Islamists hope to build a thirteen-story mosque 600 feet from Ground Zero. It would be named 'Cordoba House' after the Great Mosque of Cordoba, which was built to commemorate the Muslim conquest of Spain. Islamists historically build mosques at conquered sites, and the symbolism of a mosque that close to the WTC attack is well understood by Muslims.
Despite the raw nerve exposed by the proposal, officials and commentators are falling over each other to promote it and congratulate themselves on their self-righteous tolerance.
Tolerance seems to be a one way street. Saudia Arabia built the largest mosque in Europe near the Vatican but won't allow any church within its borders, even though 800,000 Christians live there. They also forbid celebrating non-Muslim holidays and wearing crosses.
Egyptian mobs assault Christians with impunity, sometimes after being whipped up by an imam exhorting them to cleanse the city of infidels. The police invariably show up afterward and coerce the wounded into accepting a "reconciliation" that precludes prosecution of the attackers.
According to Moheb Zaki in The Wall Street Journal, Al-Azhar is "the world's preeminent Sunni Islamic Institution." It teaches that "Christianity (is) a pagan religion;" "killing a Muslim is punishable by death, but if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim he is not subject to capital punishment since the superior cannot be punished for killing the inferior;" and "the compensation for manslaughter for a woman is half that for a man, but for a Christian or a Jew it is one-third of a Muslim."
Some Muslims also suffer from intolerance. A Saudi court sentenced a young man to 90 lashes and four months in jail for kissing a girl. In Iran homosexuals and adulterous women are executed by stoning. They're wrapped head to toe in a white shroud and buried waist-deep in the center of a 30-foot circle of men who hurl fist-sized rocks at them. Death is slow and torturous.
Apologists blame extremists but moderates can be dicey, too. After 9/11 The New York Times reported that American Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki "is held up as a new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West." The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams highlighted an "American-Muslim lifestyle network" founded by banker Muzzamil Hassan and his wife Aasiya. Its mission was to counter negative images of Islam on television.
Al-Awlaki later mentored the Fort Hood killer, the Christmas Day bomber, and the Times Square bomber. The Hassan's marriage ended when she filed for divorce and he beheaded her. None of them ultimately behaved with moderation.
Cordoba House supporters condescendingly claim to reject bigotry. But the Muslim sense of superiority and scorn for Christianity and America are clear. Even a cursory look shows that the Muslims are the bigots - and they're proud of it.
Our "sophisticated" elites are oblivious to the obvious. If they're concerned about human rights, they should stop kowtowing to Islam and embrace Christianity. It's time they recognized human rights rest on a Christian foundation that's held in contempt by Muslims.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Mr. Tom
Delmar, NY is in the verdant Catskill Mountains not far from the mighty Hudson River. It's an upscale village that's been declared one of America's best communities. Kabul, Afghanistan is different. It's too dry to grow much vegetation and its river is just trickle most of the year. It has only a passing acquaintance with the modern world.
Tom Little, an optometrist from Delmar, went to Kabul in the 1970's and spent most of the next thirty years treating Afghans. He and his wife Libby raised three daughters there as Tom supervised clinics for the International Assistance Mission. This quiet, shy man learned the local language and wove himself into the community he was committed to helping. They lovingly called him "Mr. Tom."
Little trekked into the treacherous mountains to serve shepherds, subsistence farmers and their families. Many had never seen a doctor, let alone an optometrist or dentist. On his last trip he led a team that included a surgeon, dentist and nurse. Dr. Karen Woo, the surgeon, asked NBC if she could bring a camera on the trip but they thought it was too dangerous and wouldn't give her one.
NBC was right. After two weeks of hiking between villages the team was stopped by the Taliban. As reported by NPR, "Little shouted, "Who are you?" The attackers hit Little on the back of the head with a gun. He fell down and they shot him." They killed everyone in the party except for one Afghan who begged for mercy while reciting verses from the Quran.
The survivor reported "the attackers were very happy - even dancing with each other." They said they killed them because they were "spies who tried to convert Muslims." Nobody who knew the victims believed this. IAM has been a registered Christian organization with the Afghan government since arriving there in 1966. IAM Director Dirk Frans explained "Our faith motivates us but we do not proselytize. We abide by the laws of Afghanistan" that make proselytizing illegal.
If Mr. Tom opened minds to a loving faith it was by providing a Christian example. Jennifer Gish of timesunion.com noted, "Tom Little knew the dangers, he'd lived them through three decades, but the man who brought eye care to the most remote places of Afghanistan couldn't see his life any other way."
His devout Christianity - the thing that drove him - deserved attention. But it was ignored on Meet the Press when a panelist noted that "This is exactly what Hillary Clinton is trying to do. More civilian projects." Secretary Clinton called the victims "heroic, generous people." Neither mentioned they were Christians or the fact they've been providing help without fanfare for decades.
Ms. Clinton eventually gave religion a plug: "Muslims around the world join people of other faiths in rejecting last week's murder of humanitarian workers in Afghanistan." Based on what evidence? The silence of the Islamic community is deafening.
And the disregarding of selfless, valiant Christan faith is appalling.
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Tom Little, an optometrist from Delmar, went to Kabul in the 1970's and spent most of the next thirty years treating Afghans. He and his wife Libby raised three daughters there as Tom supervised clinics for the International Assistance Mission. This quiet, shy man learned the local language and wove himself into the community he was committed to helping. They lovingly called him "Mr. Tom."
Little trekked into the treacherous mountains to serve shepherds, subsistence farmers and their families. Many had never seen a doctor, let alone an optometrist or dentist. On his last trip he led a team that included a surgeon, dentist and nurse. Dr. Karen Woo, the surgeon, asked NBC if she could bring a camera on the trip but they thought it was too dangerous and wouldn't give her one.
NBC was right. After two weeks of hiking between villages the team was stopped by the Taliban. As reported by NPR, "Little shouted, "Who are you?" The attackers hit Little on the back of the head with a gun. He fell down and they shot him." They killed everyone in the party except for one Afghan who begged for mercy while reciting verses from the Quran.
The survivor reported "the attackers were very happy - even dancing with each other." They said they killed them because they were "spies who tried to convert Muslims." Nobody who knew the victims believed this. IAM has been a registered Christian organization with the Afghan government since arriving there in 1966. IAM Director Dirk Frans explained "Our faith motivates us but we do not proselytize. We abide by the laws of Afghanistan" that make proselytizing illegal.
If Mr. Tom opened minds to a loving faith it was by providing a Christian example. Jennifer Gish of timesunion.com noted, "Tom Little knew the dangers, he'd lived them through three decades, but the man who brought eye care to the most remote places of Afghanistan couldn't see his life any other way."
His devout Christianity - the thing that drove him - deserved attention. But it was ignored on Meet the Press when a panelist noted that "This is exactly what Hillary Clinton is trying to do. More civilian projects." Secretary Clinton called the victims "heroic, generous people." Neither mentioned they were Christians or the fact they've been providing help without fanfare for decades.
Ms. Clinton eventually gave religion a plug: "Muslims around the world join people of other faiths in rejecting last week's murder of humanitarian workers in Afghanistan." Based on what evidence? The silence of the Islamic community is deafening.
And the disregarding of selfless, valiant Christan faith is appalling.
To comment
If "Post a Comment" box appears below (1) write comment in box, (2) in "Comment as" select "Name/URL" and enter first name Or select "Anonymous," (3) click on "Post Comment"
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Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Big Chill
The Big Chill leaves a different impression 27 years after its release. The cast included soon-to-be stars Glen Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, JoBeth Williams and Meg Tilly. It struck a chord with thirty-something baby boomers who related to the friendship, casual drug use, sexual disinhibition, differences between friends after years of traveling different paths, and the love of Motown music.
The college classmates are suddenly reunited when one of their group slashes his wrists and dies. The opening scene shows a man being dressed - by an undertaker. It's the sole appearance by Kevin Costner, whose face isn't shown and whose other scenes were cut by the director. The group buries its friend and decides to stay together for the weekend.
The world was turbulent fifteen years earlier when they were in school with war, riots and assassinations. Protests, terrorist acts, the sexual revolution and drug use challenged "The Machine" and "The Man." Like the characters in The Big Chill, many moviegoers had participated in demonstrations, gone to Vietnam, been told not to trust anyone over 30 and naively believed that their self-proclaimed moral superiority - and sheer numbers - would transform the world.
It went without notice that there was a dearth of good ideas about what to turn it into.
The deceased character, Alex, was the only rebel who didn't assimilate into society like the lawyer, businessman, journalist, housewives, actor and radio host. His demise provoked reflection and introspection about the pragmatic roles they had assumed after jettisoning their idealism.
It's an entertaining movie, but today it just seems to be self-absorbed navel gazing. One thing is clear: despite their material successes these are empty people who have no idea where to turn for fulfillment. When the film ends they're reflexively destined to climb back on their respective treadmills.
At one point Alex's young girlfriend Chloe is asked about happiness. She responds, "I haven't met that many happy people. How do they act?" If she had visited my church or one of thousands of other Christian churches, she would have known. She would have known because faith provides the hope and direction that secular life doesn't and it changes the lives of people who lack meaning, solid moral standards and hope for a future that transcends material wealth.
At the funeral a friend played Alex's favorite tune, "You Can't Always Get What You Want." It's great, especially the way the organ music transitions into the french horn as the Rolling Stones sing the original. What do we want? Wealth? Status? Power? Alex apparently rejected all of these, searched for something else, found nothing and terminated his pointless life. If he had found Christ his life would have had a purpose and Chloe would have known what a happy person looked like.
Maybe The Big Chill is what happens to a soul when spirituality succumbs to emptiness.
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send an email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
The college classmates are suddenly reunited when one of their group slashes his wrists and dies. The opening scene shows a man being dressed - by an undertaker. It's the sole appearance by Kevin Costner, whose face isn't shown and whose other scenes were cut by the director. The group buries its friend and decides to stay together for the weekend.
The world was turbulent fifteen years earlier when they were in school with war, riots and assassinations. Protests, terrorist acts, the sexual revolution and drug use challenged "The Machine" and "The Man." Like the characters in The Big Chill, many moviegoers had participated in demonstrations, gone to Vietnam, been told not to trust anyone over 30 and naively believed that their self-proclaimed moral superiority - and sheer numbers - would transform the world.
It went without notice that there was a dearth of good ideas about what to turn it into.
The deceased character, Alex, was the only rebel who didn't assimilate into society like the lawyer, businessman, journalist, housewives, actor and radio host. His demise provoked reflection and introspection about the pragmatic roles they had assumed after jettisoning their idealism.
It's an entertaining movie, but today it just seems to be self-absorbed navel gazing. One thing is clear: despite their material successes these are empty people who have no idea where to turn for fulfillment. When the film ends they're reflexively destined to climb back on their respective treadmills.
At one point Alex's young girlfriend Chloe is asked about happiness. She responds, "I haven't met that many happy people. How do they act?" If she had visited my church or one of thousands of other Christian churches, she would have known. She would have known because faith provides the hope and direction that secular life doesn't and it changes the lives of people who lack meaning, solid moral standards and hope for a future that transcends material wealth.
At the funeral a friend played Alex's favorite tune, "You Can't Always Get What You Want." It's great, especially the way the organ music transitions into the french horn as the Rolling Stones sing the original. What do we want? Wealth? Status? Power? Alex apparently rejected all of these, searched for something else, found nothing and terminated his pointless life. If he had found Christ his life would have had a purpose and Chloe would have known what a happy person looked like.
Maybe The Big Chill is what happens to a soul when spirituality succumbs to emptiness.
To add or remove an address from the Christian Standpoint mailing list, which provides a link to the weekly post, please send an email to cwgalaska@triadpress.us
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