there are two columns/op eds today that you may find relevant.
The first is in the Washington Post by a very unsnarky Dana Milbank, titled Remembering the remarkable Kayla Mueller. It begins with a quote from something she wrote in 2011, in italics, like this:
“I find God in the suffering eyes reflected in mine. If this is how You are revealed to me, this is how I will forever seek You.”Milbank does not accept the assertion of ISIS that she was killed in an American airstrike. He notes that her family was warned not to disclose her identity if they did not want her killed.
What you learn is about a remarkable young woman, who lived her faith in service of others.
I will explore that a bit more below the squiggle, but if you follow the links and read this column, and the op ed I am about to describe, I will be satisfied with what you have done, although I will as is my wont offer some thoughts of a more personal nature.
The second is by historian Susan Jacoby in the New York Times and is titled The First Victims of the First Crusade. One paragraph explains why she offers this brief history of the attacks by Crusaders on Jewish communities in the Rhineland:
Cultural ignoramuses portrayed President Obama’s references to the Crusades and the Inquisition at the recent National Prayer Breakfast as an excuse for Islamic terrorism, but the president’s allusions could and should have been used as an opportunity to reflect on the special damage inflicted in many historical contexts by warriors seeking conquest in the name of their god.I will explore both pieces below the fold, where I will introduce each piece with some personal observations. I invite you to continue.