Presby-Musings

After I read an article in the Daily Commercial within which they interviewed some of our Muslim neighbors from the Islamic Centers in Clermont, I felt the need to write letter you'll read below. Like many of us,  I’ve been very angry lately about the effects of radical Islam on our world.   I ’ve also struggled with my own ability to show grace even to those Muslims who strongly disagree and abhor the way their religion has been hijacked by lunatics.   Honestly, I feel that way sometimes, too, when I see stories about Westboro Baptist Church, or even hear what many prominent Christian leaders say that people assume all Christians believe.  The following is a letter that I wrote shortly after the tragic shooting at the Pulse nightclub, and (with the endorsement of the elders of my church) sent to the two Islamic centers in Lake County.  I'm sharing this as an open letter in hopes that it will open minds and hearts (including my own).    To the...

If you have been watching the news lately, you may have seen that nearly forty people have died in Afghanistan as a direct result of an accidental burning of some copies of the Muslim holy book, the Qu'ran--including 4 Americans, who were murdered in cold blood in supposed "safe" zones.  There have been riots throughout the country in retaliation, and several bombings by the Taliban, who are using this to their own advantage. U.S. soldiers burned the copies because they contained radical messages written by inmates of a detention center.  The copies of the Qur'an were being used by the inmates to communicate with one another.  Hence, their disposal. President Obama has issued an official apology, which was read publicly by the Afghan president.  But since Afghanistan is a largely illiterate country, with little or no mass media---no one got the memo that we're sorry.  Many people, including a number of Christians, were angered that our President would apol...