Monday, July 11, 2005

What were the London bombings? A crime? An act of war? A moral outrage? If you said "An opportunity," congratulations -- that's the right answer. At least it is according to Jerry Johnson, a theology professor and the president of Criswell College in Dallas, writing from London in the Southern Baptist Press's BP News:

...London is in shock.

... People are grieving over death in the city and they need spiritual help. Along with the prime minister and the mayor of London, a bishop ... delivers a prepared statement on national television.

He botches it.

After commending the emergency rescue service and saying something generic about prayer that sounds pious, the bishop assures everyone that he is meeting today with "Muslims and others in the faith community." There is nothing about God, Jesus, the Bible, the Gospel, heaven or hell. What he says about the EMS and about prayer is no more and no less that what the prime minister said a few minutes ago.

But on the "Tube" (the London subway) there is another story.

One of the survivors has been telling about how people were trapped in the smoke and heat on his subway carriage for 30 minutes. After the initial chaos, they began praying, calling out to God and crying out to Jesus with specific prayers for help and prayers of confession....

Make no mistake, a revival this is not -- at least not yet. But it is an opportunity.

... Christians should be ready to talk about death, heaven, faith and Jesus during this kind of crisis -- many non-Christians are. Along with 10 of our students from Criswell College's Distinguished Scholars Term at Oxford, I plan to use this opportunity tomorrow to visit with Englishmen about things spiritual and eternal. Through this time of anxiety and grief, pray that many British people will come to know Jesus as Savior, King of Kings, and LORD OF LORDS.


So I suppose, if you're a true Christian, you should hope for additional bombs, right? After all, if even more people bleed and suffer and die, Professor Johnson and his pals can save a whole lot of Limey souls.

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