Posted on 10/04/2011 7:01:08 AM PDT by marshmallow
Is America ready for a Christian Rambo? And does it make a difference if the story of this Rambo--as opposed to the Sylvester Stallone character from the 80s--is, in fact, true? Those are the questions posed by a remarkable new movie, “Machine Gun Preacher.” The film offers a peek into a once-dark, subsequently redeemed, human heart, even as it opens a window into an ongoing horror half a world away.
Ever since the days when Jesus walked the earth as a man, Christians have struggled with the question of how they themselves should live.
At different times, they have come up with different answers, In the 15th century, a Catholic monk, Thomas à Kempis, wrote Imitation of Christ, offering guidelines for a quiet and pious and life: “The pure, simple, and steadfast spirit is not distracted by many labors, for he does them all for the honor of God”; the Kempis book is said to be the most-read Christian book in history, second only to the Bible.
Meanwhile, Crusaders and Conquistadors, for their part, have had their own, far different take on Christian duty.
Today, many Americans wear the “What Would Jesus Do?” wristband, and yet they still come up with different answers.
And then there’s Sam Childers, the biker ex-con who found Jesus, and then founded a church in a gritty part of western Pennsylvania. In the film, we see Childers reaching out to his own kind: “God doesn’t call the good, he calls the sinner.” In one service, a girl sings “Amazing Grace”-- as the camera pans over a motley but salvation-minded crew of onetime strippers, drug-dealers, and other hard-lucksters.
But wait, there’s more. In the 90s, Childers felt the call to travel to Sudan, inspired to build an orphanage in that troubled African land. Sudan, of course........
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
We already have one. Sarah Palin.
bump.
The American narrative, created by the media, is clearly ready for a violent, maladjusted psycho who talks the Christian talk. In fact, it’s drooling for it.
Might be easy, but wouldn't be accurate. The Khmer Rouge were leftist ideologues and controlled a state.
The LRA claims to be a Christian army fighting for the Lord. Hence the name. And they've never controlled a state, limiting their ability to kill people as compared to the KR.
Closest analogy I can think of is the Taiping in 19th century China. Half-understood Christianity inspires a revolt and massive, even for Chinese history, death and destruction.
Did not the Apostle Paul spoke about putting on the “armor of God” in the scriptures?
Yet China today has a growing Christian population.
Ephesians 6
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against t he spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
It’s probably one of the most difficult moral questions we’ll ever have to answer: how far are you willing to go to defend your faith?
They aren’t the KR, but the LRA have still caused massive death and devastation in the areas where they operate. They’re a flat-out terrorist group. They’re perhaps the biggest user of child soldiers in the world. The son of our former church small-group leaders was killed in Uganda working for a charity (Invisible Children) who rescue child soldiers from the LRA. (He was blown up in the 2010 Uganda Muslim suicide bombings.)
}:-)4
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Doesn’t particularly sound like Paul was promoting a fight against Rome. And Rome often operated on about the Khmer Rouge level of atrocity. Different motives but same result.
If Paul and Christ didn’t recommend revolt against an empire as evil as Rome, it’s difficult to see them proposing revolt against governments of today.
I think I saw that movie, lol. The Book of Eli mixed with Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction?
How about we let some real Christians make that movie instead?
Doesn’t Uganda’s government also use child soldiers?
But also Jesus did say He did not come to “bring peace but a sword” as well.
Christians are called to defend the faith.
Amen!
There is an Iranian Christian Pastor now facing the death penalty because he converted from Islam.
I recieved the following in email yesterday.
>> October 3, 2011
>> Pastor Yousef >
By Eileen F. Toplansky
>> It is my moral obligation as a Jew to speak out on behalf of an Iranian
>> Christian whom I have never met.
>> Imprisoned since October 2009, Yousef Nadarkhani was first accused of
>> apostasy against Islam by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2010 he was
>> found guilty "and sentenced to death ... for abandoning the Islamic
>> faith."
>> Yet, according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
>> Rights,
>> Article 18 includes a "provision for the right to 'have or to adopt' a
>> religion, which has been interpreted authoritatively by the UN Human
>> Rights
>> committee as including the right to change one's religion." Thus, Iran is
>> violating its own obligations. Furthermore, the Iranian constitution
>> "sanctions Christianity as a legitimate minority faith." Clearly,
>> however,
>> this did not matter as the Iranian Supreme Court sought to establish that
>> Nadarkhani was still guilty of apostasy because he has Muslim ancestry.
>> Nadarkhani, who "leads a 400-person house church movement, refused in
>> court
>> on September 25, 2011 and September 26, 2011 to recant Christianity." He
>> had two more chances to recant on September 27, 2011 and September 28,
>> 2011.
>> Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has
>> highlighted this case, as has House Speaker John Boehner, who urged
>> "Iran's
>> leaders to abandon this dark path, spare ... Nadarkhani's life, and grant
>> him a full and unconditional release."
>> Journalist Michelle Malkin has asked the State Department several times if
>> it would make a statement about the impending execution of Nadarkhani, and
>> finally Secretary of State Clinton affirmed that the United States is
>> "particularly concerned by reports that Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani
>> is facing execution on charges of apostasy for refusing to recant his
>> faith. This comes amid a harsh onslaught against followers of diverse
>> faiths, including Zoroastrians, Sufis, and Baha'is." >> The Christian Solidarity Worldwide group is urging people to send emails
>> to
>> the ambassador of Iran to add their voice to support Pastor Nadarkhani. I
>> sent my email this morning.
>> FrontPage Magazine asks what the Vatican, an "internationally recognized
>> sovereign state with full diplomatic status," is doing to assist
>> Nadarkhani. In fact, according to author Kerry Patton, "[s]ince 2001
>> alone,
>> there have been well over 2,000 innocent Christians brutally murdered by
>> Muslims," yet "[n]ot once in any of the ... atrocities did the Vatican
>> make
>> a global outcry for the victims" that would "saturate international media
>> news as they should have." Why hasn't the Vatican spoken up on behalf of
>> this Christian minister?
>> And now, in a most disingenuous display of arrogance, the Iranian state
>> media has issued a statement that Nadarkhani is facing the death sentence
>> not for apostasy, but for rape and extortion!
>> This, when in fact "there's been no mention of any other charges than
>> apostasy in trial documents." Is the Iranian government "actually
>> leveling
>> these new charges against [Nadarkhani, father of two] or just throwing out
>> new accusations to try and deflect media attention"? But the fact that
>> the
>> state-controlled Iranian media is even acknowledging the trial means that
>> Iranian leaders are aware of the outcry around the world. This could bode
>> well for the pastor according to the American Center for Law and Justice
>> (ACLJ), which reports that as of early Saturday October 1, 2011, the
>> pastor
>> was still alive.
>> Jews worldwide recite the prayer Avinu Malkenu during this penitential
>> season. The 44 verses of Avinu Malkenu begin with the words "Our Father
>> Our
>> King." The prayer asks that G-d "close the mouths of our adversaries and
>> accusers," "rid [the world] of every oppressor and adversary," and
>> "nullify
>> the designs of those who hate us."
>> On Yom Kippur, which begins on October 7, 2011 and ends on October 8,
>> 2011,
>> the Book of Life will be sealed for the coming year. Let Pastor Yousef
>> Nadarkhani be among those included because of the unremitting outcry from
>> those who have the freedom to speak up and who do so.
It seems to me that we have two different approaches to "Fighting the good fight" here we need to ask which is the correct one? Can both correct under different conditions? What is the scriptural and theological justifications for both?
It is something we will need to work out for ourselves before too long.
Killer Girl K with english subtitles can be seen here. The show works just as well if you stop watching after 2 eps, lol.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.