"I would rather see a Muslim become a Christian than a radical Muslim."
- Nechirvan Barzani, a Muslim and the prime minister of Kurdistan Regional Government
That's some good stuff.
May 26, 2006
May 16, 2006
Cocaine or Yoga?
I read an interview of a '70s rockstar who said entertainers back in his day were cocaine addicts and alcoholics. He complained that these days, rockstars and entertainers are generally into yoga and health foods and only rarely does he see those people get addicted to anything bad. On the surface, that sounds good. At least those people don't have any egregious habits or do anything that would influence the younger generation to get into bad things. They are in a position to influence people, which is why it's better for them not to do anything that would risk other people's lives.
Then again that may not be good. When people think they are doing all right and have their own beliefs apart from what the Bible says, then it becomes more of a challenge for them to see that they need Jesus. It's easier for people to see their need for God when they know they are doing bad things and admit that they are sinful. God wants them to reach that point. The worst is when a person thinks he doesn't need Jesus because he is already good enough and feels he is righteous and deserving of heaven. He also has his own guidance system to live life fully apart from what God says in His word.
This is true for all of the world's religions in one form or another - your good deeds should outweigh your bad and that is the way to get to heaven. In fact, this erroneous thought process is a common human belief. What is not common is God's command to believe in His way to get to heaven and not on our own imagined way to heaven. A person who believes he's too sinful to get to heaven has taken the first step to understanding what God says in His word. The next step is knowing that God already paid the price for us to get to heaven. This is usually the tricky part. Some just can't believe it because it's too simple. Others can't believe it because it sounds mythological. And others can't believe for the simple reason that they do not want to believe. They think they may turn into a "religious" nut and start doing these "religious" things like going to church and being a goody two-shoe who doesn't know how to party. That just won't be cool to them. They'd rather live in the slavery of debauchery and ignorance. People who think this way are typical of those who are too lazy to look into what the Christian life is all about. They have this false view that they will become part of a brainwashed cult, so they deny the simple truth that God has done all this work for them. They don't understand that He simply and seriously wants to be with them and desires to show His love to them.
So is it better to have a cocaine addict rather than a practitioner of Eastern spirituality? No, neither one is any good. The death rate of the cocaine addict is significantly higher than that of a spiritualized healthnut, though. But God can work in the lives of both lifestyles. There is no limit to what God can do in bringing people to Him, from the most depraved, to those who think they are highly "righteous."
Then again that may not be good. When people think they are doing all right and have their own beliefs apart from what the Bible says, then it becomes more of a challenge for them to see that they need Jesus. It's easier for people to see their need for God when they know they are doing bad things and admit that they are sinful. God wants them to reach that point. The worst is when a person thinks he doesn't need Jesus because he is already good enough and feels he is righteous and deserving of heaven. He also has his own guidance system to live life fully apart from what God says in His word.
This is true for all of the world's religions in one form or another - your good deeds should outweigh your bad and that is the way to get to heaven. In fact, this erroneous thought process is a common human belief. What is not common is God's command to believe in His way to get to heaven and not on our own imagined way to heaven. A person who believes he's too sinful to get to heaven has taken the first step to understanding what God says in His word. The next step is knowing that God already paid the price for us to get to heaven. This is usually the tricky part. Some just can't believe it because it's too simple. Others can't believe it because it sounds mythological. And others can't believe for the simple reason that they do not want to believe. They think they may turn into a "religious" nut and start doing these "religious" things like going to church and being a goody two-shoe who doesn't know how to party. That just won't be cool to them. They'd rather live in the slavery of debauchery and ignorance. People who think this way are typical of those who are too lazy to look into what the Christian life is all about. They have this false view that they will become part of a brainwashed cult, so they deny the simple truth that God has done all this work for them. They don't understand that He simply and seriously wants to be with them and desires to show His love to them.
So is it better to have a cocaine addict rather than a practitioner of Eastern spirituality? No, neither one is any good. The death rate of the cocaine addict is significantly higher than that of a spiritualized healthnut, though. But God can work in the lives of both lifestyles. There is no limit to what God can do in bringing people to Him, from the most depraved, to those who think they are highly "righteous."
May 05, 2006
He got locked up
Moussaoui is finally getting jailed for life. He doesn't deserve the death penalty, meaning he doesn't deserve to be let off easy. With life imprisonment, especially in a US prison, punishment from other inmates and the long wait for death should give ample torture. I'm not gloating over the punishment of an enemy, I'm merely stating the undeniable reality: if you say you want to seriously kill people and even plan to kill people, you must pay the punishment. Capital punishment would have made this mental case into a martyr. No need for that now. And like a villainous cartoon character, the last thing Moussaoui said was "God curse America and save Osama bin Laden. You'll never get him...You think that you own the world, and I would prove it that you are wrong...We will come back another day...As long as you don't want to hear, you will feel, America...America, you lost. I won."
Quite the confident guy. I'm sure he needed to say all that to reaffirm his psychosis. He may have been hiding his fears and anxieties. Well, he's just another jihadist loony. I'm glad he's put away. People like Massaoui should be put away as soon as possible before they hurt or kill anyone. Once they're in jail, they'll need all the help they can get.
Quite the confident guy. I'm sure he needed to say all that to reaffirm his psychosis. He may have been hiding his fears and anxieties. Well, he's just another jihadist loony. I'm glad he's put away. People like Massaoui should be put away as soon as possible before they hurt or kill anyone. Once they're in jail, they'll need all the help they can get.