Re Janet Mills and Larry Shapiro

Submitted by dds (Canada), Dec 7, 2005 at 14:12

A note of agreement and support to both correspondents: to Janet, that "directors of their own lives" assessment is spot-on. An intriguing comparison with Christians is that when we give our lives to Christ -- and many of those who do have been "losers" in just as big a way as those who convert to Islam or any other cult where they feel empowered -- we've given up trying to direct our own lives and have accepted that we're not supposed to be. (That's the way it's supposed to be, at any rate: there are some hate-based cults which CLAIM to be Christian, but have no substantive Scriptural backing, at all.)

To Larry, this raises the whole issue of the "courageous martyr" aspect. What's courageous about blowing up a whole lot of innocent people, and then taking yourself out at the same time so you can't face the consequences? The true martyrs are the people who stand for what they believe in, in the face of opposition which could threaten their lives. And even more cowardly, as you so rightly point out, are the people who inveigle these dupes into their terrorist schemes and then step back safely out of harm's way.

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