And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Revelation 6:9-10 KJV

I know that my average reader does not expect a sermon from me, at least not one that is not 100% political, but today I read a story in the AP about a woman killed by Taliban gunmen for "spreading Christianity" and it made me take a pause, say a prayer and remember that there is much more to life than politics.  As we fight for the freedoms of people we most likely will never personally interact with, we need to stop and remember how very tenuous our own freedoms are.  Yet in doing that, we need also to not loose heart knowing that God is both in control and has an immutable plan. 

If we end up with a socialist government after the next election cycle it will not be the end of the world, it will make achieving the American dream that much more difficult, but it is not the end.  Please read the AP article that follows and say a prayer for "martyrs" whose blood is nourishing the seeds of freedom and reflect on the promise that God will, in his own time, right all wrongs.

Monday, October 20, 2008
Associated Press
By AMIR SHAH

Taliban gunmen killed a Christian aid worker in Kabul on Monday, and the militant group said it targeted the woman because she was spreading her religion.

The dual South African-British national worked with handicapped Afghans and was killed in the western part of Kabul as she was walking to work around 8 a.m., officials said.

The gunmen, who were on a motorbike, shot the woman in the body and leg with a pistol, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the slaying.

"This woman came to Afghanistan to teach Christianity to the people of Afghanistan," militant spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press. "Our (leaders) issued a decree to kill this woman. This morning our people killed her in Kabul."

The woman's aid group SERVE — Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprises — identified her as Gayle Williams, 34, in a statement on its Web site.

"She was a person who always loved the Afghans and was dedicated to serving those who are disabled," it said.
The group describes itself as a Christian charity registered in Britain. The Web site says it has been working with Afghan refugees since 1980 in Pakistan.

"SERVE Afghanistan's purpose is to express God's love and bring hope by serving the people of Afghanistan, especially the needy, as we seek to address personal, social and environmental needs," the site says.

Rina Vamberende, a spokeswoman for SERVE in Kabul, said the group is a Christian organization "but they are definitely not expressing this on purpose. They are here to do NGO (aid) work."

"It's not the case that they preach, not at all," she said.

Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic nation. Proselytizing is prohibited by law, and other Christian missionaries or charities have faced severe hostility.

Last year a group of 23 South Korean aid workers from a church group were taken hostage in southern Afghanistan. Two were killed and the rest were released.

In 2001, eight international aid workers, including two Americans, were imprisoned and charged with preaching Christianity. The eight were freed by Afghan mujahedeen fighters attacking the Taliban after the U.S.-led invasion.

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