On Saturday, 10 medical care workers were gunned down in Afghanistan by Taliban who accused them of spying and preaching Christianity. While reports continue to debate whether or not the eye care workers were actually proselytizing, people miss the point: preaching your beliefs to someone else, in hopes that they will be converted, should not be a crime punishable by death.

One unbelievable OpEd piece stops just short of saying that the missionaries had it coming, citing all the crimes of past “missionaries” and crusaders. I’m sure that similar evidence was presented to German citizens before World War II to explain why the Jews were the root cause of most of their problems. If this editorial, instead of reviling Christians, was arguing that Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or people of any other particular faith should not be trying to persuade others to join their religion in a country where such actions get you killed, and that these missionaries should have known better, there would be an outrage. Milions of American citizens would demand that the reporter be fired for his insensitivity and his obvious bias, as well as the horribly inappropriate timing, accusing missionaries after they have been murdered.

But since it’s only an attack on Christians, there will be no outrage, so don’t worry. Especially if a well-known organization like the Taliban was offended by the missionaries’ presence and their attempts to persuade people to share their beliefs. Surely the people murdering these missionaries on suspicion of the high crime of proselytizing should be protected from such vicious attacks against their citizens.

Whether you’re a Christian or not, I hope you can grasp the bias that does occur in our society. Why are the obvious rights of certain faiths protected while anyone professing to be a Christian is criticized and linked to the wrong actions of other Christians, even in the wake of a tragic murder report? Read the article here and see if you agree with the writer … and with the Taliban.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Missionary-Impossible-by-Rakesh-Krishnan-Si-100810-290.html

Or you can move past the propaganda and decide for yourself, by clicking on various other news articles here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=afghanistan+aid+workers+killed&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

- RAD

I’m now on Twitter!

You can click to view my Twitter page and follow me on Twitter, for a special deal on the Short Story Contest! Remember, the contest ends this Thursday July 15th!

Good luck!

 - RAD

I had a great time meeting up with old friends at the Write-to-Publish Conference held at Wheaton College. I got some great writing tips, learned about some new writing opportunities, and got some solid interest from an editor in a book proposal. Time will tell …

Meanwhile, check out the links to websites and ministries of some of the people I met up with from this year’s conference.

And remember, the deadline for the Short Story Contest is July 15th, to win a full year of free lessons with the Creative Writing Class in Elgin, Illinois!

Julie Dearyan
Senior editor, Victory In Grace; freelance writer

Jesse Florea
Editor, Clubhouse; representative, Clubhouse Jr. and Thriving Family; freelance writer

Dr. Dennis E. Hensley
Freelance writer; director of professional writing program,
Taylor University 

Rowena Kuo
Executive editor, Harpstring magazine and books

Zena Dell Lowe
Screenwriter, producer, director; co-owner, Skirt Films

Kristine Pratt
CEO & edtor-in-chief, Written World Communications 

Kristen Tuinstra
Editor, Keys for Kids

Sandra Bishop
Literary agent, Macgregor Literary 

Athena Dean
Acquisitions editor, WinePress Publishing Group

Joyce K. Ellis
Freelance editor and writer, speaker, former magazine editor

Mary Hassinger
Acquisitions editor, Zonderkidz

Steven James
Freelance writer, speaker

Lin Johnson
Managing editor,
Advanced Christian Writer,
Christian Communicator,
Church Libraries;
freelance writer and editor

(who also organizes and leads the annual Write-to-Publish Conference!)

Rodney Morris
Senior editor, Harvest House Publishers

Sam O’Neal
Managing editor,
SmallGroups.com, Christianity Today

Jane Rubietta
Freelance writer, speaker

Carla Williams
Editorial and publicity director,
WinePress Publishing Group; freelance writer; speaker 

Rusty Wright
Freelance writer; representative, The Amy Foundation

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I am saddened and troubled by the actions of the Hutaree militia, a group that identifies themselves as “Christian soldiers”. According to reports, members of this group have planned to attack and kill police officers, by shooting one and then detonating a bomb at the officer’s funeral to kill many more grieving officers.

I do not know whether any of these people started out with a genuine passion to uphold the Bible and the teaching of Christ. However, they chose to ignore it at some point, and continued to pursue their own path. This is what happens when a person – Christian or otherwise – refuses to listen to authority. Authority in the church, authority in the family, authority in local and federal government, and authority of the Word of God.

The Bible teaches clearly that all authority is given by God, even the authority of dictators like Hitler, who slaughtered Jews; Stalin, who slaughtered Christians; Pharoah, who enslaved the Israelites; and Nero, who burned Christians on stakes and fed them to lions for his entertainment. This does not mean that every authority is right, or that we should always obey every authority. But protests against the existing authorities do not require handguns.

In the Bible, Daniel defied the king’s order against praying to his God. But he submitted to the king’s authority to punish him for breaking that law, and therefore was thrown into a den of lions. He did not take up a sword and kill the king, or attempt to kill any of the king’s soldiers. He honored and obeyed God, and honored and submitted to the king’s authority. That is not what the Hutaree are doing, and their actions are not supported by the Bible, nor by certain family members and associates who could have influenced them, if only they had listened. Gang violence, terrorism, and attempts to overthrow a government by killing those in power are not biblical principles or mandates. They are irrational self-directed agendas that are based on a mindset of fear, not faith.

As for the End Times and the coming of Armageddon, this is a biblical teaching, but nowhere in the Bible does it ever suggest that Christians should take up arms to “protect” themselves against persecution. Armageddon is God’s final judgment on humanity, not humanity’s final judgment against humanity on God’s behalf. The Bible teaches that God will build his church, and God will bring all necessary judgment.

However, if you find the Hutaree militia’s arguments compelling -

- if you believe we are living in the final days of Earth’s existence and we should speed up Christ’s return by starting a war with our neighbors and local authorities -

- if you believe that the only way to respond to the un-Christian doctrines of the world is by packing heat and taking out those who oppose you, or who just make you uncomfortable -

then I encourage you, and the Hutaree, to take a step backward and re-read the commands of the Bible, and the God you claim to serve. Read about submission to authority, forgiveness of enemies, and praying for those who persecute you. It is true that Jesus instructed his disciples, at the Last Supper, to keep two swords among them, since he was about to leave them and the disciples would likely be attacked. I don’t know exactly what Jesus’ instructions meant in this instance, but I do know that he corrected his disciple, Peter, that same night for striking a soldier’s servant with a sword. He also criticized the Pharisees and Roman soldiers arresting him for bringing clubs and weapons, as if he was leading a violent revolt.

As if he was trying to harm anyone.

Jesus brought a revolution, but he didn’t bring any man-made weapons to the party.

Neither should we.

Click here for an online search of Bible verses about how Christian should respond to authority: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bible+verses+authority&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=bible+verses+authorit&gs_rfai=

Click here for Hutaree militia news: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=hutaree+news&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Too often, children and teenagers are seen as less important or less capable when it comes to big jobs, especially in an emergency situation. But over 1,000 kids from age 3 through high school are disproving that bias. Pitching in to help shore up their community of Fargo, North Dakota, they’re protecting local homes from impending floods.

Click the picture link above for the story!

We celebrated Valentine’s Day throughout the month with Weekly Blogs and a Monthly Feature about finding and keeping healthy relationships! Our Monthly Feature on the film, “Fireproof”, demonstrated how to persistently fight for your relationship through humility, kindness, and persevering love.

Click here for an official trailer on YouTube!

Weekly Blogs talked about determining whether someone genuinely love you for who you are, in “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”, and whether they’re willing to return a show of affection, in “I Want You to Want Me“.

In addition, our “What’s New?” page made mention of a new book by Lori Gottlieb, about setting realistic expectations when searching for a future mate, called Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, while another update highlighted the film premiere of “Furious Love”, a documentary about God’s power and love being displayed to people in places where God is least expected to show up.

Another “What’s New?” entry pointed out Four of the Best Sayings for maintaining loving relationships, pointed out by my wise mom. And it referred to the Weekly Blog about watching our words and their deep impact, “You’ve Got Mail”.

Finally, another Blog was contributed by missionary friends Woody & Su Roland, who oversee several missionaries serving throughout Latin America, about a historic example of persistent love in Dear Bess: the Letters from Harry to Bess Truman, Part 1 and Part 2.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

- RAD

Wondering if God’s power is real? If God’s love is real?

This Valentine’s Day, my wife and I will have a rare night out to see the premiere of a powerful film, about a man who put God’s love to the test. “Furious Love” shows the power of God being displayed throughout the world. Rescuing people from some of the darkest places, where no one believes that God’s hands can reach. For more information about “Furious Love”, click one of the picture links.

If you’re wondering whether God’s love and power can actually be experienced, find out if the film is playing in your area, and prepare to witness something you’ve never thought possible.

God bless!

- RAD

Here’s another exciting news story about a former bank robber who now shines as a lawyer submitting appeals to the Supreme Court! Click the picture or link below to the story about prisoner-turned-lawyer Shon Hopwood!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/us/09bar.html?no_interstitial

Wow. Someone else is releasing a book about some of the issues that women face when dating, and expecting a little too much. Follow this link for tips on mistakes that women make while searching for Mr. Right, not realizing that they’re really searching for Mr. Perfect-in-every-conceivable-way:

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/dating-advice-7-mistakes-single-women-make-580573/

The author makes a great point that women “don’t need men” to be fulfilled in life (in the same way that men don’t need women), but if they actually want to be with a man, they need to learn how to give and take, rather than discard the Mr. Right that’s waiting right in front of them.

And check out the Weekly Blog on Cheap Trick’s song, “I Want You to Want Me”, about what demonstrates true love in a romantic relationship.

Have a great week!

- RAD