More Cool Stuff on Christendom

I'm back. Fixed my computer problems. Turned out they were all my fault. I hate reading manuals and "read first" documents. My MO with software upgrades is to click first and ask questions later. Sometimes that causes problems. Sometimes. But everything is fine now. And Leopard is really a quite a snappy operating system upgrade.

But back to the discussion about Christendom.

Someone challenged us with this question: if one had the option of living in a Christian culture that was experiencing a temporary setback with all the attendant problems and another culture that was dominated by Islam, what would you want for your wife and children? Only an insane person in the USA would choose to live in an Islamic state (unless, of course, one is going there to work for Christianization and change). That led to these comments by Rich Bledsoe:

To once again quote the Famous Father Herman, "Many Hindus are happy children, but Moslems are never happy, no matter where they are." Father Herman is from the very southern tip of India, and according to him, his family have been Christian since the days of Thomas the Apostle. He also says that "Allah is Lucifer." Strong language from a man who, as far as I can see, knows more about the workings of Satan than any other soul in my acquaintance.

I can still remember that before my trip to India, I had the very distinct opinion that surely it would be India that would be the
demon possessed nation, being essentially Hindu, and a nation that worshipped what must be demons (snakes, trees, animals, the sun, anything anywhere) and that the Islamic nations at least had a portion of the truth being monotheistic and a people that shared something of our Bible.

Alas, in practice, I was all backwards. India is a nation that is a feast to the senses, the streets filled with the world's most beautiful women dressed saris of every color imaginable. "Many Hindus are happy children..." something I heard Father Herman say long after I was back from India, but exactly true to my experience.

Then, we visited Pakistan to visit friends who were working for the Agha Khan in developing 200 schools for girls in that nation. The husband was an old church friend of ours and grew up in Pakistan, an MK of Pakistani Missionaries. The best kind of Missionary Kid who knew the Middle East in the deepest part of his gut. From the moment we flew into the country, we were overwhelmed with a sense of oppression and darkness that I have never experienced before or since. Women are never seen. White is the one drab color worn by the men. When we returned to India, we spoke with the missionaries about our experience. They laughed, and said, "Yes, quite so. But if you really want to feel oppressiveness, go to Saudi Arabia. That is the worst in the world."

Islam jet fueled the death impulse inherent in all of paganism. It fuel injected it with a simple monotheism and no atonement. Death has not been conquered, death is supreme. Far worse than paganism. Simple paganism is pretty innocent compared to what Islam is. Islam is a horror. Our ancestors were not wrong.