I would like to tell my OKC reader who sent all those corrections about my report on Islam in Sunday's letter to the editor that I don't read the Koran daily as I do the Bible. Yet I speak often to Muslims who concur in my description of what they believe about Muhammad visiting heaven to talk with Allah on what they call "the night of power." It's very special during Ramadan each year. Perhaps what they think the Koran says isn't any more accurate than Christians who believe that St.Peter stands at the pearly gates. Since Revelation says there are twelve of them, how can he possibly be on all four sides of the heavenly New Jerusalem. Yet we hear endless accounts of meeting him, when it's meeting the Lord Jesus that's truly in the Bible. Christ never gave Peter any literal keys but used a figure of speech to describe his faith (the key all believers hold) that would open the way for so many others. Peter was the chief resource for young Mark's gospel, the first written and most historically accurate, according to contemporary scholars. Matthew and Luke used Mark as their basic outline to build their accounts. So Simon Peter's "key" testimony opened the Way into Christ's church, along with the three epistles which bear his name. His confession of faith, along with that of the other apostles, was the rock upon which Christ said He would build (though Christ Himself was the chief cornerstone). When Jesus gave Simon his name as "rock" or Peter, and said upon "this Rock will I build my church" He was pointing to Himself. This was confused into literal imagery by tradition in centuries to come with Peter as the Rock, instead of Christ; and I feel sure similar things have happened in Islam. And when I wrote about trying to get Muslims to submit to Allah's son, I knew that they believe he had no offspring at all. From the Koran, they see Jesus as another prophet in submission (islam) to their supreme God and looking forward to the final prophet, Muhammad (beloved or praised). My word of witness to them was showing that the One GOD really has a Son. Christmas means that He cared enough about humanity to become one of us. Thus, the name that Jesus used most often for Himself was Son of Man. The vocabulary of our Living GOD is event. In the creation story, He first speaks light into existence. Deed and Word are one and the same. And in the event of His son's nativity, it was the holy birth that said "I have become flesh to dwell among you, my earth creatures." Then that midnight event became enlarged into a perfect life that offered Itself as the sacrifice unto death, and arose from the dead into everlasting life. So theologians have referred to the Event of Jesus Christ, GOD's final Word which is good news to those who will hear it. All the subsequent verbal statements of men and women on that subject, in whatever language or age, are but echoes of what has been divinely spoken and recorded in the Bible. Since divine deed and word are one, our sacred book has been called "the record of GOD's might acts in history for the redemption of mankind." He puts His thoughts into words and words into action. As the chorus goes: What a mighty GOD we serve! What a mighty GOD we serve! Angels bow before Him. Heaven and earth adore Him. What a mighty GOD we serve!"
I've been to the grotto in Bethlehem a couple of times where Mary had her baby. Though it was a stable, it wasn't a shed or barn back of that inn, but a cave; and used for donkeys more than horses. The one place that Christians of Orthodox or Catholic or Protestant view all agree on is that birth site, which Muslims also accept. So it has a unifying influence. I can see why the pope urged Israel to let Arafat be there for Christmas Eve mass. Though he's Islamic, his wife is a Christian. And the Palestinians are both. If a Palestinian state ever comes to pass, it will have to be such a combination. And that will truly test the ability of Christians to tolerate, cooperate with and even witness to Muslims. I think those two girls rescued out of Afghanistan may have been spared to show us the way into such a future. Speaking of spared, do you recall this day after Christmas a year ago? We were snowed in without power and ice covered trees were broken down everywhere. It had been "the night of cracking limbs" all over Wynnewood. Fortunately the gas was still on for heating. But our phone was out as well as TV and our central heat and air. For a week and a half we were roughing it, along with everyone else. The city got our streets open right away, so we could still do our routes, though cautiously. It really taught us what a blessing electricty is since we began 2001 without any. Then came the Memorial Day wind storm. That did even more tree damage and I thought we'd loose all the "wood" out of Wynnewood. Even the lovely trees on Kerr Blvd. were all ruined and I wondered if any decorations would be up for Christmas. Well, we survived and the lights were more beautiful than ever, including residences each side of the main display that added home decorations. With the trees gone, there was far more visibility. Niece and I always drive down to see the Turner Falls lights, but felt that ours were equal or even more right here in town this year. Yes we've ended 2001 as survivors, but that sense has come strongest from 9/11. It seems by now to have become the great divide in American history. In way we've been taken back to that first Thanksgiving in 1721 at Plymouth colony. Half of them had frozen to death that first winter since the Mayflower arrived. But the rest of them gathered to thank GOD for survival. No wonder Thanksgiving's such an important national holiday. And Christmas is a national holiday too. Niece gave me a flag tie which I've worn this year. And I've read and reread an article (below) about 9/11 that shows how very much worse the WTC and Pentagon disasters could have been. Like our forefathers, we've learned to see Providence even in calamity. Hallelujah!
ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT SEPTEMBER 11: This is something that the main-stream media has not yet reported, for it deals with the survival rates instead of the death tolls and highlights some of the positive aspects of what happened during the attacks.
Let's take the buildings that were involved, for an example. At the WTC some 50,000 people were employed. However, the list of those missing is just under 3,000 people which means that over 90% of the pe;ople targeted actually survived...And at the pentagon, some 23,000 people were the target of a third plane aied directly at it. However, the latest count shows that only 123 of these 23,000 actually lost their lives...as it appears that the plane came in too low and too early, and therefore didn't affect a large portion of the building. On top of that, the section that was hit was the firt of 5 sections to undergo renovations that would help protect the Pentagon from terrorists attacks. It had recently completed completed straightening and blastproofing, saving untold lives... Ad now let's look at the planes that were involved. American Airlines Flt.77, a Boeing 757, that was flown into the Pentagon, could hae carried up to 289. And yet only 64 were actually on board. So 78% of the seats were emply. And American Flt.11, a Boeing 767, has up to 351 seats, but only 92 people on borad, 74% empty. United Airlines Ft.175, another Boeing 767, with 351 eats, had only 65 people on borad, so it was 81% empty...The other plane, United Flt.93, was a Boeing 757, with 289 seats, yet only 45 people on the flight and 84% capacity unused...To summarixe, out of a potentially 74,280 Aericans directly targeted, 93% survived or avoided the attacks. That's a much higher survival rate than heart attacks, breast cancer, or kidney transplants.