Europe has been given an horrific reminder of the threat of terrorism.
On 7 January, Islamic extremists stormed the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo with assault rifles and killed ten of the editorial staff and two policemen. Refusing to surrender, the perpetrators were hunted down and eventually killed by French police by which time another incident, in which an Islamic extremist held people hostage in a Jewish supermarket in the French capital, was taking place. More deaths occurred. We are sad for the bereaved and disgusted by these murders. The attackers claimed links to both ISIL and al-Qu’eda.
World War III
The terrorist threat against the West is ongoing and the French government spoke about a war being waged against free speech and the Western way of life. As we see the violence of extremist Islam across the globe we have to conclude that this is a ‘world war’.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …