Little Women
• Aug. 20, 2006 - How would we feel if.....
I was struck yesterday by a revelation, of sorts, re. world politics.
Muslims believe the most important thing is submission to God. Most conservative Christians would say that "obedience" to God is vitally important, as well. Yes, there are differences between the two concepts, both in overall attitude and in the directions that such submission or obedience takes each group. None-the-less, the Muslim desire to "submit" to God is something that conservative Christians should be able to understand.
Here in the US, however, we also have a large group of people who keep trying to convince us, and teach our children, that we are depriving ourselves of "liberty;" that their attitudes and thought patterns will give us "freedom." We are rightly horrified by this, and we believe that true freedom is found in obedience to Christ. We even believe this strongly enough that many homeschool their children primarily for this very reason--to teach them what we believe is true about God, His world, and our place in it.
Then we hear President Bush talking about bringing "freedom" and "liberty" to all the world. While we know what he means, and it isn't the same as the liberal pundits around us, the Muslim world does not know this. They do not see it as any different, and, in fact, given the movies and attitudes we are exporting to the world, they have good reason to not understand.
All that said, it is really no wonder that they turn away from our "freedom" and "liberty" with disgust. We do the same to those who purport the same to us.
Yes, there are many, many other issues involved, and no, there is no justification for terrorism. But perhaps, as conservative Christians, we should think about what is motivating Muslims. I think we might be able to identify with them.
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