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The distinction, he says, comes from a doctrine "of God's twofold reign in this world … [which] distinguishes between the spiritual realm of grace, peace and forgiveness, which clearly is not one of war. This is the realm of the God who has revealed himself in Christ—the Church. On the other hand, though, God is also in charge of the temporal realm where he acts in a hidden way and where reason is the determining principle. And reason may well dictate the use of force to restrain the bad guys."

For a similar, but more entertaining take on the subject, check out Joseph Bottum's "AWOL Christian Soldiers?" from the Oct. 1, 2001, issue of The Weekly Standard. Of course, back then the issue was Afghanistan, not Iraq.

Islamic alliance blames Christians for Pakistan church attack
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a six-party alliance of Muslim political groups that saw great gains in Pakistan's October elections, has a creative—and insidious—theory about who was behind the deadly Christmas attack of a Protestant church service in Daska. The MMA says the raid, which left three girls dead, was a ploy by Christians to get U.S. immigration visas. The Muslims claim that they, not the Christians, are the ones being persecuted.

Church and state:

• Old church-state debates likely to continue in new year | Here are nominees for most significant, most underrated and most overblown religious-liberty stories of 2002—plus an 'under the radar' story that bears watching (Charles Haynes, Freedom Forum)
  
  
• Cross posted along the 101 | Authorities remove "distracting" marker (Los Angeles Daily News)
  
  
• Free speech, religion collide on SLC Plaza | Mormons and city leaders have shifted the focus from a First Amendment issue to one primarily of private property (The Salt Lake Tribune)

• Park land with Ten Commandments marker sold | Group buys monument it had donated to city (The Washington Post)

• Tennessee county auctioning Ten Commandments plaques that were ordered removed from courthouse | The proceeds will be used to pay legal bills remaining from the commission's unsuccessful court fight against the American Civil Liberties Union (Associated Press)

Politics and law:

• Conscripting God into battle | Presidents and rogues have always invoked the Deity when heading into battle, to galvanize their people, demonize the enemy and excuse violence (Gordon Barthos, The Toronto Star)
  
  
• The party of unbelievers | A new survey shows that the religion gap is bigger and of more consequence than you think—both for Republicans and Democrats (Claudia Winkler, The Weekly Standard)
  
  
• Christians urged to refrain from politics | The pastor of the Christian Mission Assembly in Sinkor, Rev. Alphonso Deam, asserted that he church is a place for solution and as such no Christian should be part of any political process that would hinder their services to God (The News, Monrovia, Liberia)
  
  
• Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia rejects govt's request over constitutional review | "Our agenda, that remains a national tool, is that we want a constituent assembly and it will remain so" (The Post of Zambia)

Life ethics:

• The falsehoods of abortion | 30 years after Roe v. Wade, pro-abortion position ignores facts (Thomas J. Ashcraft, The Charlotte Observer)
  
  
• Wrong focus in abortion issue | No answers are likely to be found in absolutist positions (Norah Vincent, Los Angeles Times)
  
  

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January (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47