[Bryanw92]

>>Let’s not get caught up in demanding his release. Admire this true hero.

Demand his release. But, if he is martyred, go out in the world and remind the liberals, especially the liberal “Christians” who believe that Christianity and Islam are equal, that this is the difference between the two.

I know several of these people who believe in a form of univeralism where everyone gets to go to heaven for just believing in something. They make me sick when they sit in my church and proseltyze over the “beauty” of islam. Even when you remind them of John 14:6, they dismiss it and say that “it can’t be ONLY way”. Yes, they call Christ a liar and still profess to be Christian. They’ll ignore this man’s martydom, if it comes to that, and then cry over some alleged claim of “islamophobia” or they’ll even equate his execution to some name-calling event or maybe they’ll remind us of the Crusades. Disgusting.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Agreed. I didn't mean to say we shouldn't demand his release. I meant that we need to remember the big picture. God's plan involves martyrdom. Early Christians embraced it. This man's acts are truly heroic. He likely will be killed because he will not renounce his faith. And he seems at peace with that. He reminds us that death is not an end.

He also reminds us that, as you say, Western Christianity has become a soft, feel-good religion. We don't want to believe that the nice man across the street won't go to Heaven. We don't want to believe that our wayward brother or sister who lives a life of sin will burn in Hell. We stop thinking that Christ is the way and become unmoored and start believing everyone will go to Heaven, or that God will give us a car if we pray for it, or that God doesn't judge.

[Soothesayer9]

And what did the jewish pharisees and scribes do to the apostles and those of the first century church?