if the war's spiritual, wat duzzit take to win?

putting aside the diaper heads for a moment ...

remember that the Romish church used to be the No. 1 terrorists of the Medieval World. the Crusades killed thousands of Christians, Jews, n Muslims, n the Inquisition n the Society of Jesus didn't help to erase their track record either.

finally what did it take to turn back the pride n triumphalism of Romanism?

was it counterattacks by the Turks?

was it Luther's organisation of German princes to overthrow the Holy Roman Emperor?

was it the might of Protestant Geneva?

i wld suggest that it was the power of the gospel thru the words n lives of men n women of God willing to trust their Saviour n to lay down their lives for their faith if necessary.

this came in the form of gospel preaching in Luther's parish, in Zwingli's and Calvin's, in Knox's.

the courage to obey God n to separate--paying the price of disobeying the will of men (e.g. the Act of Uniformity) n proclaiming God's truth boldly in the fields when shunned fr churches. sometimes, this involved taking a boat to the New World w their families n meagre resources.

yet somehow, when it comes to battling Islam, it appears that many Christians wld adopt the might of bomb, bullet, n bombast, n hope to win. if only we cld smack the Moor so hard in the face, they'll never resort to terrorism again ... that kind of thinking--how's that supposed to succeed in the light of theology n history?

doesn't the gospel have any more power today?