1907 IS THE GOSPEL REALLY THE ANSWER?

Of course today we remember those who died 11 years ago.

We pray for the families and friends.

I find it strange that I recently stumbled into some of the verses in Revelation- that deal with nations and systems that war against each other.

It’s almost unbelievable to realize that in the last presidential campaign- you had someone on the Repub platform- talking about the ‘real reason’ 9-11 happened.

I mean comedians got raked over the coals for this- and others fumbled and fell into a great trap by even wading on the water’s edge.

Ron Paul often spoke about the mindset of radical Islam

Paul was the libertarian candidate who ran on the Repub ticket.

He spoke about the mindset that led to the terror attack on 9-11.

Now- in no way do I justify anything like what happened.

But it is important to see the underlying grievance that the radical wing of Islam harbors.

We often hear that the reason for the attack was ‘they hate our freedom’.

Was that the reason?

If you actually read the writings of the radicals- they believe they are indeed in a ‘holy war’.

They see the encroachment of the West- our ‘values’ [last post] and our ‘occupation’ of their holy lands as the grievance.

If you think back- the first real attack against the west was the bombing of the Kobar towers in Saudi Arabia.

This was the first one [that I recall] that was a direct act of what we call Al Qaeda.

The movement started by Osama Bin laden.

They saw Saudi Arabia as their holy land- and the towers were the U.S. base in the land.

Okay- am I justifying the attack?

No- just want you to see the mindset.

Then- the attack on the World Trade center.

The radical mind believes that to hit the ‘occupier’ in her homeland is a justifiable response because we have been engaged- many times- in Arab/Muslim lands- militarily.

I had a talk with a friend the other day- we were discussing these issues.

I told my friend that Christianity- and Judaism- have had their own ‘reformation’ of sorts.

Both religions have come to a place where they see the separation of church and state- that is- they are able to distinguish between religious belief and acts of war.

Now- there are critics of Christianity who still accuse the church of wanting to have a theocracy [church ruled state].

But for the most part- those who believe this [reconstructionist's] are far and few in between.

But- Islam has not yet had her ‘reformation’ moment.

Now- as a blogger who has Muslim, Jewish and Christian readers- my goal is not to offend anyone- nor to skirt the real issues.

There are many fine Muslim people- who do indeed reject the entire mindset of radical Islam.

But- in the actual debates that go in within the religion- there are many who still believe that force- along with reliogus expression- is acceptable.

Islam is not only a ‘religion’ per se- but it is also a way of government.

Now- like I said- during the history of the church- obviously the same thing happened.

I mean any person who studies the rise of Western civilization- the arts- science- history- I mean the church is the major player on the board- hands down.

But- today most Christians see their role as more of a spiritual one- yes- being active in politics- voting- yes- we do have a voice at the table.

But we don’t- for the most part- want to take up an armed resistance against the world.

So- those who adhere to radical Islam- they see their struggle- well much like the last post- a Che type of thing.

I think the future depends- not on us killing all the radicals- no- this can never be fully done.

The mindset lives on in the flowing generations.

No- the answer is in learning mutual respect for each other’s beliefs and cultures.

Now- I’m’ not saying ‘let’s try and understand the poor terrorist’.

But I am saying that we in the West do need to see the root cause of why terrorism happens.

In a little while I will be going to visit John David in the ICU.

John is the friend I have written about over the years.

He was a coke addict for many years- got clean about 2 years ago.

I have pictures of him and his brother on my face book site.

We were having a fellowship at the house and did the Lords Supper.

John had heart surgery yesterday- and I will be taking his brothers Hugh and Andy to see him.

The other day I found a few packets of seeds at the house- the type you plant in the vegetable garden.

Don- the street guy who maintains the garden at the mission- he asked me one day if I could get him some.

I mean he plants that garden from scratch [see the pics on face book].

I gave them to him- he was elated- over seeds!

One day- about 10 years ago now- I was sitting at the fire house- actually it was soon after 9-11.

The fire depts. were on high alert- we had things we were to watch out for- stuff that we never worried about before.

So one day- sitting at the station- may Captain says ‘hey John- go see what the Muslim wants’.

Sure enough- some guy- dressed for the part- was walking around the fire trucks.

This station was right by A&I university [now A&M].

So- we used to keep the doors open all day [not any more] and people could walk in if they wanted.

So I went outside- the guy was just checking all the emergency vehicles out.

He told me ‘I’m doing research for a school project’.

Hmm?

As I talked with him- we got into ‘religion’ and I covered the history Of Christians and Arabs.

I traced back to Abraham- went into the story of his sons [Arabs trace their roots to Abraham’s son Ishmael]

And when I was done- I told him the true purpose of God- to redeem all nations of the earth.

That God loves the Arab- the Persian [we often mistake Persians for Arabs].

That he loves all people- and he sent his Son to die for all of humanity.

To my surprise- he told me he has never- not once- heard this story.

His view of Christianity- the west- the entire mindset- was shaped by world events.

He did not distinguish between Christianity and the actual Govt. of the U.S.

He- like many others- view the entire ‘struggle’ as a struggle for who will ‘rule the world’.

In my time with him- I tried to show him a better way.

No- I am not advocating passivism.

I’m not saying if we simply try to understand the terrorist- the he will go away.

But I am saying- in some cases- these people have never really heard the message.

In some cases- like the Apostle Paul said ‘satan has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe’.

In some cases- the Good News [gospel] is really the answer.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.