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Text Box: for oil from Moslem (and Arab) areas is controlled by the sellers, not the purchasers. Decadent? There is much decadence in America. But Christian Americans constantly fight against this decadence, not with bullets and bombs, but with ideas, persuasion, and most especially, with prayer. Even decadent Americans do not generally engage in or condone treating women as pleasure things and slaves for men - but Islam condones such practices. Even decadent Americans do not hope to obtain a sloe eyed, swelling breasts, self perpetuating virgin, and a little boy, and a mermaid, in heaven - but Muslim men do. Insulting? Perhaps. Especially if just stating the facts, stating the truth, about what Islam does, propounds, and advocates is insulting. If Moslems do not like having the plain facts about Islamic beliefs stated in plain language, then Moslems are saying they want Christians to lie either by ignoring what the Koran states or by stating the Koran states something other than what it states. They are saying they want Christians to lie about what Moslem practices actually are, or to lie by ignoring what Moslem practices actually are. Deserving of every evil which has been or can be inflicted upon them? Did the firemen who went into the WTC trying to save lives deserve to be killed? Did the janitors in the WTC deserve to be killed. Did the Moslems who died in the WTC deserve to be killed? Did their families deserve to have these people be killed. Did the English lady who spent thirty years in Iraq helping poor Moslems deserve to be tortured and killed? Not according to any reasonable standards. This is plain, non-diplomatic, communication. What Americans term “straight talk”. During the 20th Century, Christian Americans have attempted to establish peaceful relations throughout the world. Often they have made mistakes, but they have attempted to rectify those mistakes. Taken as a whole, the record of Christians, and

Text Box: particularly that of American Christians, is one which is greatly on the side of peace, of allowing people to practice what ever religion they desire, of assisting people everywhere to live in a manner which they desire, of helping people in necessitous circumstances without regard to a anything except the existence of need, even without regard as to whether it is friend or foe who is in need. The record of Moslem and Moslem religious leaders, is one totally opposite that of Christians, especially Christian America. It was Arab Moslems who supported Nazi Germany in World War II. It was Ottoman Empire Moslems and Turkish Moslems who raped and murdered their way through the Armenian Christian population, who had policies of exterminating the Assyrian Church. Today, in the Sudan, Moslem leaders wage a war of genocide against the Christians in that country. Christian reasoning guesses there must be Moslems who desire peaceful co-existence with Christians without domination of those Christians. There are even words from some few Moslem religious leaders which indicate this may be a reality. But there are few or no actions by Moslem religious leaders, which support this concept. Moslem religious leaders have a lot of house cleaning to do before Christian - Islamic relations can, can, improve. +

Text Box: CHRISTMAS AND KATRINA - RITA LOSSES + Paul, S.S.B. Loss of material things and even loss of lifestyle and things familiar due to the hurricanes would be much more tolerable if they were not compounded by the loss of friends and relationships. The loss of friends and relationships is so severe and extensive that it numbs the mind and emotions, and can even numb the soul. We learn to live with relationships which are disrupted by death - even death due to these storms. But living with relationships which have been disrupted in the manner which they have been disrupted by these storms, and not by death, is a form of double death. Nothing seems to come to mind which would be of use in reestablishing such relationships. Even if there are familiar people, places, and things, everything is different and there is an underlying level of discomfort with the difference. The loss of relationships in the midst of this discomfort can be somewhat stupefying as well as disheartening. The only solace one can find is in Christ. The only solace one can find is Christ. When we know and believe that our relationship with Christ, with God, with God’s angels and saints, and with the Body of Christ on Earth - the Church - is one which we can control, one which we can make stable, then we have begun to grasp the only relationship which can not be damaged by a storm. We should hope and pray, and do what we can to reestablish those other, lost relationships. And hang on to God. + Paul, S.S.B.

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