The human shield

4:39 p.m. Today's project ws to ponder the many reactions and emotions brought to the fore of our collective consciousness by the killing of Osama Bin Laden by our CIA operatives and Navy Seals. Between Facebook, television, talk radio and conversations, I've heard it all. Overall, people around the world are glad justice was served by this act of war.

And let's not forget that we are in a war, and have been since September 11, 2001! This war is an actual physical war against mass terrorism, and for the freedom that we in the West enjoy. This is a war for human rights--the right to worship as we see fit, raise our children to love liberty, and to preserve our way of life.

And that way of life includes full equality for women!

We talked last night at Home Fellowship about the women mentioned in Mark 16:40-41 who watched Jesus' death on the cross:

There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

And we know from John 20:1 that the risen Christ first appeared to a woman, Mary Magdalene. Jesus Christ reached out and uplifted women with His ministry as He walked this earth, protected and stood up for them when they were treated as little more than property in the society of that day. The Christian faith, which is the basis of western civilization, elevated women for the first time in history!

The teachings of the Apostle Paul are very clear about roles and responsibilities in the family, with the husband at the head of the home. (Ephesians 4:22-33) The wife is not seen as lesser by any means, but as opposite and complementary to the man. In I Peter 3:7, husbands and wives are described as "heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered."A woman may have as deep and true a relationship with the Lord as a man, although leadership roles in church are given to men. But is it "lesser" to lead one's own children, or the children in a Sunday School class to salvation instead of adults? Or to teach and minister to the needs of women in a Bible study rather than from the pulpit? Not at all! Jesus loves and values men and women equally.

A great offense to Muslim jihadist extremists is exactly that facet of our civilization: women have equal rights and self-determination in the West. We are free to make both good and bad decisions in the conduct of our lives just like men. Women can choose to be educated for as long or as short a number of years as men, and can rise to the top of their profession. Or as many women do, they can choose to be homemakers their entire lives. Our fates are not dictated to us in one dimension only. Women have value in God's eyes. So this is one very large aspect of spiritual warfare with the extremists--the way Christ values the feminine gender.

It was with sickening horror, tears and anger that I read from a post by my son-in-law Nick of Bin Laden's last act of cowardice: throwing a woman as a human shield in front of his body before he was shot. But I also heard that one of his wives pointed him out to our men at the fire fight! Good for her. Ironically, representatives of what she'd undoubtedly been trained to call "The Great Satan" (the USA) actually set her free!

As my friend Stephanie pointed out in her Facebook post, conducting war is a governmental duty to keep and promote peace in a civil society. The horrific attack on September 11th, bombings worldwide, and the enslavement and degradation of women are crimes against humanity and ultimately will be accounted for before Almighty God at His Great White Throne of judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Let me close with Romans 13:4, thank you Stephanie, regarding governmental authorities:

For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain: for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath...