as the minister hung his head in shame.»

This statement is falls under British Indian law, and the laws of the Republic of India, against insults to the religious faith of a person or a group, and so, I advise and suggest that Christian activists take this up and have a case registered against David Mikkelson and Snopes.com for slandering, libelling, calumniating, misrepresenting etc Christianity, insulting the Christian religion, and that they be tried and be punished for these crimes.


Lucio Mascarenhas. 22nd Nov 2020. https://www.vaticaninexile.com

Sources: https://www.rickmathes.net/2014/09/25/allah-or-jesus
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/allah-or-jesus
https://www.truthorfiction.com/infidels
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/feb/11/chain-email/barbary-wars-did-us-declare-war-islam
https://americasfreedomfighters.com/thomas-jeffersons-response-to-muslims-in-1801-is-exactly-what-we-need-today
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Mohammed_Taha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Harkan