A Day in the Life

This is a conversation, albeit brief, that I had with my mother today. On the phone. It originated with me discussing our Christmas plans. Hopefully you will appreciate it.

Me: "Well, we definitely will not come down there next year because then he [my infant son] will be fully aware of Christmas, too, and also, because we are going to Disney next December. So, we won't want to fly down there, too."

Mom: "How are you able to do that? Oh, because she's [my preschool daughter] not in school yet."

Me: "Yeah. And, you know, you can just take kids out of school, too."

Mom: "Err... umm... well, they don't really like you doing that."

Me: "Well, we're the parents."

Mom: "Well, they don't like you doing that and a lot of times they'll lower your grades because of it."

Me: "I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty confident that if you miss a few days of school in the third grade you might, just might, still be able to get into college."

Mom: "I don't know..."

The end.

Death and Life

I have an old iPod Nano and a new iPod Classic, if that's the name. My husband has an old Shuffle and a new Classic and just got an iPhone a few weeks ago. We're contemplating an iPad. The fact that we have those and aren't considered Apple junkies says how pervasive Apple products are in our American lives; really the entire civilized world. (But a junkie would never be typing this on a PC. It was cheaper, what can I say?)

I admire intelligence. I admire invention. Probably because while I don't count myself as dumb, the skill sets that I lack are definitely captured in inventors and innovators. I can talk well, I can write well, I can analyze well and I can be creative in certain arts but I cannot grasp technological innovation. Just last week, while in the air, I turned to my husband and said, "I still cannot believe that airplanes can fly. I simply do not understand it." Thinking up inventions and machines not yet existing, I don't understand. Who thinks of it? Who knows how to do it? (One time, I did come up with the idea for a crib-wedge for babies with reflux or congestion. I was sure it was my golden ticket until I looked it up and there it was, already available for purchase.) The creation of technology is amazing to me. And, frankly, a huge indicator of a Creator God in who's image all men are created. Because intellectual gifts like that are not totally random from spontaneous combustion.

I am sombered by the news of Steve Jobs's death. What a great American innovator of my time. He changed the technological landscape of the world. Of course he had a team of genius with him, but he was the face and he was among them. America just lost a champion.

Once I learned of his death, I was struck by a very small reminder about his life posted on National Review Online - that he was adopted. The author thanked his birth mother and his adoptive parents by name. What a great reminder that every life is valuable and who are we to judge who is worthy of life? I posted as my Facebook status that "I am glad that Steve Jobs was adopted and not aborted. 56 years of genius is better than none. You'll be missed." My how much we would have missed if Jobs's birth mother had chosen to end her pregnancy rather than allow life to live and find wanting parents to parent him? She had no idea then but she found out and I'm sure that information blessed her. It would have blessed me if I were her.

How much have we missed by the others' who were never given such an opportunity? We will never know what society lost or what individual blessings women and families lost. It's just loss.

If you believe the Bible, which I do, technically Jesus was an unplanned and probably at some point, to some extent, an unwanted pregnancy from Mary's perspective. Immaculate conception to a betrothed woman. Totally not cool. But it ended up very, very cool. And what an eternal blessing ensued! Obviously, that's a bit different from the situation that you or I, or the girl next door would find ourselves in, but it is an example to show that there is value in life and there is a Creator of life, and it's not just the girl and the boy in the bedroom.

When you think about Steve Jobs's death; when you praise his life and call him a "visionary," as the President just did in a statement; think about your position on life, too. Whether you belive the Bible or not.

Occupy Hypocrisy

Just returning from vacation, I haven't paid much, OK, any, attention to the "Occupy Wall Street" protests that are occurring in New York. So, I give it about five minutes of my time today and I'm already irritated.

According to the organized protest's website, this is purportedly a protest against corporate greed and corruption. Apparently Wall Street needs a salary cap and should redistribute some of its income. Usually that's called an investment return, but whatever. I guess people want to sit outside, troll the Internet, and demand money for doing nothing from the people inside the building that are actually working and making money. Sounds fair.

Then I looked at the group's schedule, as posted on their website. So, they're rallying with the Teamsters and some other unions. Why would a group that wants to rage against corruption and greed team up with the Teamsters? A union that forces their tradesmen/women to join the union, to give their dues, to pay for political campaigns that, in turn, line the pockets of the union leader? That union, along with SEIU, is highly politicized. Can we rally against that greed and corruption, too? Or any other union that bankrupts private and public sectors alike? Where's the call for a salary cap on plumbers that make more than attorneys? What about electricians that make more than doctors that deliver babies during residency? What about a cap for the unionized workers that put American car companies out of business, 'til they got bought and paid for by the US Government (GM)? My tax dollars are paying for you to break the back of not just a private company but now the federal government.

I don't mind people speaking out against greed and corruption; go for it, both are horrible things. It's just that I can't stand blatant hypocrisy. And the idiocy, frankly, of those that are so self-righteous that they fail to see it. I'm really fed up with the arguments and they don't even directly effect me. What gives anyone the right to equate wealth with greed? That wealth creates things like charitable foundations, whole hospital wings, school auditoriums, libraries, museum exhibits, you know, things that we plain folk can enjoy. Why is it greedy to succeed in a material sense? Is it greedy to work hard, get into top schools, and earn an income that enables you to actually pay off $100,000 of debt and feed your family, too? Is it greedy to be an entrepreneur and take a big risk and have it pay off, morphing into a successful company that employs many people and provides goods or services to people who want it? Is it greedy to work your way up or do you just need to stay mediocre to ensure that greed doesn't creep into your conscience?

Or is it greedy to do nothing and demand something for it just because you have less? I have more than some and less than some. Who cares? I don't have designer bags. I don't have designer clothes. I have a free "dumb" phone. I don't get manicures. I dye my own hair. If I desired more of those things than my desire to stay home with my children, then off to work I go. I am not less because I have less. I am not more because I have more.

There's no righteousness that automatically comes from being poor just like there's no righteousness that automatically comes from being wealthy or like most of us poor schlubs, middle class. And some of "the wealthy" in this country, aren't so wealthy after you consider college debt and children's college savings, because the "wealthy" are too rich to qualify for scholarships but too poor to easily carry the financial load (obviously the super rich are not in this category). And to pretend that the "working class" of modern American unions qualifies as underprivileged is absolutely outrageous. Some of us that earn what you earn or pennies more but actually have to fund our own retirement. Or, actually, we have to fund your retirement, as well. So next time you complain about earning a few thousands less or a tens of thousands less, think about that. Think about greed. Think about that the next time you want taxpayers, at any income level, to pay more taxes simply to line your pockets. Sounds a bit like stealing. Or worse, greed. And before you know, you may be considered one of the evil wealthy.

The difference between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives want everyone to succeed; liberals want those that do to then fail. I choose to be conservative and I wish you well.

Justice is Good

"Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil." Romans 14:16

On September 11th, I was on an elliptical machine at the gym when I watched the first plane hit the first tower on television. I thought it was an accident. After visiting the locker room, I left the gym to go into work, late... because my boss always arrived even later. In the two seconds it took to get from gym door to subway stairs, I remember seeing the most beautiful blue sky - looking up to see if it was possible to see smoke from this horrible accident that had occurred. Just 23 years old with a nice life and kind history, the type of evil that showed itself that day was never on my radar. Didn't prime evil die with Hitler? I had never heard of Osama bin Laden.

I walked into the office and people were in the conference room watching the coverage. I went to my desk (I was late, afterall). Unbeknownst to me, the second tower had been hit. I next remember Lou frantically announcing that the pentagon had been hit and that we were under attack. Back to the conference room. We watched the towers fall. We rushed to our phones. My boss called, his wife safely evacuated down the staircase of tower 2, stairs that were violently swaying under the pressure of how many tons of jet fuel fire that was melting the steel structure.

I cried that day, at my desk, out of pure unbridled emotion before walking home, uptown, strong, with the rest of midtown. Then I cleaned my apartment. Maybe I just needed something to be neat and clean; or, heaven forbid the terror attacks continued, I died and my mother walked into my messy apartment to gather my things... Quick! Clean! Somethings don't change, even in crisis. And I listened to the radio because television signals were out. I waited to hear what was coming next.

For months, I passed street posts with "have you seen this person?" signs. Young men, old men, young women, grandmothers. Mothers. Fathers. Children. Fiancees. Subway stations and bus stops were littered with them. What started out as hopeful fliers became sober paper memorials - miniature essays about missing loved ones. Missing. Missing. Missing. Everything and everyone missing because the towers were raging infernos. Missing because the raging inferno collapsed steel and became an avalanche of death and destruction. There was physically nothing left to find.

On May 1, 2011, when the news networks unofficially confirmed that the President's obscure late-Sunday night address would be to announce that US troops killed Osama bin Laden just that afternoon, our time, I couldn't contain my tears. I can't aptly articulate why I the tears came. I think it was another moment of pure emotion, ten years in the making. And thankfulness. My immediate reaction, which I shared with Facebook, was "Praise the Lord, Osama bin Laden is dead!" I wholly believe that it was the Lord who delivered him into the hands of our wonderfully brave, skilled and disciplined Navy Seals. Thank you, Jesus. It was an American victory. It was a victory for justice. It was a victory for good triumphing over evil.

This is a man who has orchestrated the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, let alone our service men and women. This is a man who has inspired the deaths of, truly, countless more. He was expert at killing before I even knew his name and others will kill in his name before I learn theirs. He wasn't just picking fights, he was picking wars. Wars that he and those that share his beliefs, alone, asked for. His death, after refusing surrender, is just. I celebrate justice. His death removes a piece of palpable evil in this world. I celebrate the elimination of any amount of evil from this world. What he espoused was evil and what he did was criminal.

Not everyone shares my point of view. Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers tweeted, "What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..." And then, "I believe in God. I believe we are ALL his children. And I believe HE is the ONE and ONLY judge. 'Those who judge others will also be judged themselves.'"

I have heard this sentiment more than from Mendenhall. By friends. And acquaintances. In fact, I found out about these Mendenhall tweets (and Mendenhall, period) after I was already head scratching and irritated by this sentiment that, frankly, is dangerously misguided and especially troubling when espoused by professing Christians. Let's break this down, from my point of view. After all, this is my blog - however sparse it may be. I'll speak to to the football player.

Let's talk about "celebrating death." Mr. Mendenhall, you want to know what kind of a person celebrates death? It's not a secret. Are you familiar with the quote "We love death more than you love life"? It's a famously familiar jihadist quote. In fact, it was quoted by the Fort Hood killer. Murder is unjustified killing. There is a difference. Unjustified killing happened on 9/11. And on the USS Cole. And in Bali. Should we go on? Taking to the streets, waiving machine guns in the air, cheering, as what happened in Arab countries after the towers fell was celebrating death. Celebrating the murder of innocents. When a mass murderer, an enemy of war, is captured, refuses surrender and is taken out - that is just. That is not murder. Death is not what is celebrated. Justice is what is celebrated. I don't celebrate death, it's not my thing. I do celebrate justice. In big ways and in little ways. In world events and local stories. I don't really care if he's alive or dead, he just needed to be stopped and the reality is that killing him is probably the only way that happens. He chose not to surrender. I also rejoice in the lives that will be spared as a result.

Mr. Mendenhall, I agree with you: God is the only one who may judge. Souls. The judgment of souls is different than judging actions. Necessary judgments, yes, of people, are made every day. You judge someone every time you decide whether or not to leave your child with them. You judge someone every time you decide whether to enter their home. We literally have "judges" to determine the fitness and guilt or innocence of various people in our justice system. I suppose we should do away with that because judgment is for God alone. Of course not. Judging souls, possibly to the point of eternal damnation, is for God to do - to every man, myself included. No one will escape eternal judgment. It is different than judging a man's words and deed. And when someone murders tens of thousands of people and calls for more, take him at his word and deed. So, you are free to "judge" his words when he says that all will fall by the sword that do not convert to his radical Islamic bent. When he says he wants you dead, he means it. And, you can even judge that it's bad. You're not playing God when you do.

As a Christian, I understand that love and forgiveness are not exclusive to justice and even anger. God exhibits all of those characteristics and is wholly good and unable to contradict himself. He is altogether loving yet speaks of his wrath. He is both "lion and lamb." Accordingly, we, while not God, can discern good and evil. We are to love sincerely, to hate what (not who) is evil and cling to what is good. Romans 12:9. "Hate evil; love good. Maintain justice in the courts." Amos 5:15. Evil exists in this world; Satan, works in this world. Denying its presence isn't loving or humble, it's unbiblical. "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." Matthew 12:35.

We are not just to hate evil and do good, but we are to speak out against evil. And not just speaking out against evil - but we are to defend that which is good. Hence, my opening quote. A mass murderer, intent on spreading destruction even further, was stopped. That is good. Those who rejoice that he was thwarted - yes, even by his own death - are not the ones "celebrating death." We are not to be scolded.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." Isaiah 5:20.

Bless your heart?

A couple of weeks ago, I was praying for three friends who desire good things to happen in their lives: two dear friends want a husband; and one longs for a child. Each of these women know the Lord personally and love him. Praying for these women to be blessed in this way made me start to think about blessing, in general. Are these three women not receiving the Lord's blessing? That doesn't make any sense when we have a God who desires to bless us and to do so abundantly beyond our expectation. "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11. So what does "blessing" mean? Is it different than gift? Yes. I think. These are my thoughts.

It dawned on me that I have a myopic, rather than Biblical view, of blessing. I instantly thought of the times that "we" (those of us well-versed in Christianese) use (or misuse) the term and concept of blessed or blessing. I determined that it's often used in relation to getting what we want. I wanted that, I received it, therefore, I was blessed. "We got a great deal on our new car, what a blessing!" Or, we look at someone else's life and see that they have things that we desire and therefore, they must be "blessed." "You have a beautiful home, you must feel so blessed." Why? Because it's something that you want? "What a sweet boy, you've been very blessed." Why? Because you think he's perfectly behaved? That's not the litmus test for blessing.

Of course, all good things come for the Lord. So, it is a blessing to be able to work and make a living and afford a home. The Lord giveth and can taketh away. And blessings can definitely overlap with what we want. My marriage is a blessing. My child is a blessing. I wanted those things - doesn't make them less of a blessing. But just because we are not getting what we want surely cannot mean we are not being blessed. How self-centered of us, at least of me, to think of blessing in terms of "I asked for it and received it," me, myself and I. I shouldn't be surprised that we would take a God-centered concept and understand it in a totally self-centered way. Human beings are inherently selfish and self-centered. At least I am. How much bigger is God's framework of blessing?

I was instantly reminded of the beattitudes in Matthew 5, in which the word "Blessed are those..." is repeated over and over again. And not necessarily in the most desirable positions of life. Matthew 5:3-12:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Blessed while mourning? Blessed when poor in spirit? Blessed when persecuted and insulted? Obviously the blessing is the comfort, the inheritance, the kingdom, the reward. And not the mourning, etc., itself. But it is the mourning, etc., that God uses to bring us the blessing. Not many of us have prayed for such opportunities to receive blessings. Not sure I will tonight or tomorrow, either. But my point is, the Lord ably blesses us in all sorts of circumstances and blessing is bigger than just getting that for which we prayed.

My favorite verse while a teenager was Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Memorialized not just in my Bible but on my wall. In my prayer journals, in my diaries. I clung to that verse as I waited for Matt Humber to profess his love and eventually marry me. I loved the Lord and Matt was the desire of my heart. So... That was my misunderstanding the verse, understandably so, at 16. And 17. And possibly 18 and 19, too. It was a long wait. :) But once, as an adult, and freed of the melodramatic teen years, I did actually grasp the fullness of the verse, it remained a favorite verse through a completely changed perspective.

When I was in high school. Or middle school. Or college. Or all three. I remember my mother honestly telling me, "Oh, Becky, I know you better than you know yourself." Guess what? Totally infuriating. In fact, it was spoken in the midst of angst over knowing that the exact opposite was true. I doubt there is anyone walking the earth that can tell you that and actually be correct. I am confident that I don't even know my toddler better than she knows herself. But the Lord does know me better than I know myself and it's totally not infuriating to hear it because it is absolutely true. He knows my rising and my laying down, he knows my requests before I speak them, he knows my thoughts before I think them and he knows how many premature gray hairs I have on this 32 year old head. And he knew I would have them even before I was born. Thanks for that, by the way. And His word is absolutely true.

He will give you the desires of your heart - it's just that he knows your heart better than you know it. You may not get what you want, but you will always get what you need. I bet the Stones had no idea they were spreading a Biblical thought when they wrote that lyric. God is so good, that he doesn't just give us what we want - he gives us what we need even in the midst of circumstances we don't want. Don't curse the trials that allow the Lord to uniquely bless you.

Call Me Erma: A Potty Training Tale

For those of you who aren't familiar with old-school pop culture or do not have a mother who thought sarcastic domestic humor was hilarious in the 80's, then you may not be familiar with Erma Bombeck. But Erma was a mom of many, I forget the exact number, a homemaker and a humorist. All of her books were sarcastic and made fun of those moments in motherhood or wifedom where you either laugh or cry or call yourself fat and then laugh or cry.

I am in the throes of potty training my 2.5 year old. It's times like these that you understand the desire to have not one, but four nannies. Or a boarding school for potty training. Just a week wouldn't hurt, would it? So, it's day four and I finally tried a new strategy after three solid days of a 50/50 record. I couldn't find any rhyme or reason to her hits and misses and was using a lot of bribery. I'm not against it. Rewards still work in the adult world.

So today, I decided to tell my daughter that if she had dry pants all day, no pee-pee and no poo-poo in her underwear, no accidents (I tried to express it in any way I knew how to make sure it stuck, I would've spoke French if I thought it would help), that I would take her to an "ice cream restaurant" (Friendly's) for dinner. She has never been to Friendly's. I have been once; my now-husband and I stopped there while on a roadtrip through Connecticut. Following that stop, I vomitted on the side of the road until bile came out. Oh, the good ol' days. But this was a reward for my daughter, not me. And I thought the concept of an ice cream restaurant would be like reaching her Nirvana.

So that was the challenge of which I reminded her throughout the day. Ad nauseum. Even I was sick of hearing it. But it worked. Four pees and one poo, all on the potty. Dry underwear the whole day. One nap pull-up with pee, but that doesn't count. Then she "woke up" from playing in her room for two hours and her first words were "ice cream restnaut." We changed into underwear and waited for Dad to get home. Constantly, I asked her if she needed to go, for fear of her blowing the challenge right before we were to leave - she would be devastated. When she said she didn't need to go, I decided to trust her. We're off for our reward!

As soon as we get into Friendly's, I noticed the temperature being warm. Maybe it was the small dining room which is a stone's throw from the fryers and grills and ovens and boiling pots of goo. Or maybe it was inadequate air conditioning. Or maybe it was my elevated pregnant body temperature. Either way, it was hot. Why am I breaking a sweat in an ice cream restaurant?

I immediately had to go to the bathroom, at this crowded restaurant full of bad food and children of all ages. So I left dad and daughter at the table. I walk into the one-stall bathroom and was greeted with a bowl full of pee, poop and toilet paper. Just what I need in my life, to clean up after someone else's child. Flush.

Then I go back to our table. I forget why my child screamed at the top of her lungs. There was some unjustified reason. Off to the bathroom we go for a discussion and spanking threat. Problem solved. We sit back down, order our food. And I remind her to tell me if she needs to go pee or poo. A few minutes later, I see her reaching down and feeling the front of her underwear. I let my fingers do the walking, as well, to find... wetness. The booster seat is officially filled with urine. Thankfully, I came prepared with dishtowels, extra clothes, pull-ups, and disinfectant wipes. Off comes my child and in goes the towels and now we're going back to the bathroom. She is crying hysterically because she peed in her pants. We're in the stinky single-stall again. She's crying, not wanting to take off her underwear. I'm about to cry because half of my right leg is soaked with pee run-off. We get her cleaned up and in a pull-up. She's crying, telling me she got distracted (that was my excuse that I offered to her... she's bright but not bright enough to say, "I was distracted, mom" at two).

So we go back and eat our lackluster dinner. I'm nauseous from heat and my sub-par burger (the high point was ketchup), so I pass on ice cream, while I watch my daughter eat a hot fudge sundae, touching the chocolatey spoon to my right arm and shirt every time she moves. I try my husband's sundae that, in theory, sounds delicious, but in reality is a runny mess of sugary gruel.

By this time, I'm sweating through my shirt. Perhaps a drink refill would've helped. Can we leave please?

There is redemption. When we came home, she sat on the potty and peed. So we're 5:1 today with the one accident being in a truly distracting restaurant. It is progress but I'm nauseous, exhausted, and will never return to Friendly's unless I one day fall prey to the decision of my child's sports team following a game. Next time, we'll go to Ben and Jerry's.

"If life is like a bowl of cherries, this must be the pits." - Erma Bombeck

Freedom of Jihad

When you're pregnant, one of the beauties of it is that you have vivid dreams that for me, at least, lead to deep sleep. For me, the dreams are all usually positive. For the past few days, I've been praying for that kind of sleep because I have been tossing and turning all night with thoughts of the mosque that is planned near Ground Zero. Not the structure itself but the ideology within it's walls as professed by Imam Rauf and what it means to not just be built at Ground Zero (although highly and obviously significant) but what it means to be built within our boarders.

Do we, as people, understand what it means that Imam Rauf advocates the acceptance and eventual cultural observance of Shariah law in this country? Shariah law calls for the blatent oppression and abuse of women and girls. Shariah law calls for midevil punishment for moral offenses under Islamic law. Women can't get divorced. Women can't be seen in the company of non-related males. Have you seen a woman in a theme park on a summer day covered in a black burqua with hardly an eye showing? Shariah law calls for Shariah compliance. Shariah calls for deception in order to further the cause of Islam. And persecution and cruel punishment for not following it. Oh, and the destruction of Israel and conversion by sword for non-believers. And honor killings for those who leave the faith. Ask the African countries who've experienced genocide at the hand of Shariah-following and Shariah-imposing Muslims. Ask the girl on the cover of liberal Time Magazine that is missing her nose and ears at the hands of this Islamic law.

This is the belief system of the man who is behind and will be the leader of the Ground Zero Mosque. He does not denounce Jihad. He calls America an equal accomplice in the 9/11 attacks. He will not call Hamas a terrorist organization. This is the ideology of the mosque. This is not what is being built but what is being preached, spread, spewed. But we should believe he is "moderate" because he tells us, in other sentences, that he is. No one's ever lied to further their agenda or manipulated people with words, right? So it must be true... But how can you attest that embracing a strategy to impose Shariah compliance is moderate? That is the definition of "not moderate." Scary not moderate.

Not all who call themselves Muslim hold these beliefs. I know that. But some do. He does. And while it is extreme I do not believe it to be as obscure a ideology as many want you to believe but it's become too taboo to challenge Islam. Terrorist attacks were not Islamic attacks... except for the fact all the attackers basically yelled "praise Allah" in arabic and made it very obvious that their actions were done in the name of Islam. Not all muslims are terrorists, but all the recent terrorists are Muslim and it's done in the name of Islam. Why can't we embrace this truth? Why are we so fearful if the religion is so peaceful. Because a Danish cartoonist has been killed for depicting Mohammed. Because a Dutch filmmaker had his throat slit for a documentary on the mistreatment of women.

What is more disturbing is the call for "religious freedom" in regards to this mosque. My issue is not the location of this mosque - although it's outrageous. It is an obvious statement of triumph and a slap in the face that should be appalling and alarming to all Americans, regardless of creed (unless, of course, you support its agenda). But I am more disturbed by how this is an anti-American ideology exploiting the very freedoms it hopes to dominate and destroy. And we are supposed to embrace, encourage and further it all. And at least a third of us are.

More disturbing still is that some Christians, or some who call themselves Christians - hard to tell who's who and who believes what anymore - are calling on Christians to support the building of the mosque under the guise of religous freedom. Some of the things being espoused: "Jesus said to love your neighbor," "bless those who persecute you," "we value religious freedom in America." Excuse me? Have you read the Bible? All of the aforementioned is true but let's get a little context.

At no point in scripture will you find Jesus advocating for an evil agenda or offering support for those that do. At no point in the entire Bible will you find God, whether speaking through Old Testament Biblical heros, prophets, or Christ himself, uring people to not speak out against evil. God told Jonah to go preach in Ninevah to warn the people of their wickedness. God speaks out and acts against evil historically and God has never changed and cannot change, the God of Abraham and Moses is still the God of the univers. "Loving the sinner" does not mean promoting his/her agenda. When Christ met with the prostitute, he approached her though she was "unclean," showed her love and told her to go and sin no more. He showed her love and treated her with dignity and respect but he did not advocate the act of prostitution. He didn't rally behind her without acknowledging the evil and requiring correction.

To support the construction of this mosque or any mosque which espouses the views that this Imam holds, is supporting abusive oppression, murder, the destruction of Israel, conversion by sword for non-believers. We are not called to to advocate for these things; in fact, we are called to speak out against evil.

Still, we are also called to bless those who persecute us and love our neighbors. But again, to use a trite "Christianese" phrase, "loving the sinner" never is to be translated into advocating the sin, whatever that sin is - whether in our own lives or in the lives of others. How then do we bless and love? Be a friend to your muslim neighbor. Pray tirelessly that those blinded by Islam will be freed in Christ. Don't hate the people but do speak out against evil. That's what Jesus did, just as his Father called him to do.

Friends, don't be blinded by the deception of a world turned upside-down.

(photo by Jodi Bieber/INSTITUTE for TIME)