Thank you, Fr Theodore, for your presentation. Your story about Fr Douglas reminds me of something said by St Francis of Assisi: "Preach always; when necessary, use words."

Father Theodore, your conversation with Father Chris left a lasting favorable impression on me. I was impressed by how you linked the histories of Islam and Christianity and built a picture for the potential ways that the two religions can increase respect for one another. I would appreciate hearing more discussions with you concerning the practice of Love, exemplified in your story of the Maryknoll missoner who worked in the rice fields of a family that lost a son. There are many saints walking among us, each one bearing with us in the Lord of Love to carry us safely home.

I have posted my entire evaluation at my blog. I am a Christian living in the Middle East who has extensive experience sharing the Gospel with Muslims. One of my comments:

>>...Muslim fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists defile their religions in the same way. Hmm. They certainly both defile their religion, but one group become intolerant and arrogant, the other intolerant and violent.

Read it all at the blog (islamdom.blogspot.com). Hoping for some more positive developments coming from Orthodoxy.

...Muslim fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists defile their religions in the same way. Hmm. They certainly both defile their religion, but one group become intolerant and arrogant, the other intolerant and violent.

Fundamentalist Christians are violent, every bit as much so as Muslims. They express it differently. Muslims tend to rise up and kill their neighbors. Anti-Christian pogroms spring from some mass hysteria about cartoons or flushing the Koran or some other kind of rubbish. Muslims get stirred up, and then proceed to butcher people that have lived alongside them for centuries.

Muslims are the epitome of non-state actors. They take their religion and its defense as personal action items.

Christian fundamentalists would NEVER personally commit such horrible atrocities. They have a state and a state military for those purposes. If you look at Christian fundamentalist support for American wars abroad, you will quickly see that they are not just arrogant - they are in fact quite dangerous.

I would not want to live among Muslims because they are prone to violent outbursts in which they kill and maim Christians.

By the same token, I am very glad to have not landed on the Christian Right's enemies list. I have no desire to be on the business end of a bombing campaign.

Interesting point, Niezna, but I think you underestimate the physical and emotional violence wrought by individual Christian fanatics. Witness, for example, the murder of abortionists and the demonstrations of Fred Phelps and Co.

Perhaps OCN might do a follow-up interview with Fr Pulcini, or talk to someone more directly involved, on the question of Orthodox outreach in the Muslim world.

I think there is a critical difference between interpersonal violence, like killing abortion doctors, and violence that occurs in some contexts in the Islamic world. The people who kill abortion doctors, bomb clinics, or do other such things are not considered by any competent authority to be good Christians. They may think of themselves as Christians, but everyone from the Pope to the Patriarchs to the bishops to the local priest in a mountain village will condemn their actions as anti-Christ.

In fact, even the most strident evangelical preacher will tie himself up in knots disavowing that action. To murder is simply so not Christian that it is impossible to defend. In interpesonal relations, our Christian witness is extremely strong in this regard. When American Christians act corporately through our government - then we tend to break down. That is when we demean life and cheer bombing. But face-to-face, an actual Christian is incapable of such things. Nutcases who think they are Christians - well that is another matter. There are violent nutcases who think they are being directed by aliens, but we all recognize them for what they are!

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