Martyr or Mass Murderer?

For the Christian in practice, a martyr is someone who has been killed at the hands of another because of their stand of faith. You're not a martyr unless you fall in to a very narrow category. First you must be actively involved in proclaiming or defending your faith. Secondly the death must come at the hands of others, not yourself, who kill you because of what you have said about your faith. Martyrdom is not suicide. Martyrdom is always murder.




This whole topic comes up because the whole concept has been co- opted by media and Islamic terrorists. I suppose figuring out what martyrdom is depends on what religion is defining a martyr. To the Islamist, at least in practice, it appears that a martyr is a devout individual who goes out with an explosive device strapped around himself, or on an fully fueled airplane i.e, and kills as many innocent people as he can, regardless of who among his own religion happen to be innocently in the crowd. I suppose the goal is to kill mainly people who do not believe in his religion, to terrorize the rest of the populace to convert to his "true religion". There is also the ulterior narcissistic erotic motive of being rewarded with a gaggle of virgin wives. In fact Islamist terrorist do create martyrs, but they are not Islamist martyrs. An Islamist terrorist is simply a mass murderer.

For a contemporary picture of Christian Martyrdom, rent and watch "End of the Spear"

After The Mount Comes The Valley

It seems that without fail, after I've been to a wonderful retreat or seminar, I come back to a valley. It's kind of been that way the last few days. I can take solace that just about everyone in the Bible had similar experiences. We've all heard it; you can't appreciate the mountains if you haven't had some time in the valleys. I suppose what is shocking is that I never seem to be prepared for it. Some valleys like this one that I photographed in Northern New Mexico are somewhat dry, but they also have their own beauty. So I suppose the task for me is to find the beauty that the Lord has placed in the valley. After all, we really don't spend most of our time on the mount.

Mountains after all can be cold and foreboding if you're there at the wrong time. I took this photo on the inside passage in Alaska, close to Skagway. That was a cold and foreboding place that day. I guess this all just goes to say that there are seasons when it's good to be on the mountain and there are seasons when it's good to be in the valley.
See if you can see the woman on the mountain.



Now here's a nice valley, it's also in Northern New Mexico. I took this photo at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. This used to be a mountain until it blew up and left this beautiful valley that is the caldera. Nothing simple about mountains and valleys. But God's in charge of them all:

Luke 3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
So I suppose our only concern should be to prepare the way of the Lord, whether we're in the valley or on the mountain or somewhere in between.

Click on the photos to enlarge. Look but don't copy. Be honest.