• First, the tape demonstrates the personification of evil. In the center of Middle Eastern hospitality, we see men discussing mass murder! As Sarah Boxer argues, it brings to mind the story of Adolf Hitler: While discussing hunting, Hitler states, "The joy of killing brings men together. It's lucky we don't understand the language of hares." He compares the slaughter of the gas chambers to hunting rabbits. But the difference with the bin Laden tape is that in the midst of chillingly calm and good humored conversation about the World Trade Center come recitations of prayers, dreams, visions and poems. There is childish excitement in the taped conversation. Everyone, even men off camera, delight in telling a unique, special version of a dream about the Center. This review of dreams and visions establishes the claim that Allah is on their side. So evil is bin Laden that he worried that the dreams people were having might actually end up giving the plot away. Further, he was not at all worried about the hijackers, for he reveals that most of them did not even know their mission until they boarded the plane.

• Second, I want to further elaborate on the importance of dreams and visions. As Nikki Keddie argues, "dreams and visions are widely viewed as inspired by God, and the main point of referring to them is to provide divine justification for human actions." For bin Laden and his group, dreams demonstrate that Allah's will has been revealed and then been fulfilled. Here is the crucial point: Killing thousands of people via the commandeering of jet planes as missiles is not justified through Scripture, even the Koran. But if it can be justified through dreams, then it can work, as it apparently did for bin Laden. But God's Word must always stand in judgment of dreams. People's experiences through dreams and visions must be evaluated by some objective standard; that standard can only be God's Word. No intellectually honest person can find justification for what happened on 9/11 from Scripture. It can only be justified by a distorted theology based on visions and dreams. This is one of the most compelling reasons for genuine, biblical Christianity. We must have an objective standard to evaluate bizarre claims like bin Laden's. If not, then anyone's dream or vision could be justification for almost anything.

See articles in New York Times (16 December 2001) by Sarah Boxer and Nikki Keddie.

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JOHN WALKER: A POSTMODERN CHILD

John Walker Lindh is the first known American who had joined the Taliban; he was recently taken prisoner in Afghanistan. There has been a remarkable amount of attention given to this young man. Questions naturally rise to the surface and the most penetrating is - how could an American join such a dastardly evil group and actually participate in the war against America? Quite frankly, I had no difficulty understanding how this could happen. Let's review Walker's life and chart the key developments that led him to Afghanistan.

• First, he was born near Silver Spring, Maryland, a middle child who was named after John Lennon and Chief Justice John Marshall. His father was an attorney and his mother a stay-at-home mom who chose to keep her maiden name. Practicing Catholics, they appeared in every manner to be a normal, middle class family. In 1991 the family moved to San Anselmo, California, opulent and politically liberal. There his mother left Catholicism and became a Buddhist. John was intrigued by religion and watched his mother especially experiment with various worldviews. Perhaps the decisive influence, however, was his reading of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which led him to convert to Islam. In 1998 he graduated from high school with the name on his diploma being Sulayman Al-Lindh. In December 1998 he left for Yemen, searching for a place to learn Arabic and study the Koran in the original Arabic. Apparently his parents, especially his father, supported his dabbling in Islam. A month after the U.S.S. Cole bombing in Yemen, Walker left Yemen for Pakistan to attend an Islamic school or madrashah. We now know that these Pakistani madrashahs were the training ground for the Afghan Taliban. He joined the Taliban and fought in Kashmir, Kunduz.

• Second, the case of John Walker is a perfect example of how religion is viewed in America today. In this postmodern world, all religions are considered equal, interchangeable and good. The only really important issue is that a person chooses; what is chosen is not important! John Walker's parents were politically liberal and encouraged his experimentation. They sent him to an alternative high school and supported his calling to "the peaceful religion of Islam." His parents even helped finance his journey to Yemen where he desired to study Arabic and better learn the Koran. Walker's parents reflected this experimentation with alternative worldviews. They separated and she became a Buddhist. Yet, when his image appeared on TV as a Taliban prisoner, they were shocked! Should they have been? Not really. John Walker was merely living out what he saw all around him: Experimentation, expressing oneself freely and autonomy. In that kind of atmosphere, looking to Islam and trying to find oneself is not that unusual. John Walker Lindh is a logical product of this postmodern culture. He is a tragedy but he is also accountable for his choices.

See Time (17 December 2001), pp. 36-38 and "Breakpoint" (17 December 2001).

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THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE

At Christmas I usually use "Issues in Perspective" to share some truth about Christmas, often devoting the entire program to such an effort. However, this year the 9/11 crisis still dominates, but I would like to close this edition of "Issues in Perspective" to focus on the legend of the candy cane.

The legend goes like this:

Long ago there were two villages in a far-off land. One was in a valley and one on a mountaintop. The people in the mountain village wanted to give each person in the valley a Christmas gift. So the mountain townspeople formed a committee to think of something special. Money was limited, and each gift had to be of equal value to each person. After much time and discussion a decision was made. The town's candy maker, an elderly gentleman, came up with the idea of a candy cane.

Here is the significance of this gift:

1. The candy cane is in the shape of a shepherd's staff. Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, trusts him and knows that he is totally safe with him. Sheep follow no other shepherd but their own.

2. Turned over, the candy cane is a "J," the first letter for Jesus' name. It is made of rock candy to remind us that Christ is the "rock" of our salvation.

3. The wide red stripes on the candy cane represent the blood Jesus shed on the cross to purchase our redemption.

4. The white stripes on the candy cane represent Jesus' virgin birth and His pure, sinless life.

5. The narrow red stripes on candy canes symbolize Jesus' stripes and scars, resulting from his arrest and torture.

6. The flavor of candy canes is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop, used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice.

7. When we break the candy cane, it reminds us that Jesus' body was broken for us.

8. When we share the candy cane by giving it away, we are sharing the love of Jesus.

The probability is that this story is a legend, but it does not matter. The candy cane symbolizes the truth about Jesus Christ, and that is what we celebrate this time of year. Have a blessed holiday as you celebrate the giving of God's "unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

 

See American Tract Society, "The Legend of the Candy Cane, " 2001.

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