Posted on 08/01/2007 2:10:05 AM PDT by Clive
What are Christian Korean women doing in Afghanistan anyway?
Haven't there been enough horrendous incidents involving missionaries, Christian activists, peace-at-any-price zealots in both Afghanistan and Iraq to dissuade others from plunging into the morass, ostensibly to do the Lord's work?
In too many cases, it's fallen to NATO or other soldiers, who risk their lives to rescue such people from their reckless courage, and refusal to recognize the dangers of their humanitarian selfishness. Especially women, foreign or not, who are Taliban targets.
Presuming most are still alive, the Korean Christians held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan pose a huge dilemma for the Korean government, the struggling Afghan government of Hamid Karzai, the NATO troops trying to secure peace and reconstruction in that country.
The only ones in the catbird seat are the Taliban of Mullah Mohammed Omar (how come he's still surviving?) and the al-Qaida of Osama bin Laden.
A series of deadlines have passed in the Korean hostage case, with the Taliban demanding captured prisoners be released before they'll free the hostages. Meanwhile, they, the Taliban, are killing the male Koreans one at a time to encourage Kabul's capitulation.
No word at this writing whether the 18 Korean women are still alive.
Of all governments involved, none know better than the South Koreans the folly of cooperating with, or succumbing to, terrorist demands. Since 1953, South Korea has survived, lived and thrived under perpetual threat from North Korea, the world's most merciless and perverted regime.
The Taliban also have German hostages, whom they seem to be killing one by one.
While one has sympathy for anyone in Taliban (or al-Qaida) hands, one also cannot escape the conclusion that it is largely the fault of captives that they are in such a precarious and frightening situation.
In 2005, Canadian James Loney and four members of the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) in Iraq were kidnapped and held as hostages by something calling itself the Swords Of Righteousness Brigade. Before being rescued by British SAS troops and Canadian JTF2 specialists, an American member of the CPT, Tom Fox, was murdered.
The gratitude of those rescued manifested itself in Loney refusing to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day, and refusing to testify against his suspect captors later held by the Americans. A similar response came from Norman Kember, a British CPT member who was rescued.
Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, peace-types made a big hullabaloo about chaining themselves to supposed targets in Baghdad to deter air strikes -- but they cut-and-ran as soon as their demands were ignored and bombs fell.
The martyr complex exists among Christians as well as Muslim suicide bombers. Doubtless the Korean Christians exude sincerity, courage and probably forgiveness. But that's not the point. They shouldn't be there.
The Taliban are not Iroquois whom French Jesuits once felt faith-bound to rescue from paganism -- and suffered torture and death as a consequence. Those were different times, and one would think we, or the church, would have learned a lesson.
Apparently not. Christian groups should be discouraged from dabbling in regions where their religious faith is not appreciated, and where others are required to risk their lives to save them when inevitably they are kidnapped, to be used as political bargaining chips.
On the other hand, the fact that peaceful, decent people like the Korean Christians are captured and killed by such as the Taliban, is more evidence why Canadian and NATO troops are needed in that country -- not for the sake of hostages, but to help bring peace, security and a modicum of freedom to the Afghan people.
I stand by my statement, because none of the instances that you cited made reference to turning away from their current practices. Also, when the Centurion came to have his servant healed, Jesus didn’t heal with any conditions. He didn’t at anytime attempt to convert the Centurion. This is only one example.
You said:
“...when the Centurion came to have his servant healed, Jesus didn’t heal with any conditions. He didn’t at anytime attempt to convert the Centurion...”
There were many instances when Christ performed physical healings. Do not+ mistake these with the spiritual healing from sin that is necessary for one to be a true follower of Christ and which leads to everlasting life in heaven. The once-captive Israelites were witnesses of God’s miraculous deliverance and recipients of His wonders, but they died in the wilderness because of their unbelief—they had not been converted in their minds or their hearts.
Again, you said:/
...”none of the instances that you cited made reference to turning away from their current practices...”
Don’t know how to help you understand then. The scriptures could not be any clearer. “God wishes that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
[repentance here is the Greek word metanoia, which by implication means a reversal from one’s decision, i.e. reversal from one’s sin.]
I even wonder about the notion of Jesus never healing with conditions. On several instances He says, “According to thy faith...,” and in another place it is remarked how, “Jesus could not do many works there because of their unbelief.” These words are recorded in the Scriptures. Your responses and mine have to reconcile these scriptures or else we are substituting our thoughts for God’s thoughts.
I stand by my statements that I see as based in scripture, and don’t feel the need to reinerate except to say that, Jesus never said that the healing would take place if the petitioner or the sick turned away from their current religion and followed Him.
I still believe that the poor Korean hostages should not have placed themselves in that position in the first place for a number of reasons. Please see my previous posts.
Perhaps a battle zone is not the best place to exercise one’s call to missionary work. That being said, many, many missionaries find themselves in the middle of things in different lands. I don’t think it is right for the Christian missionary to seek/expect help from his home government when things become dicey.
As to Jesus’ call to turn away from a current religion...
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”
Jesus’ exclusive claim to be the one and only means to Heaven (through faith in His atoning death on the cross) is the central claim of biblical Christianity. Since the Bible elsewhere says, “There is none that seek after Him,. They have all gone out of the way...,” the implication is that each and every individual must turn in order to receive the free gift of eternal life found in Christ. This is what the scriptures say. Anything less, anything different is simply not biblical.
God is indeed merciful. And just. As I stated earlier, He did indeed perform physical healings with no strings attached. But, the more important healing (spiritual healing/regeneration/being born again) He cannot do unless a person comes to Him by faith, acknowledges their sin and TURNS from living a sinful/sin-filled lifestyle. The sinner who comes to Christ believing that there is forgiveness found in His finished work on the cross (where Christ became the sin-bearer) receives God’s mercy and grace. He does so because God’s justice, His hatred and judgement for sin was poured out on His own dear Son.
Make no mistake, sin has an eternal penalty. Happily, God in Christ paid the penalty Himself.
Fine, but that is not what this is about. This is about these people putting themselves in harm’s way when there is plenty of work right in their neighborhood.
The stress and fear that they have created not only for themselves, but for their families, friends, and fellow Koreans was unneeded. Perhaps they don’t know it, but it was very selfish nonetheless.
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