A fun Monday evening. Left work shortly after 5 pm and drove straight home. Loaded up everything C had cooked and headed out with her and Winnie. Had to stop at Whole Foods for more. Matthew and W&MC beat us down there, as well as Caleb. Will fixed drinks and C got the food ready to eat: brisket, Mexican rice, refried beans, homemade salsa, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, chives, etc. Also chicken enchiladas. All very good with plenty of leftovers. M made a goat cheese cheesecake topped with figs, also very good.
The guys talked while the women packed up the kitchen. Was well after ten before we left out. Had to get gas on the way home. Then back home C and I had to put up the food and wash dishes. Later I crashed on the couch, too tired to go upstairs. Was after midnight before I climbed in bed.
The Yankees. A couple of the players I just know, and might not have remembered they moved to the Yankees.
RON HUNT [B-R Bio] was the first New York Met to receive a vote for league MVP. In 1964, Hunt tied with Cardinal pitcher Barney Schultz for 25th place. They had exactly one MVP vote apiece. In 1963 Rookie of the Year voting, Hunt finished just behind a player who would go on to have 523 more doubles than him, in spite of Hunt having more doubles in their rookie seasons. Although Hunt’s WAR that year was 2.5 to Rose’s 2.4, he finished (way) behind him in ROY votes. However, Hunt swatted 28 doubles to Rose’s 25 that season. Rose ended with 746 doubles, second all-time, to Hunt’s quite respectable 223 (914th). After Jackie Robinson nullified his trade from the Dodgers to the Giants, Hunt was among the next players traded between the two teams. On 13-Feb-1968 Hunt was traded by LAD with Nate Oliver to the SFG for Tom Haller and a minor leaguer.
Denison: the Taliban set a woman on fire for "bad cooking." Other women are being forced into sex slavery. The Taliban now possess tens of billions of dollars of military equipment and supplies formerly under control of the Afghan security forces, which they could transfer or sell to al-Qaeda or ISIS. The Taliban is searching for Christians. The leader of an underground church in Afghanistan said, "The Taliban has a hit list of known Christians they are targeting to pursue and kill. There is no safe place for believers to take refuge." An Afghan church leader said the Taliban will "eliminate the Christian population" in the country.
Robert Nicholson's Wall Street Journal article, "The Unconquerable Islamic World," declares "Afghanistan shows the folly of mistaking Christian ideals for 'universal' ideals." Discussing the fall of Afghanistan, he writes: "Westerners failed because military and economic power alone cannot change the Islamic world. It never occurred to us that America was what it was because of Christianity, and Afghanistan was what it was because of Islam." He identifies the "pillars" on which Islam stands: "The Qur'an is Allah's final revelation, binding on all humanity; faith is a matter of private devotion as well as public law, best lived out in a state that blends religion and politics; and Muslims should, where possible, hold power over non-Muslims to ensure that Allah's law is rightly enforced. It is doctrines like these that cause the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Hamas to fight the 'Jews and Crusaders' who tread on land that historically belonged to Islam. Their commitments are far from radical; most Muslims see them as normative even if they fail to act on them. The West cannot change the Islamic world. The best strategy will prioritize the defense of American interests and allies."
The experts consensus: the West cannot change Islam. Unless we are forced to defend ourselves from Islamic extremists, we should learn to live and let live. But Nicholson overlooks a crucial factor: the spiritual awakening now occurring in the Muslim world. As missionary Tom Doyle and many others have documented, Muslims in recent years have been coming to Christ in unprecedented numbers. Some are hearing the gospel through media ministries, while many are seeing visions and dreams of Jesus. Tom Doyle told of ministries placing ads in Egyptian newspapers saying: "Have you seen the man in a white robe in your dreams? He has a message for you. Call this number." Doyle added, "So many Muslims were having these dreams that Christian ministries started placing ads to reach them." What the Holy Spirit is doing in the Muslim world is the key to the transformation we need in our culture as well.
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