9/11 Fallout

Ten years ago the Islamist wing of the Muslim religion, a gigantic and merciless force, declared war on the West.
Islamists don’t believe in the principles of the West and plan to banish them from the Earth. The war, they claim, will continue until they win. Most of the world’s Muslims dislike them but can’t stop them.

In 2005, after a Danish newspaper published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, rabble-rousers in Syria, Lebanon and Iran stirred up furious protests. These led to mob violence. Police began shooting and some estimates place the resulting many fatalities — in most cases fellow Muslims.

These killings inaugurated a new form of intimidation and censorship. Around the world many editors who would otherwise have published the cartoons decided against it, lest they inspire more demagogues to inflame more crazed gangs and thereby lead to more deaths.

It’s become clear free speech and free inquiry are among the chief targets of the Islamists. It is as if Islamists were saying to the world: Don’t offend us or we’ll kill a lot of your people.

In the climate that was created by 9/11 the fear of Islamophobia has created another threat, more serious in the long run: It inhibits the serious discussion of Islam.

Of all the great religions, Islam is unique in believing it should not be analyzed or criticized … the key point being the divine nature of the Koran. Because Muslims believe it is unalterably holy, any discussion of it is an affront.

In this sense Islam remains medieval. In 15th-century Europe, before Martin Luther, criticism of the Gospels and the Christian church was forbidden. In the year 2011 Islam still maintains that principle.

The Koran has never been scrutinized in the way the Bible has been studied since the 17th century. Why should both practitioners and scholars not argue about Islam with the same frankness we bring to other world religions?

Islamist violence subverts free speech and threatens to eliminate it altogether. And, without the ability to speak freely … how are we to reason together?

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

If we are not to SPEAK of it … how will they HEAR the GOOD NEWS!

Paul Weresch

Pray for Turkey and the Middle East

Recently I heard a Turkish believer in Christ speak about the challenges of life for Christians in modern Turkey. While he was speaking I reflected on the origins of Christianity, I was reminded of the fact that Israel was the birthplace of Christianity and Turkey was the Cradle of Christianity. (see ruins of the Theater in Ephesus above)

Today both Countries are governed by systems that are less than friendly to Christianity. It seems that the words of Christ are still applicable today:

John 15:20 “… A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me,
they will also persecute you …”

Turkey is a tapestry of cultures and civilizations; it is the undiscovered jewel of Biblical history. Ancient civilizations existed in the fertile land of Anatolia for millennia. From the ancient Hittites to the Ottomans, Turkey has been not only the Cradle of Christianity, but also the Cradle of Western Civilization.

Old Testament patriarchs Noah, Abraham and Job all spent considerable time in this land. In the first century leading churches were located in Antioch, Ephesus, and the other seven churches of Revelation.

I am writing all this in order to motivate you to pray for Israel, Turkey and all the Middle East. I believe that the Lord has not forgotten this part of the world, and perhaps this is the time that God will pour out his Grace upon this Region so that many will be saved.

Paul Weresch

(For information on Biblical Sites in Turkey, see link below)
Troy - Biblical Sites in Turkey

This is Grace … Or, How I Spent My Summer Vacation

My friend Paul (his picture is at the top of this page) asked me how our summer vacation went. I felt like the kid in second grade giving his report to the teacher on the first week of school … How I Spent My Summer Vacation. This is my report:

We returned from our trip refreshed and loving each other more. That is a statement very seldom heard as the result of vacations. We enjoyed the country and each other, even though we did not have time to stop much with a busy schedule to accomplish in only nine days.

We had a wonderful reunion with my Aunt Ivadell at her daughter's place in Kansas City. It was a double pleasure in that it was Ivadell's 90th birthday and I hadn't seen my cousin for over 50 years. We spent a couple nights and a day ... had good visits, ate good food ... rested up well.

Then on to Oklahoma City for my Grandson’s wedding and a wonderful reunion with my three children … Tom, my son and father of the groom, and my daughters, Lisa and Wendy. It was especially glorious, the time we spent with them because Wendy, who has always been very cool towards me (rightly so, as I split when she was just a baby) was very warm and chatty with me. She even patted me on the back when I gave her a hug ... the Holy Spirit has been working overtime ... and I love it!!!!

The bride is a lovely girl and the wedding was eventful as well as very nice. It was outdoors at the bride's home, a small rural place ... the temperature was 100 degrees and the wind blew at 30 mph ... I describe it as a wedding in a convection oven. But, even with all that, a very enjoyable experience.

We made it back in two days, stopping for the night in Wyoming and getting home in plenty of time for Sharon to rest before going back to work.

All in all ... a worthy and worthwhile experience. The enjoyment was magnified by the factor of ten by the fact that I was with a wonderful wife full time, 24 hours a day for over a week, doing devotions together, praying together, laughing together and enjoying each other.

People always look for the Grace of God in large events … forgiving the murderer, healing the abuser … raising the fallen. Those are wonderful examples. However, if you want to see the everyday, simple act of Grace in a small, wonderful and practical way … you just read it.

And that was how I spent my summer vacation .... the end!

Larry Abele – Editorial Team