Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Functional Beliefs

Another gem from Bob Kauflin today. He writes primarily for worship leaders, but we can all benefit from truths like this:
Proclaiming what is true about God is often underrated. We think we know enough facts about God and now just need to "experience" Him. Or maybe we think that we don't need to be reminded of what we already understand.

Our hearts reveal something different. Every time we give in to fear, anxiety, envy, lust, anger, or any sin, we are functionally saying that we've forgotten who God is. Proclamation helps set our minds and hearts right, and reminds us of the convictions and realities that guide and govern our daily lives.

Full post here.

Baffled by The Bachelor: "You Make Me So Happy"?

As a transplanted Nashvillian, I felt compelled to watch the season finale of The Bachelor last night. I have maybe seen one and a half episodes of this show in my life--but given that the bachelor, Travis, and one of the final two women, Sarah, were both from Nashville, it's been the local buzz lately. Bob Mueller, the evening anchor for the Nashville ABC affiliate, put it this way:

It is common for news departments to try to build from the popularity of network shows. But The Bachelor, with 2 players being from Nashville has taken on a life of its own. If Travis or Sarah and you were ever within say the same state we have talked with you. ...We tracked down the gym were both work out...SEPERATELY mind you. We found the weight machine someone believes they saw Travis think about using. We talked with an attendant who showed us the basket she is sure Sarah would have thrown her towel. She also showed us the towel hanging on the edge of the basket, and is 15 per cent sure it is Sarah’s because someone told her Sarah likes to hang her towel on the side of the basket. ...Women have been calling the Vanderbilt e.r. faking illnesses and trying to get appointments with Dr. Travis Stork.
Wow. Just wow. I'll avoid the soapbox about how this should not be news in the first place.

Anyway, last night I thought it might be interesting to flip on the TV and see whether Travis would choose his fellow Tennessean. It would be a cute story, they said: two people who live less than a mile away from each other going to Paris to meet on a TV show. Not as great as our story (not that I'm biased), but still a good story.

Steve was watching with me at first, and initially we both had to laugh. Could they have possibly dragged it out any more or made things any more dramatic? But eventually he got somewhat disgusted by the whole thing: "Why is it that you want to watch this?" My response: "It's like a car wreck--horrifying and yet you just can't look away."

Half an hour or so into it, I felt somewhat disgusted as well. "What kind of guy would get all intimate with even TWO women at once (let alone a dozen)?" Steve had less respect for the girls: "What kind of girl would LET him do that?!" he asked. I was baffled. How could you make out with someone and go on romantic dates with him, all the while knowing he was doing the exact same thing with several other women?

After Travis rejected Moana, the other finalist, I wasn't sure what to think of her meltdown in the limo. I felt compassion for her as she sobbed about how she felt like a fool because she had been so vulnerable. But I also thought, "You ARE a fool. Why would you give so much of your heart to a man who was evaluating you and playing you alongside several other women?" And then another part of me felt a whole mix of emotions: Like how it's sad that we consider toying with real people's emotions "entertainment." Or that the whole thing seems to illustrate the mockery that our society has made of marriage.

Travis did end up picking the hometown girl (which Steve accurately predicted after seeing 20 minutes of one episode--"they've edited it to try to make you think he'll pick the other girl," he observed). And, to his credit, Travis didn't give Sarah an engagement ring, but rather, gave her the ring on a necklace to symbolize "his desire to see where this relationship goes." At least he didn't make any flippant promises about marriage.

But the amazing thing was what he told Sarah as he explained that he was choosing her. It was a variation of a line that was spoken many times by different people during the show: "One of the things I like about you most, maybe the most, is that when I’m with you I’m happy."

Excuse me? So is it really that you love this person, or that you love yourself? Do people really think this is the ultimate basis of marriage? And we wonder why the divorce rate in this country is the way it is:

"I'm marrying you because you make me so happy."
(five years later)
"I'm not happy anymore. Time to move on."

That seemed to reflect the attitude of the show, which I suppose in turn reflects the attitude of our culture: "It's all about me."

I'm no expert on marriage; I'm still a newlywed. But I do know that marriage is about a lot more than just "this person makes me feel happy." Don't get me wrong: Steve often does make me happy. And I'm glad. But for one thing, there are a whole lot of other qualities I love about who he is--not how he makes me feel. And for another, he doesn't always make me happy. Marriage means sticking with him even during the times when he doesn't (and it means he sticks with me even when I don't make him happy). First because NO human being on this planet could ever make me happy all the time (my heart was created first and foremost for someone else) and second because regardless of whether I'm constantly smiling, God is using Steve to make me holy and show me more of Himself (and vice versa).

So...now that Travis and Sarah can have a public, one-on-one relationship without him simultaneously cultivating intimacy with twenty other women...I wish them all the best. But if they decide to marry, I hope it's based on a lot more than "you make me so happy."

Saturday, February 25, 2006

One Life at a Time

I keep forgetting to blog about the fact that I'm a GEM now. No, not that kind (although I did love watching her rock with the Holograms when I was a kid). I'm working with our church's GEMS Club. What a huge blessing to look forward to every Wednesday!

GEMS--Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior--is for girls in grades 1-6. Our church has a small club that meets on Wednesday nights, and when I found out last month that one of the counselors had decided not to do it anymore, I was very interested in helping out. This was my fourth week (hard to believe) of working with two fun ladies and five very precious girls, ages 7-10. I'm in charge of the older "group," which really isn't a group at all--in reality, I'm doing one-on-one mentoring with this sweet fourth grader named Abby. It is so fun! After we meet together with the younger girls, where they work out all their giggles and energy (sort of), Abby and I split off and do some sort of lesson (we just finished learning about Esther).

Mentoring has been a passion of my heart ever since my first summer working for Kingdom Building Ministries. After being paired with a mentor of my own for the first time--an awesome woman of God named Diane--and spending three months experiencing the heart of KBM up close, I was completely sold on the importance of mentoring and the way God uses it to change lives. Pouring into one person may seem like an insignificant contribution to the Kingdom compared to a huge ministry that reaches thousands...but in the long run, the impact of mentoring can run wider and deeper. (Go check out that article! I'll still be here when you get back.)

After that summer, I was mentored by another amazing, godly woman and had the privilege of being a mentor to three fabulous girls. Mentoring is not only something God has called for in His Word, it's something He's given me a deep passion for. So I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to pour into Abby's life and serve Him in this way!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Busy?

Four gifted and gospel-centered men of God have a joint blogging effort going over at Together for the Gospel. Thought I'd share something C.J. Mahaney said last week that really made me think:

"I don't doubt that you are busy and that your to-do list appears endless. But it is possible to be very busy and yet very lazy, because we aren't busy doing that which is most important. There is a difference between busyness and effectiveness. The real question is: are you busy with various responsibilities of secondary importance, or are you attending each day to that which is most important?"

Whole post is here.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Just Because

A simple way to make me smile from ear to ear. Do I have a sweet husband or what?

Friday, February 17, 2006

Stupid Movies

Some movies are so stupid, they're funny. Others go too far past that point--they're so stupid...that they're just stupid.

The statement I'm about to make will no doubt inspire outrage among some of my readers, but it's my blog and I'll say it anyway: The Princess Bride is the clearest example of a movie that falls into the latter category. I will never understand the appeal of that ridiculous movie. I saw it once or twice when I was younger, and thought it was completely stupid. But by the time I was a freshman in college, I knew several people who thought it was the greatest movie ever made--so when our campus was showing it during orientation week, I decided to give it another chance. Maybe I had missed something. No. It was still completely stupid. I think I have lost brain cells every time I have seen it.

Anyway, as of last night, a new movie joins the ranks of The Princess Bride in the category of "movies that are so stupid, they're just stupid."

When advertisements and previews for Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit came out a few months ago, my husband sat at the computer watching clips from the website and laughing out loud. I, on the other hand, was not amused. I chalked it up to the fact that we occasionally have a different sense of humor, and knew it was a movie that he would love to watch with his brothers, a movie that would have all three of them laughing their heads off as they endlessly quote it in bad British accents afterwards. Not that that has ever happened before with other movies...

Anyway, I decided to be a good wife and surprise Steve with the DVD for Valentine's Day. I knew he'd love the gift, and I figured maybe it wouldn't be that bad. The reviews on the DVD case gave me hope: Time magazine called it "the flat out funniest movie in dog's years" (which doesn't exactly make sense--how many dog's years?--but whatever) and Rolling Stone said "you will laugh yourself silly."

So Steve and I sat down to watch it last night. Apparently in order to laugh yourself silly, maybe you have to be smoking whatever the reviewers were smoking when they wrote those comments? I think I may have given a courtesy half-smile/half-chuckle twice, and laughed once. The rest of the time I sat there baffled, wondering how in the world anyone could consider this movie "an ingenious, witty, wonderful film."

After it was over, I asked Steve, "Did I miss something?" Incidentally, he hadn't been laughing out loud either, as I had expected him to. He shook his head and said, "The previews were funny..."

I can't believe I spent good money on that movie. I want my $19.95 back. Also, I want those 90 minutes of my life back.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

A Good Example Won't Suffice

Go check out the post which left me speechless this morning. Here's the paragraph that made me say "Wow," out loud. From "Preaching Christ and Judas":

Then God showed me something -- here we are at the end of Jesus' three years with these men and their sin is so deeply rooted that their hearts remain the same! They had spent intense time in the presence of a perfect example and nothing had changed their hearts. They needed a Savior, not an example. And Jesus is not despairing of their lack of progress. He expects it. They are all great sinners -- the other 10 will desert him too.

Wow. I can't think of a better, clearer, simpler illustration of our need for a Savior and not just a system of morality. If GospelDrivenLife isn't one of your Bloglines feeds, you're regularly missing some absolute gems.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

I'm Famous!

If you've been reading this blog very long, you know that GirlTalk is one of my must-read daily stops in the blogosphere. Last week they posted this Q&A, which addressed this question they've gotten from several girls: “I like such and such a guy but I’m not sure what his intentions are. I want to tell him how I feel, but I’m not sure what to do.”

Their answer was full of wise counsel, and after reading it, I was reminded so much of my own love story--which I love retelling. I couldn't resist writing to share it with them, hoping they would forward my email to the girls who have asked that question. I thought that perhaps my story of God's grace and sovereignty would encourage those girls.

Today I discovered they had posted my story on the blog! I'm famous! :)

It's kind of long--I tried to condense as much as possible, but Steve's and my relationship involves a lot of years and a lot of phases! And if you are close to me or were at our wedding, you know the story already. But if not, head on over there to read about how God brought Steve and me together. (The comment about *me* being famous is tongue-in-cheek, of course. For the "star" of that story is not me--who definitely would have screwed everything up and made a big mess if left to myself--but the Lord, who in His infinite wisdom, power and love, didn't leave me to myself, but instead orchestrated it all for our good and His glory.)

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Blessing

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: " ' "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace" ' " (Numbers 6:22-26).

Part of the priests' role, as representatives of the people before the Holy One of Israel, was to bring blessing to the people. The idea was that through their work, God would bless Israel and turn His face toward them in favor. Of course this system was far from ideal; the priests were flawed humans and the Israelites were unfaithful.

Ultimately Christ, our High Priest, was the only one who could--and DID--bring us blessing in this way, once and for all. Through Him God's face shines on us in favor and acceptance. Because of Him, God turns His face toward us with pleasure. In Him we have been given true shalom...rightness...peace that passes understanding...reconciliation with our Creator and King.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Monday, February 13, 2006

A PSA for the Dear, Sweet People of Nashville

Attention, Nashville:

This is a snowstorm.
(**Picture taken by AP. I have only posted it here because CNN is no longer showing it with the article. I hope that is not unethical in the blogosphere.)
Note that only the man's head is visible behind his buried car. Browse through the pictures and scan the article linked above to educate yourself. Note the enormous piles of snow. Note that, miraculously, New Yorkers are even managing to make it to work today.

This:

(**Picture from nashvillewx.com - I would have linked to this picture rather than posting it, but they don't seem to have permalinks available to individual posts.)

...is not a snowstorm. Note the grass. Note the roof still visible on the house. Note that the young men are not even wearing gloves, because it is not very cold out.

The weather you experienced this weekend was not anything remotely approximating "it looks like a blizzard out there," as I heard one TV station report. It did not warrant a threatening-sounding "snow advisory" or even substantial news coverage. The roads were not dangerous to drive on. You did not need to cancel every public event for Saturday morning. And you especially did not need to run frantically to Kroger on Friday afternoon and buy hundreds of dollars worth of canned goods and bread and milk, in case you were stranded in your homes for hours due to the snow.

(Note to self: Never innocently attempt to "pick up a few things" at Kroger on a Friday afternoon when they are calling for even one inch of snow in Nashville. You will end up waiting in the checkout line long enough to read through an entire People magazine.)

If we ever get a real, substantial snowfall which makes driving conditions truly treacherous and which warrants panicked grocery shopping, I will let you know. Until then, thank you and good night.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Speaking of Holiness...

We know that although the holiness which God provides for us is free to us, it's costly to Him. But has it ever occurred to you that holiness is messy? My friend Liz had some poignant reflections on this a few weeks ago:

On hearing the word “holiness” what do you see/think of? For me it’s a white cloth or a robe. A very clean and very bright white robe.

...My mental image is colliding with what Leviticus says. The OT methods of how to be cleansed and redeemed are messy--very messy. Nothing of what we’re reading is neat, clean or tidy. There’s blood being poured, sprinkled, and strewn. Blood thrown on the four sides of the altar and blood placed on Aaron and his sons. It’s a lot [of] blood. The details of killing each animal with explanations on how to handle each section on the animal seems more like butcher training then my ideas of what a priest does. There is no way the priest's clothes could have stayed clean, let alone Tide-with-bleach-white.

Each morning as we read it hits me: the cost of holiness is messy.


Full post is here. (You can also check out her reflections on life as a missionary in Japan here.)

Friday, February 10, 2006

Interrupting the Law to Bring You This Reminder

Most people who are going through a read-the-Bible-in-one-year plan are digging into Leviticus right about now. Although we remind ourselves that "all Scripture is God-breathed," it's easy to get bogged down in the endless lists of laws, wondering why it's necessary to read about regulations that don't even apply to us under Christ. There are nuggets of gold to be found among these pages, but they're usually difficult to find.

Today as I plodded through the pages of Leviticus 20-22, I began to notice that God repeats one phrase (or variations of it) again and again: "I am the LORD, who makes you holy." Law after law, and then another brief interruption: "I am the LORD, who makes you holy."

It occurred to me that we all--the Israelites then, and the Pharisaic legalists in our hearts now--need the constant reminder. It is not our keeping of the laws which makes us holy. If our holiness and acceptability before a perfect and holy God depended at any point in our lives on our faithfulness to a long list of do's and don'ts, we'd be toast.

Certainly we must strive to fulfill the law (not the miniscule rules which bound the Israelites, but the higher law of love which Christ instituted). It is for our good and for His glory. But it is not what saves us. The law cannot make us holy. Our best efforts fall far short. Our works can't save us...but they also can't make us holy after we're saved.

Only God Himself can make us holy. "I the LORD am holy--I who make you holy."

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

The Light of Life

Throughout the Bible, God continually describes Himself in association with light. He "wraps Himself in light as with a garment" (Psalm 104:2). He is one who "lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see" (1 Timothy 6:16). The apostle John says that "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5, emphasis mine). And Revelation 21:23 explains that the Holy City of Jerusalem on the New Earth "does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light."

What is light? What do we know about it? Last Sunday, Pastor Dave launched into a little impromptu physics lesson during his sermon. Being a language girl myself (my husband is the math and science guru), some of it was over my head, but what I caught was fascinating. Consider these interesting concepts:

Scientists have no explanation for the original source of light. Where did it come from?
"And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).

Light is essential to life. Nothing can exist without it.
"For in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

Light is energy made of particles and waves. It has no beginning or end.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (
Revelation 22:13).
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8).

The human eye cannot actually see light. We can only see its interaction with particles of matter in the air.
"The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us" (Psalm 118:27).
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
Though our eyes cannot behold Him, we can clearly see the ways He moves in our lives and in our world. (You can't see the wind--but you can see the effects of the wind...)

The colors that we can see (Roy G. Biv!) are only an infinitesimally small part of the entire spectrum of light. It's like the width of a human hair in one mile.
God has revealed only a miniscule portion of Himself to us--in the world and in His Word. He is eternal, sovereign, omnipotent, so vast that our finite minds cannot possibly know and understand all there is to know of Him. To quote Charles Spurgeon:

"As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God. A God whom we could understand would be no God. If we could grasp him he could not be infinite; if we could understand him, then were he not divine."

Yet one day--praise Him!--the scales will fall from our eyes and "we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2)! I believe that for all eternity, we'll constantly be discovering new things about God--He is too big for us to ever grasp fully. But when He comes again and reigns forever, the whole world will begin to see the full spectrum of His glorious grace. He came the first time in humility, but He will come again in GLORY!

May we "declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light"! (1 Peter 2:9).

Monday, February 06, 2006

End of the Spear

Steve and I saw End of the Spear on Saturday. Powerful movie. I've long been fascinated by this story--from reading Through Gates of Splendor a few years ago, to seeing Steve Saint and Mincaye at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert, to interviewing Steve Saint for a newspaper article before he came and spoke at IWU.

The summary, for any who might be unfamiliar: Five young men, compelled by their love for Christ, seek to take the Gospel to a remote Ecuadorian tribe. The tribe is rapidly killing itself off through an endless cycle of murder and revenge. And their reputation for violence is well known; they have killed all foreigners who have tried to reach them. In January of 1956, all five are speared by men of the tribe. But the widow of one martyr and the sister of another end up going to live with the tribe, and the Waodani people find salvation through the glorious gospel of Christ. And it comes full circle: Mincaye, the man who murdered Nate Saint, is now known as "Grandfather" by Nate's grandchildren. Amazing story.

Anyway, I read a lot about, and became very frustrated with, all the recent controversy surrounding the film. After reading this article (lengthy, but well worth your time if you know what I'm talking about and are concerned about the film's casting) and this review, I was convinced I wanted to see the movie. (Note: if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might enjoy the movie more if you go see it before immersing yourself in all the arguments.)

The film moved me to tears several times--it's truly an incredible story. (It also renewed my desire to see the documentary version, which came out on DVD a few months ago, Beyond the Gates of Splendor.) I had heard several people express disappointment that the Gospel was not clearly presented in the film, and after seeing it, I have mixed feelings about that. I understand and respect the filmmakers' desire to make a film that nonbelievers would go see--a film in which the characters' actions speak louder than their words, a film that is not preachy and does not insert a hokey "here's a three-step plan of salvation." Clearly the redemption story is there, if not explicit. And I think reviewer John Ferguson makes an excellent point:
Others will claim that the gospel message is not presented as clearly as it should have been. Christ is not explicitly mentioned and the tribe’s need for him is not particularly clear other than to prevent further murders. ...

These points are well taken but should not cause us to debunk the entire project. One senses a strong hope in recent times within evangelical Christianity for a movie that we can walk into with a pagan and walk out of with a convert. Perhaps, as much as anything, we desire it in order to cover up our own inadequacies. But we should be wary of any such hope, for the wisdom that brings salvation is to be found—not in movie theaters— but in the Scriptures. Any claim that a movie can substitute for God’s Word is not only erroneous but will prove itself futile.
I tend to agree. I think Christians are too often hoping to be able to take unsaved friends to an event--a church service, a movie, whatever--and have someone else lead them to Christ. In other words--we don't want the responsibility of proclaiming His name to our unsaved friends, of building relationships and sharing the Gospel ourselves. This movie, like other events, could be a valuable tool for stimulating questions and discussions--but we should not place unrealistic hope on a film to do what only the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can do.

That said, I do wish the film would have more clearly shown what drove the missionary martyrs, and what ultimately set the Waodani people free from their bondage to violence and fear. For instance, there's one moment in particular where Mincayani voices his fears of the missionaries' message and sheds light on the beliefs and superstitions of his people. It would have been a perfect opportunity to flesh out the Gospel a little more clearly--and I think it definitely could have been done without being preachy--but that didn't happen.

As I'm learning more and more, it's foolish (if not downright dangerous) to assume the Gospel and move it to the periphery. I know all of the back story, so I can see the Gospel--but will others who come to the story for the first time? However, while the absence of the Gospel is disappointing, I'm with Ferguson in that I don't think we should completely reject the film because of it.

"Another criticism," Ferguson notes, "is that the Christian character of the missionaries is somewhat diluted. In contrast, when reading Elisabeth Elliot, one is struck by the fact that the characters of these men and women were permeated with Scripture." I have to agree here--in fact, I felt a little disappointed with/confused by the way the missionaries were presented. Their attitudes and actions at times seemed too flippant and lighthearted--not at all in keeping with the portrait of their deep commitment to Christ and their willingness to die for the salvation of the Waodani that Elisabeth Elliot portrays in her book. That said, it's still a good movie.

I pulled out my copy of Through Gates of Splendor when we got home and began rereading. So powerful and inspiring. I'll leave you with these words, written by Pete Fleming:
[note: the Waodani people were known as Aucas by neighboring tribes--the word means "savages," so they are now known by the name they call themselves, Waodani]
"I am longing now to reach the Aucas if God gives me the honor of proclaiming the Name among them. ...I would gladly give my life for that tribe if only to see an assembly of those proud, clever, smart people gathering around a table to honor the Son--gladly, gladly, gladly! What more could be given to a life?"
Those words send chills down my spine as I read them fifty years later. To know that Pete Fleming and his friends did indeed give their lives for that tribe--and their blood was the seed God used to plant His Word in the hearts of the Waodani...To know that Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian and Nate Saint will one day worship the King of Kings alongside the very men who speared them...What a mighty God we serve!

Saturday, February 04, 2006

On the Muslim Outrage Over Mohammed Cartoons

I've read a few articles recently about the uproar in the Middle East over the cartoons published in a Danish newspaper that caricatured Mohammed (one example portrayed Mohammed with a bomb in place of a turban on his head). Michelle Malkin has covered this extensively.

The images I've seen of protests--signs demanding the beheading of those who mock Islam, Muslims burning the Danish flag--are frightening. Just this morning, the headlines said that protestors had set fire to the Danish embassy in Syria. And I have to admit, I feel a little baffled by the whole situation. The world mocks Christianity without end. We are sometimes offended. Some Christians protest or call for boycotts. But Christians don't demand the execution of those who mock our God or our faith. Yet Islam gets mocked, and everyone is bending over backwards to make sure we don't incite violence among offended Muslims.

Please don't misunderstand--I'm not advocating that Muslims be mocked. I'm mostly just confused. The AP article I linked to above included a statement from the Vatican: "The right to freedom of thought and expression ... cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers." But that's exactly what it does seem to include, according to the world today. People everywhere seem to think that their right to freedom of expression includes a right to offend Christians and their beliefs. But offend Muslims...and suddenly this is just completely abominable and unacceptable. I don't get it.

Well, John Piper says it better:

"Am I missing it, or is there an unusual silence in the blogosphere about the Muslim outrage over the cartoons of Mohammed. To me this cries out for the observation that when artists put the crucifix in a flask of urine, Christians were grieved and angered, but not one threatened to kill anyone. Our longing is to convert the blasphemers with the Good News of Christ's death and resurrection, not kill them. Our faith is based on One who was reviled not just in cartoons but in reality and received it patiently for the salvation of the cartoonists. These riots are filled with intimations about the glorious difference between Christ and Mohammed, and between the way of Christ and the way of Islam. And the cowing of the press around the world and the US government is ominous for the fear we are under of Islam--not just extremist Islam. I do not respect the teachings of Islam which when followed devoutly lead to destruction."

UPDATE: Tim Challies' post on this is excellent. Check it out here.

(HT: Justin Taylor)