Fear

Many things that are happening in our country today are a direct result of this emotion. People fear hurt. People fear death. People fear the loss of prosperity. People fear terrorism, because they see it as the vehicle that can bring all their other fears to pass.

Colin Powell has this to say about terrorism and the threat it poses to the USA:"What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?"

Powell adds, in an interview with Walter Isaacson, that to improve its image in the world, the USA should focus on welcoming newcomers. He takes on the immigration debate that has become a hot-button issue in the presidential race:

"America could not survive without immigration," he says. "Even the undocumented immigrants are contributing to our economy. That's the country my parents came to. That's the image we have to portray to the rest of the world: kind, generous, a nation of nations, touched by every nation, and we touch every nation in return. That's what people still want to believe about us. They still want to come here. We've lost a bit of the image, but we haven't lost the reality yet. And we can fix the image by reflecting a welcoming attitude -- and by not taking counsel of our fears and scaring ourselves to death that everybody coming in is going to blow up something. It ain't the case."

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FDR had this to say regarding what should concern America: The following quote was from his 1933 inaugural address during which America was in the depths of the depression"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

read entire speech here

Jesus Christ said, in Mt 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Terrorism is nothing to fear. They can't take anything we won't give, but we have to come to grips with our fear of loss. We, as a nation, need to see that the things we stand for are far more important than the possessions we acquire.

If we, as a nation, had a Biblical world-view, if we could stand in the face of explosions, if we could love in the face of hate and say, "To live is Christ and to die is gain", then would the forces of terror lose.

The answer to terrorism isn't more background checks. It isn't more laws and stricter controls. It's the freedom that's found in Christ.