The Rt Rev Stephen Venner called for a more sympathetic approach to the Islamic fundamentalists that recognises their humanity.

via Taliban can be admired for their faith and loyalty, says bishop – Telegraph.

Wow, just wow.  I’m all about grace, mercy and forgiveness, but I have a real hard time with Rt Rev Venner’s assessment of the Taliban.  These are folks to use suicide bombing, threats of violence, human shields and more to try and regain control of Afghanistan.

They behead journalists, destroy relics and really have nothing to commend themselves.   To say,

“The Taliban can perhaps be admired for their conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty to each other.”

Is akin to saying, “We can admire HItler, perhaps, for the punctuality of Nazi Germany’s train system.”

Christianity is a religion of grace and peace.  But it is also a religion of repentance.  I’m all for the Taliban repenting and becoming brothers in Christ.  Until then, our nation and west fails to protect ourselves by acting as if the Taliban are anything more than animals.

UPDATE: A good friend recently questioned whether these sentences conveyed what I meant, so I’ve decided to clarify.

The Church needs to pray that God would raise up a generation of missionary martyrs, men and women called to evangelize the Muslim world at the cost of their own life.  However, we must guard against the moral relativism which would seek to minimize the attrocities of folks like Al Qaeda and the Taliban because of such virtues as faithfulness to their beliefs and brothers.  From a civil point of view such moral equivalence will get more innocent people killed.

God imbued government with the power of the sword.  He did so in order that governments might, as His regents, restrain evil.  War is one such example.  History shows us that, once war has been joined, the most humane path is the path of overwhelming violence that breaks the enemies will.  Only in this way can decisive victory be achieved and real peace be established.  In this way our greatest enemies of WWII (Germany and Japan) became friends and allies.  In this way Israel finds itself still beset by enemies, despite victories over them.