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Terrorism in many shapes and forms

Greetings from Faith Lutheran Church in Eldorado.

My first remembrance of a terrorist attack was in 1972 when 11 of the Israeli Olympic athletes were murdered in Germany.

The attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon has dwarfed all other terrorists' attacks and has awakened the world to terrorism.

Today I want to look at the theological world view of the terrorist. No doubt each terrorist group has a unique agenda it follows, but according to Dr. Gene Vieth, in his 2002 book "Christianity in an Age of Terrorism," all groups have a number of similar cords running through them. This is true regardless if they are the KKK, ISIS or the Shining Path in Peru.

Here are a number of those traits:

• Terrorists are self-righteous and a have a theology of glory. They kill and murder, rob and riot, yet understand themselves as pious and moralistic. They believe the ends justify the means and are completely justified in their actions. They look to their own actions to glorify themselves before God.

• Terrorism leads to salvation. This may not mean getting to heaven or paradise. It may mean "peace of mind." "I can now die in peace." One can even be an atheist to have his sense of salvation.

• Terrorists are legalistic. They believe salvation is not by grace; you have to earn it. There is a code of conduct that must be followed: the more rigid you are in keeping it the more confident or closer to salvation. Even if one believes in partial grace your actions are still the defining criteria.

• Terrorists are collectivists. They think in terms of groups, not individuals. For example, a modern Japanese child would be considered guilty of bombing Pearl Harbor.

• Terrorists do not believe in objective reason. They see everything through the lens of their group's grievances.

• Terrorist don't believe in objective morality. Right and wrong are defined solely within the interest of their group. Nor do they extend to those of an enemy group values they give their own.

How should Christians avoid and fight against this temptation?

• We first confess that our worth before God is from God, for sake of Christ. We can do nothing to stand worthy before Him or inherit salvation. The Gospel is God's act of love to us, not a command we live up to.

• Like Christ, we take up our cross and suffer for his name sake, and we bless our enemy.

• Morality is not what makes us Christian, Christ makes us Christians. Morality is for everyone. All should be concerned with loving their neighbor.

• Finally live a life of repentance. Daily humble yourselves before God confessing sins of thought, word and deed and in faith clinging to His word of forgiveness.

We will always have some form of terrorism on this earth, but we look to the one who has defeated the greatest terrorist - Satan.

Christ is our strength and fortress for He has risen. Alleluia

&#x2022; The Rev. David Otten pastors at the Faith Lutheran Church of Saline County in Eldorado.</group><group id="D03F12C3-1B99-4C63-9354-14A6F7F70991" type="seoLabels">