Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Mon, Dec 22 2003
Christmas Week Terrorism?
I see they threw a little orange into the red and green of Christmas over the weekend. I didn't realize that, while most states have raised the alert to orange before since 9-11-01, Hawaii has decided to adopt the orange status for the first time. From what I understand, our biggest current danger comes, not from folks here in the U.S., but from cargo and commercial planes coming into the U.S. from foreign countries. Terrorists might gain access onboard an international flight and hijack it to American destinations where terrorist acts might then be carried out.
Some Islamic (or other) religious extremists might see a suicide mission as a shot at martyrdom and instant eternal reward as they die for the cause. My Christian orientation gives me a very different attitude toward such matters, where dying for one's faith means never denying one's Savior in the face of danger, even if you are killed in the process. It also means being killed alone and not murdering other people on your way out. I still can't quite figure out how these folks who murder will convince me that their religion is so great when their final act is to annihilate themselves and others around them. Love sometimes does mean sacrifice, but sacrifice of self, not of others. As we come up to the (somewhat pagan) holiday that is December 25, on which we choose to remember One who entered the planet quietly and sacrificed greatly for each of us (whether we choose to take the gift or not), I think of these terrorists as a sharp contrast to that kind of sacrifice. Terrorists seek to control, and in the event of being unable to control, they then seek to exclude or eliminate any dissenters. Agape love seeks to open the circle wider and to include everyone, even those who have been its worst enemies. The terrorists could fly a million suicide missions and never change that.
posted at: 09:50 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
I see they threw a little orange into the red and green of Christmas over the weekend. I didn't realize that, while most states have raised the alert to orange before since 9-11-01, Hawaii has decided to adopt the orange status for the first time. From what I understand, our biggest current danger comes, not from folks here in the U.S., but from cargo and commercial planes coming into the U.S. from foreign countries. Terrorists might gain access onboard an international flight and hijack it to American destinations where terrorist acts might then be carried out.
Some Islamic (or other) religious extremists might see a suicide mission as a shot at martyrdom and instant eternal reward as they die for the cause. My Christian orientation gives me a very different attitude toward such matters, where dying for one's faith means never denying one's Savior in the face of danger, even if you are killed in the process. It also means being killed alone and not murdering other people on your way out. I still can't quite figure out how these folks who murder will convince me that their religion is so great when their final act is to annihilate themselves and others around them. Love sometimes does mean sacrifice, but sacrifice of self, not of others. As we come up to the (somewhat pagan) holiday that is December 25, on which we choose to remember One who entered the planet quietly and sacrificed greatly for each of us (whether we choose to take the gift or not), I think of these terrorists as a sharp contrast to that kind of sacrifice. Terrorists seek to control, and in the event of being unable to control, they then seek to exclude or eliminate any dissenters. Agape love seeks to open the circle wider and to include everyone, even those who have been its worst enemies. The terrorists could fly a million suicide missions and never change that.
posted at: 09:50 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
