In the days ahead, as loud voices rise up to try to explain the motivations of his killers, or the skills of our leaders, or the reason for why patriotic Americans like Chris are giving their life to promote a better world, let's remember Chris' example and follow it.
The relationship between the Muslim fanatics who whip up into violent frenzy and the Islamophobes who incite them is very similar to the relationship between a violent and emotionally troubled school kid and the schoolyard bully who taunts him.
It is not about a movie. The anti-Islam movie was just today's trigger in Libya, was just the most recent spark to a smoldering flame.
However inflammatory a film or a book or other speech might be, Islam never allows for the taking of a life in response.
We are crafting a world that is both godless and too full of religious dogma simultaneously. Anyone who reads science fiction knows that it's like the collision of matter and anti-matter. Total destruction. Nothingness.
Violent reactions to any kind of art or thought, no matter how lame, are disgusting and unacceptable in decent society. Yet creating a film such as "Innocence of Muslims" is akin to shouting fire in the movie theatre.
Apart from some very crude accounts of what sparked protests outside the consulate and the eventual assault on the building, it is not entirely clear what transpired in Benghazi. But the Libyan government's inability to curtail violence in the country is a central a concern.
To continue on our current foreign policy course means more dead soldiers, more dead Foreign Service personnel, and more wasted resources. The rest of the world is willing to shed blood. It shouldn't be ours.
Many people will assuredly believe that the only people to blame for this deadly violence are the Muslims who did it. And undoubtedly, those who carried out this horrendous act are guilty. But please remain mindful that the Muslims might not be the only ones responsible.
For as much as I've hailed the Internet as a powerful platform to connect like-minded individuals and groups in the Arab world fighting for their right to self-determination, today we are reminded of another powerful, if tragic reality.
Regrettably, Christian evangelicals have a reputation of standing on the side of exceptionalism and even bigotry. It's high time that we evangelicals listen to the command of Jesus to love our neighbors, even our enemies.
During an election cycle that has largely focused the U.S. economy, developments in three of the most volatile countries in the Middle East and North Africa have brought international events - beyond the control of either candidate - to the lead story in newspapers and newscasts.
(Washington) – The United States government during the Bush administration tortured opponents of Muammar Gaddafi, then transferred them to mistr...
After a near-catastrophic meltdown brought on by eight years of Bush Administration-led tax cuts, deregulation and Wall Street recklessness? Talk about the "fiscal cliff"; have we forgotten that America was on the brink of financial ruin in the Fall of 2008?
Hanan Ashrawi, the PLO Executive Committee member much sought after by Western media outlets, has just earned a gold medal for historical revisionism....
So who's got the worst job on Mitt Romney's campaign team? My pick: the head of his national security brain trust, former World Bank chief Robert Zoellick, followed by Romney's lead foreign policy speechwriter (whoever that is).