Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Can we really engage successfully in interfaith dialogue with followers of Muhammad?

From The Times today:
EVEN the Rev Julie Nicholson’s Christian faith has not helped her to forgive the suicide bombers who took her daughter’s life. Perhaps that would be too much to expect of any mother.
Exactly eight months since the London bombings on July 7 last year, Mrs Nicholson has given up her job as an inner-city vicar because she feels unable to preach a message of peace and reconciliation when she does not feel it in her heart.

Jennifer Nicholson, her talented, vivacious, 24-year-old daughter, was one of 56 people who died in the bombings.

Read it the whole article here: Vicar grappling with grief stands down over bombers who took her daughter's life
‘It’s hard to preach forgiveness when I feel far from it myself’

Mark

8 comments:

Always On Watch said...

I just read the full article. Heartbreaking! Jennifer's life, just snuffed out by barbarians who see human life worthless. Damned death cult!

PS: Congrats, Mark, on that latest book review!

Dan Zaremba said...

Sad, very sad.
Sometimes people die in accidents sometimes because they chose adventureus life style but this kind of death is difficult to understand and rationalize.

I understand why I am not a suitable material for a priest.
Not at all.

Mark said...

Always:

Isn't that a heart-breaking story? I actually shed a few tears when I read that!

Thanks for the congratulations, by the way. You are so kind.

Mark said...

Missinglink:

I understand why I am not a suitable material for a priest.

That's a very, very interesting point. Perhaps that's why I am not in the priesthood, too!

Revolution Radio said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Revolution Radio said...

I posted similar to this. I read it on the train to work this morning and all day it bothered me.
My personal feeling is that she doesn't have to wrestle with those feelings, those murderers didn't want forgiveness. They just wanted to kill.
If any had survived, they would only spit on her forgiveness.

Mark said...

Leelion:

It'a a pity you can't bring yourself to watch it. It's not pleasant, I know; but people need to be made aware of what these people get up to. So many people still say something like this: Oh, well! It's just another religion. They're not all bad.

These people need to know what they're up against!

So if you can't bring yourself to view it, please pass it on to the next person.

We have to expose these people for what they are: Savages!

The more I learn about Islam the worse it gets. Mohammad and his legacy are the anti-christ.

I share your view.

Mark said...

Mike:

My personal feeling is that she doesn't have to wrestle with those feelings, those murderers didn't want forgiveness. They just wanted to kill.
If any had survived, they would only spit on her forgiveness.


There is much merit to what you say, of course. But she is a woman of the cloth, and is so obviously a woman of great integrity and great sincerity to boot. I can just imagine the agonies she's lived through since the bombings. The agony of losing one's daughter (which must be dreadful), and then the agony of wrestling with oneself about whether one can go on in one's profession on top of it all.

Poor, poor lady! I really feel for her.