Rosie O'Donnell states radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam. What is radical?

I know this is old news but I just found out about it today.
On the View in September Rosie states that radical Christianity is just as threatening to America as radical Islam.

Click here for link to video & story.


Unbelievable.

My first responses to this are: shock and then anger.
How could she say that? Are Christians beheading people weekly? Are Christians flying planes into buildings? Are Christians blowing themselves up at bus stops?

Personally, I believe Rosie is more of a threat to America than Christians.

Then I started to feel guilty for being upset. Yes, what she said was completely off base but has Rosie ever met a radical Christian?
Perhaps, Rosie and I's definition of radical Christianity are different.
She's probably thinking of that lunatic Eric Rudolph who blew up an abortion clinic.
I would say that’s not a radical Christian but a sick and mentally insane person who misrepresents the Christian faith.

Come to think of it, I misrepresent the Christian faith all the time. I get upset at the person who cuts over on me on the freeway. I get upset when my food isn't brought out to me on time. I get upset when people insult or disagree with my beliefs.

Perhaps Rosie has never met a radical Christian. One who is so radical that he or she does not validate their existence on the things and persons around them. They don't have to be served first, or treated the exact way they want to be treated. Instead they love first, forgive first, care first, smile first, and rejoice first.
This is the definition of a radical Christian.
How radical is that? What if more Christians lived out the Gospel in every moment of their daily lives? What if Christians focused on the cross instead of themselves?
Luther once said he felt as if Jesus Christ died only yesterday. I read that and knew I didn’t feel that way consistently. I believe a radical Christian would. A radical Christian would be one who lives a cross centered life. One who continually gains understanding in Christ’s suffering for them, and grows in consistent joy and zeal in the knowledge of that unmerited favor Christ has given them in his death.

A radical Christian is one who is being equipped each day with the fruit of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Galatians 5:22
A radical Christian becomes these things not for himself but because God became these things for him. And in turn we show this radical life to others by our words and actions and we give testimony to the work of the cross.

Has Rosie met these radical Christians? Has the audience that so thunderously applauded to her comment met these radical Christians?

I know I have faltered in helping change the definition of radical Christian.

I believe the answer is found in living a cross-centered life rather than a self-centered life. Living the Cross Centered Life.

John Stott once said, "The Cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us."

God is still working on us, lets pray that we may become more cross-centered, full of love, joy, forgiveness, and compassion and become radical Christians.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you." Deuteronomy 8:10

Pains of Democracy*

Well, that sick feeling in my stomach is gone. It was there for a day.
God is still in control of all things, of our leaders and our country.
That gives me comfort regardless of who is in power.
If folks in America thought they were making a change last week they surely did!
Now that the liberals are in power they can't hide behind minority status and I believe America will see their true colors in these next two years.

Polls say that Iraq was the most important issue. And according to our media, even Foxnews, the war in Iraq is going badly. I refuse to believe that. The news simply reports the negative things. It fails to report the positive. There have been three elections in three years where voting meant the possibility of death. There are 18 provinces in Iraq. Only 5 have severe violence. But thats all we hear about.

Gen. Casey: “This Is Not A Country That Is Awash In Sectarian Violence.” GEN. CASEY: “Make no mistake about it: We are in a tough fight here in the center of the country and in Anbar Province. But I think it’s important to remind people that 90 percent of the sectarian violence in Iraq takes place in about a 30-mile radius from the center of Baghdad, and secondly, that 90 percent of all violence takes place in five provinces. This is not a country that is awash in sectarian violence.” (Gen. Casey, Multi-National Force – Iraq Press Briefing, 10/24/2006)


The deputy Prime Minister just said in October the following, ""I believe, come next year, you will be seeing Iraqi forces in the lead in many of the Iraqi provinces.
By the end of the year, nearly seven or eight provinces of Iraq out of 18 provinces will be under direct Iraqi security control." http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061023/wl_afp/britainiraqmilitary
Isn't that what we want? Why isn't this being widely reported?

Did you hear about this story on the evening news?

The Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government met with the families of fallen U.S. soldiers on Nov. 6th and he had a message for the news media: your coverage of the Iraq war is terribly biased.
“CNN International and Al Jazeera are equally bad in their coverage of the situation in Iraq,” said Nerchivan Barzani, Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan.
“When I was in the United States recently and read the negative news in the Washington Post, New York Times and in the network TV broadcasts, I even wondered if things had gotten so bad since I had left that I shouldn’t return,” said Prime Minister Barzani.

I found the same thing to be true when I studied abroad in Jerusalem in 2000 for 4 months. I was there when the second intifada started. I was actually at the Western Wall when the first surge of violence started. There had been 3 years of peace and then the dam broke. Bombs went off. Rocks were thrown. I watched a battle of Palestinians fighting Israeli IDF forces in Gilo 2 miles away from the roof top of my school. I saw the helicopter gunships shooting missles and machine guns rat-tat-tatting.

Yeah, it was a bit scary to be in Israel. The school was flooded with phone calls from worried parents, mine included. Accoring to western media it was world war three in Israel. Even though I saw those things and heard about the violence, it never really was that close to me. It wasn't nearly as apocalyptic as the US news made it out to be. I did have some friends leave to go home, but less to do with the violence and more as an excuse to go home because of homesickness. When they got home they were amazed by the intensity of the negative reporting. They knew better.

The same was true for PM Barzani this last week. The same is true for US soldiers who come home and hear nothing but negative news reporting. I have a friend who came back after two tours and he couldn't understand why America's media was so slanted. He's back now fighting for our country. Did he have horrible stories to tell? Yes. Bad things happened, bad things are happening. I dont want to take away the gravity of that AT ALL. Violence is awful and hearing about suffering and death is tragic and heart wrenching.
But our media reports overwhelmingly about the tragic.
What about our successes?
Why wasnt this on the headline of any paper?

GEN. CASEY: “The American people … should also know that the men and women of the Armed Forces here have never lost a battle in over three years of war; that is a fact unprecedented in military history. They and our Iraqi Security Forces continue to carry the fight to the enemy every day, and I continue to be in awe of their courage, their agility, their resourcefulness and their commitment. You can be confident that our servicemen and women are well-trained, well-equipped and well-led.” (Gen. Casey, Multi-National Force – Iraq Press Briefing, 10/24/2006)

Never lost a battle???? Wait, according to everything I hear we are a losing the war.
How come we never hear quotes from Iraqi's who support our actions?

Here are some:

"Let me tell you, I for one Iraqi, and the majority of the Iraqi people, will always be grateful for the Americans and British for getting rid of the most despicable and the brutal Bathest dictatorship headed by Saddam.
Things are bad in Iraq because these thugs and their new Jihadi allies will not give up the power they lost and are taking their vengeance on all Iraqis who dared to dream of a democratic and decent country. It is not the Americans who are killing Iraqis, it is these terrorists and their supporters. Why is everybody talking themselves into defeat in the war against these subhumans who have tarnished the name of Islam.
Do you expect Iraqis to just give up to these thugs? Should any decent human being accept these thugs taking control again? I can’t believe the nonsense I read everyday!"
S KarimAbu Dhabi

I totally agree with Kareem, I’m an Iraqi living in Dubai, and I’m very happy that the dictator has been removed at last. But now the Iraqis need to stand together against his followers who are doing their best in creating unrest in the country, I remember the time when we used to live in complete harmony with all religious groups.Most of the people creating this unrest are coming from neighbouring countries, and are members of terrorist organizations.I call for the neighbouring countries to put strict control on their borders.

http://www.7days.ae/2006/10/26/many-iraqis-happy-with-us-intervention.html


Is it a black and white issue? No it is not. There is tragedy in Iraq. It is a war. Are things going as well as they could be? Have strategic mistakes been made?
Sure, there are mistakes in every war.
I am not saying not to report on these things. I am saying that the reporting is unabashadly slanted towards the negative.
But it is not so black that we cannot report the positive.

Imagine if the press belittled FDR during WWII? Imagine if a leading reporter met with Hitler for an interview when the whispers of war are stirring? (As Dan Rather did.)
Imagine if a presidential candidate called our troops terrorists and made them equal to Pol-Pot's genocidal Khmer-Rouge?
We went to war in Germany to fight off a genocidal dictator.
We went to war in Iraq to fight off a genocidal dictator.
And the press during WWII worked to help the war effort not destroy it.
Now some of the press today works with the enemy.
CNN getting a propaganda tape from a terrorist organization showing terrorists sniping our troops. The only request from this terrorist org. was that CNN would give them a fair shake.
And CNN did, by showing the tape not once but twice on CNN. Showing our troops being killed by terrorist.

Where are the tapes of our men and women defeating the enemy???

Where are the successes?

No wonder Americans think the war in Iraq is an utter failure.

* (the amazing title is quoted from esteemed blogger and friend, jeffrey B price.)

Another Reason to Vote Republican.

John Kerry....if your not educated you will end up in Iraq.
Botched joke? I dont think so. A mask unveiled showing his disdain for the military. Yes. An aide to our enemies? To terrorists across the globe? Yes.
Another great reason to vote Republican in five days? YESSSS!!

At least our troops in the field can have some fun with it.



Victor Davis Hanson salutes these troops:

"One of the things I love about America is the spontaneous brilliance and humor that undermine all pretension. No better example was that wonderful banner from our brave and ingenious soldiers in Iraq...

20 million Americans must have seen it all over the Internet, and nothing sums up the nothingness of Kerryism better than those smiling soldiers. After seeing that, no wonder he's offering deer-in-the headlights apologies. This is a man who remembers everything and learns nothing.

Then there was the finger-in-the wind initial Democratic response: their supposedly slight ill breeze suddenly became a Katrina hurricane, and, Presto!, they were all over the airwaves demanding from poor Kerry the apologies that just a few hours ago they thought were not necessary.

As for Kerry — how quick the 24-hour metamorphosis from smugness to defiance to purported contriteness! At his earlier blame-the-wing-nuts-and-Rush-Limbaugh press conference, he thought he was a strutting, strong-jawed Napoleonic general leading his troops to rout the evil Bush-Cheney Prussians, and then, alone, suddenly turned around — and Mein Gott in Himmel!! — his Old Guard was heading for the hills."