Muslim activists
More than a war of words regarding militant Islamic terrorism, we need Muslim activists!
To understand that need, we must recognize the problems of Christian terrorism. It was rampant in Nazi Germany. Christians used terror-type activities against the Indians after Christians landed at Plymouth Rock. Christians engaged in terrorist activities as part of the Ku Klux Klan. Peaceful Christians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Roger Williams took a stand against Christian terrorism in their days. I am not aware of any Muslim taking a similar stand against militant Islamic terrorism.
Instead of taking a stand against the militant Islamic terrorism action in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, Muslims want to place a mosque near that disastrous militant Islamic terrorism activity. Until I see a Bonhoeffer-type activity against terrorism come from a person of Islamic faith, I question claims of the existence of peace-loving Muslims.
Actions speak louder than words.
Bill Osborne
Houston
Speaking up for God
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
In her rebuke of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood (Aug. 16), Shirley Taylor rightly points out the obvious—men are pigs. She woefully omits the reality—women are too.
Experience should confirm what Scripture declares: The human heart is “desperately sick, deceitful above all else,” whether it’s wrapped in the stride of a man or the touch of a woman, the ebony of a Kenyan or the ivory of a Scot, the jingle of the rich or the groan of the poor. All wallow gleefully in the hog-slop of sin until the Savior washes them clean.
On the wickedness of both men and women, Taylor and I agree. When it comes to her assessment of the council, she flirts dangerously with libel. “The council came into being with the express purpose of suppressing women and elevating men,” she states. That’s a pretty stout accusation.
Her charge runs directly counter to the council’s stated vision—“proclaiming God’s glorious design for men and women.” I would not begrudge anyone who would want to argue those words spin cleverly from the world of marketing and politics, but I would simply point out the council has consistently affirmed a tenable biblical position “that men and women are equal in the image of God, but maintain complementary differences in role and function.”
Taylor wonders who will speak up for women. I’m thankful the council speaks up for God. Does not the Potter have a right over the clay?
Ben Mullen
The Colony
Church/state
Thank you for “Lines of church-state separation may get blurry in disaster zones” (July 19). The long history of abuse and persecution has made it difficult for there to be any significant cooperation between these religious and government powers. It is about power, and as long as either seeks to dominate the other, the tension and abuse will continue.
My 15 years of experience as president of Arizona Baptist Children’s Services demonstrated church and state can work together without compromising their respective principles. When money is involved, establishment of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency can become a venue of cooperation with the separation still in place.
C. Truett Baker
Phoenix
Burn the Quran?
On Sept. 11, some Christians in Gainesville, Fla., plan on having a “Burn the Quran Day,” even though they were denied a fire permit. This is the idea of a “pistol packing” pastor named Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center.
Didn’t Jesus tell us to love our neighbors, as well as our enemies? Didn’t he tell us to turn the other cheek?
Christians shouldn’t be involved in book burnings. What laws would Jesus break? What books would Jesus burn ?
Chuck Mann
Greensboro, N.C.
Flag Pole Hypocricy
Does this scene sound familiar? A group of people stand outside, crying out to their God, babbling on with empty phrases, hoping others will see their spiritual superiority.
Jesus spoke directly against this self-righteous public piety during his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:5-8). As a youth minister, I, too, was guilty in the past of promoting this behavior by encouraging my students to attend the annual prayer spectacle See You at the Pole.
When students gather at their school’s flagpole for SYATP, they reenact the hypocrisy that Jesus condemns—prayer at the street corners to be seen by others, using empty phrases and meaningless blabber.
Is having an annual public spectacle of prayer really necessary? We should pray without ceasing throughout the year (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Many of those who attend SYATP are Christians with good intentions, but when Jesus prayed, he did not make it a public event. He instead retreated from the public eye (Mark 6:46; Matthew 14:23; Luke 9:18; John 6:15).
On Sept. 22, many people will participate in SYATP. While they do so, I encourage followers of Christ to “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). I encourage you to “not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
Kyle Tubbs
Sweetwater
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.