Malaysia churches firebombed over the name of God

Sometimes, in the effort to give others the benefit of the doubt, Westerners underestimate the differences between the thinking of Western democracies and the Islamic world. There is little that illustrates the difference between Western ideas of religious freedom and Islamic ideas of it than a rash of bombings in Malaysia against Christian churches. The reason? Doctrine? Culture? Historical gripes? Nope. It is over the use of the Malaysian name of God, which happens to match the Arabic "Allah".

Two more churches in Malaysia were firebombed Sunday, bringing the total to six since a court ruled that non-Muslims can use the word "Allah" as a term for God...In recent months, authorities in Malaysia have seized more than 20,000 Bibles because they refer to God as Allah.
The seizures have fed fears among minority groups, which see signs of encroaching Islamic fundamentalism in the predominantly Muslim but multiracial country.

As we confront Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamic groups, we need to keep in mind these differences in perspective.

You cannot serve two masters

Hat-tip to Sean for posting this one on twitter. Apparently, there is an Episcopal priest in Seattle who is being defrocked for a simple reason. She has converted to Islam. And yet, apparently she is fighting the move.

Ann Holmes Redding, who marks the 25th anniversary of her ordination on March 25, says she believes she can practice both faiths and should not have to recant her Muslim beliefs...

Wolf has told Redding that her conversion to Islam constitutes an abandonment of the Christian faith and she must recant by March 30 or lose her status as a priest.

Jesus spoke to this pretty directly in Luke 16:13, "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other."

Iran releases their own "Jesus Movie"

There are many who claim most of the problems in the world are caused by a lack of understanding between peoples. Such thinkers claim that what we need to promote peace and good feeling between peoples is a genuine dialogue between disparate groups. These types must be thrilled by a new movie being released in Iran as the "answer" to Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. This new film attempts to portray Jesus from a Islamic perspective, taking source material from the Koran.

American Christians, I respect them very much. I think these Christians, the born-again Christians, especially, are a very interesting group that Iran is not aware of, because a whole generation of Iranians haven't been able to travel to America. And those who do move to America, stay in America. So, how to create serious communication, not at the political, but at the religious level? I thought this would be a shortcut.

Sounds very nice, doesn't it. But consider the parts that the director felt were best to leave out.

We are talking about the same beautiful man, the same beautiful prophet, the same divine person sent from heaven. In the Koran, it emphasizes maybe three main points: about the birth, about the fact that he was not the son of God, and then, that he was not crucified. The rest is [the same] Jesus ... the sermons, and the miracles, and the political situation.

So, Jesus is exactly who the Christians say he is... except he is not the son of God, he was not crucified, and therefore not resurrected. Sigh. These three points ARE the core of Christianity, and what makes it separate from simply being another sect of Judaism.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
1 Corinthians 15:17-19

It will be interesting to see if this film really does promote a "useful dialogue" or if it simply drives Muslims and Christians farther apart. I tend to think the latter.

What is the incentive for female suicide bommers?

Today 2 women blew themselves up in a suicide attack on a pet market. In this case the women were supposedly mentally disabled, but there seems to have been a rash of female suicide attack recently. This got me to thinking, what is the incentive for women to do this type of thing. The men of course have the glory of Allah, as well as the promise of 70 virgins when they get to heaven. Women can, of course, glorify Allah by doing this sort of thing, but is there an equivalent promise to the 70 virgins for the women? I'm being serious here, no disrespect intended at all. I doubt any of our readers know the answer to this question, but it does seem vexing to me. Thoughts....?