Islamic Fanatics target School Children

So far the death toll stands at 338 hostages (156 are children) and 10 special forces soldiers. This number is expected to rise though with 58 people still in critical condition. Our hearts and our prayers are with them. May the God of Glory heal their broken bodies and may He pour out His wrath upon the perpetrators of this horrific event.

According to the Moscow Times, between Sept. 1-3 about 30 heavily armed terrorists seized a school in Beslan, near Chechnya, and held about 1,100 young school children, teachers, and parents hostage. When a bomb inside the school was apparently accidentally detonated, the hostages attempted to flee. The terrorists then set off more bombs and opened fire on the fleeing children (shooting some of them in the back) and adults.

What is carefully missing from many of the reports is that the Chechnyans are Sunni Muslims. The newspapers are trying to make it appear as if this attack was designed and implemented by a group of rebels as part of an internal fight for independence from Russia. However, with reports out that there were 10 Arab men with connections to Al-Qaida, one must see this event, then through the eyes of our War on Terror.

I have to wonder about people who think that these monsters can be reasoned with. Obviously anyone who shoots fleeing children in the back is unreasonable. Rational discourse will not dissuade them from their philosophy nor will it keep them at bay. Appeasement does not work either with people of this mind set. France has tried to the way of appeasement, and has failed. Russia withheld support for the US during the the Iraq invasion and still the terrorist strike them. So, what does stop this kind of behavior when appeasement and negations are removed as viable options? When dealing with fanatics who will display no restraint when fighting for their cause, the only sure way to stop them is to seek them out and kill them. The only thing they understand is the one thing the use, and that is brute force.

I continue to say that this is the single most important issue of our presidential election. I want to take that a step further today. The issue of Islamic Terrorism is the most important issue in Christianity today. This attack shows how evil Islam is. Only a religion that worships Satan could turn hearts cold enough to accept the killing of children. As I have said before, we are in the midst of a physical manifestation of a spiritual battle. Christians everywhere have a duty to get involved in this battle.

1. We must see the spiritual battle that is going on around us. American Christianity has become so self-focused that we fail to understand that our God is global god. We look and will accept the spiritual war that rages in our own lives through our personal temptations and sins while believing the lie that this same spiritual warfare does not takes place at a global level as well. We no longer accept a place for the global struggle between the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the god of this world. As long as we remain blind to this truth, we will be ineffectual in overcoming Satan.
2. Once we accept that the battle is being waged, then we must pray fervently for Satan to bound and the people he has deluded (the Muslims) to be freed from their bondage. They have bought the lie that they are following God. Most of these people are good-hearted and kind. They desire nothing more than to live a right life and just don't understand that they have been deceived.
3. The best way to achieve this freedom is to change the hearts and minds of the Muslims with the Gospel of Jesus. This may mean being a missionary or supporting one. We need lots and lots of ground troops (missionaries) once again walking the roads of Peter and Paul.
4. We must vote for a man who has been placed by God in the perfect position to lead His battle against Satan. Many Christians do not see the moral obligation they have for voting. God has given us the power to choose who our leader will be. God will let us make bad choices (and let us live with the consequences of those choices) about who are national and political leaders are (see the story of Samuel anointing Saul as King).

Wake up, O sleeper! Two towers crumbled to the ground. A train exploded. A school was hijacked. Our enemy is active. Shall we continue to live in oblivion or will we put on the full armor of God and march forward with such vengance that the gates of Hades do indeed shudder?