The Role of Religion in Winning the Long War

The following response to this article http://www.globalengage.org/media/article.aspx?id=3364
was written by my fellow elder Kevin.

Sir,

It took me a couple of days to digest "The Role of Religion in Winning the
Long War." A few thoughts:

1. He is correct in asserting that fundamentalist Christianity and Islam
have some common ground. On the surface, adherents of both religions are
pious, and piety is universally admired as long as it does not morph into
self-righteous and obnoxious hypocrisy.

2. He is also correct that post-modern secularism is empty. In its
worldview, "values" have replaced "virtues." Values are inherently
subjective and have meaning simply because someone says so. Conversely,
virtues are judged by an objective, unchanging standard and are never
obtained, only strived for. This revolution (values v. virtues) does not
bode well for the future of the West.

3. Despite the truth of #1 above, I am generally wary of ecumenicalism. If
I believe that Christianity is true, then by definition, Islam cannot also
be true. They may bear some resemblances, but theologically, they are
mutually exclusive. With that disclaimer, it is evident that some things
are more true than others; in my view, Islam is closer to the truth than
postmodernism, but it is still not true. Represented mathematically, it
might look like this:

Christianity 2+2=4
Islam 2+3=4
Postmodernism 2+9=4

4. While I agree with the author's conclusions that it is futile to address
such weighty issues (winning the Long War) without considering the ultimate
questions (which are all ultimately theological), it is difficult for me to
view Christianity so clinically. I am not a Christian because I admire
Christ, or because I want to live a happy life - I am a follower of Christ
because I believe that without his substitutionary atonement for my sin, I
have no eternal hope. This is an intensely personal, relationship-oriented
faith. The piety it produces is not a result of my efforts to work my way
to heaven, but rather my imperfect response to God's infinite grace and
mercy to me personally. This framework is radically different from any
other world religion.

V/R,

Maj Jarrard