Applied Theology
You have heard of Matthew Shepard, haven’t you? Of course you have. He is the young homosexual man who was robbed and then brutally murdered in Wyoming in 1998. He was 21 years old. His case has become synonymous with hate crimes legislation. His name is well known to us all. But there are names... Continue Reading →
What about the Christians in Egypt? What are they doing during this revolution? I forewarned (here) that the protests in Egypt might bring on more violence against Christians, and it has. Paul Marshall of the Hudson Institute details one of the latest attacks in this article. The Barnabas Fund chronicles other hardships Christians are facing... Continue Reading →
Politically speaking, pity might be the right word to describe how we ought to respond to the plight of Christians living in Egypt and other Arab lands. That is the argument in Fouad Ajami’s Newsweek article concerning the plight of Christians in Egypt ("Who Will Protect Christian Arabs in Egypt?"). After recounting the glorious history... Continue Reading →
Sunni Muslim Center Ends Dialogue with Vatican - By Nina Shea - The Corner - National Review Online. Looks like nothing shuts down dialogue as quickly as the truth. Christians are persecuted in every nation in which Muslims have a majority (or even close to a majority). The Pope was merely speaking a word of... Continue Reading →
A story on Fox News caught my eye. The headline said, "Taliban May Lift Ban on Education for Women." I thought to myself, "Wow! Maybe pressure from the Christian West is finally paying off in Muslim countries, which have often been much less amenable to women's rights than Christian countries." Even on Fox News, however,... Continue Reading →
Another Christian was shot and killed in Egypt according to this news report. It is not yet clear whether this was an act of persecution or murder. The shooter opened fire on a bus filled with passengers. It is possible that the bus was targeted because it was from a Christian village. The news report... Continue Reading →
[From Barnabas Fund] Kenyan Christians abducted, tortured and raped Six Christian missionaries have been found alive but traumatized after suffering three days of unimaginable torture in Kenya. Three men including Mr. Y, the leader of a group of Kenyan missionaries supported by Barnabas, had travelled to Nairobi on the morning of Wednesday September 15, to... Continue Reading →
Today, the President admonished Pastor Jones, encouraging him to "listen to those better angels" who recommend not burning the Quran. There is a united consensus among leaders in America that Pastor Jones should not burn the Muslim books. Political leaders, religious leaders, media elites have uniformly condemned the act. I heard this morning that some--including... Continue Reading →
I am posting below an e-mail I received from Barnabas Fund, a Christian organization based in the UK which supports and encourages persecuted Christians. I post it because it makes a great follow-up point from my post yesterday. I really only made the first part of an important point in yesterday's post because I wanted... Continue Reading →
Yet another story from this fearful, fallen place. The real world is not one in which righteousness reigns (at least not yet). This story is from Prisoner Alert. Check out this and other stories at Prisoner Alert's web site. Location: Pakistan Arrested: June 2009 Print Fact Sheet 10/30/2009 Update Asia Bibi, a 37-year-old Pakistani woman... Continue Reading →
Pastor killed by gunman A dynamic Christian pastor has died after being shot in the head as he was leaving church, in what is being seen as a bid to intimidate converts from Islam in the strongly Islamic republic of Dagestan. Artur Suleimanov (49), himself a convert from Islam, was murdered by a gunman who... Continue Reading →
There is no shortage of jokes with Kentucky at the butt-end, like the one which says in Kentucky a toothbrush really is just that—a tooth brush (because keeping a single tooth is an accomplishment). Speaking of accomplishments, most Kentuckians consider reaching high school or buying a pair of shoes to be activities of the “upper... Continue Reading →
Mark Steyn, as usual, does a very nice job of outlining the severity of the problem of so-called honor killings. This short article by him links to other important articles on the subject. There is a history of Muslims killing daughters, wives, nieces, and other women who wish for freedom from Islam. No one wants... Continue Reading →
To the question of whether Islam is dangerous, I would answer absolutely (strongly agree). Obviously, as a Christian, I think Islam is spiritually dangerous. As a citizen of a western (Judeo-Christian) culture, I would also strongly agree that Islam is dangerous because its adherents have a stated goal of eliminating all such non-Muslim peoples. (Or,... Continue Reading →
Folks are always telling us that we need to keep our eye on the ball. Having played baseball as a kid, I understand the imagery and know how important it is to look closely at the lacing for a curve ball. Baseball imagery aside, however, I wonder whether there might not be times we ought... Continue Reading →
Gregory C. Cochran 