The Chinaman is not the issue!

Did you see this story about a man who pranked the Muslim folks by putting ham in their shoes whilst they were praying?

Whether or not his action was good bull or bad bull is not the issue for me, so much as a trend I've noticed.

Those who don't like or don't respect the religious/political ideology of Islam are being labeled as "racist."

The title of the newspaper article is "Racist who filled Muslims' shoes with ham as they prayed in a mosque walks free from court."

Since when was religious persecution "racist"? Last I checked Islam was not a "race" or an ethnicity, but a set of beliefs that impact behavior.

Perhaps I'm just whipped by the overuse of calling someone racist who has a disagreement with a person who's white when the accuser is too lazy to actually interact on an ideological level.

To be fair, someone who hates the religious/political ideology of Islam may be many things, but of necessity one of them is not "racist." And I should know, because I'm not a racist and would resent any such insinuation.

Troops are ready for inspection, sir.

At Providence Church last night Mike Gendron taught, challenging us with the question, "Is Christ's Last Command Our First Concern?"

It was a great reminder of the priority of the Great Commission, as well as some excellent practical applications. (Cf. Mike Gendron's article on Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries website: Making Christ's Last Command Our First Concern.)

It also got me thinking about a wedding I did the previous week and my citation of God's command to "be fruitful and multiply." (Gen 1:28; 9:7)

I think sometimes missed in that is the focus and rationale for such a command. It's not merely that God wants a populated planet and enjoys seeing lots of babies. This is a command that God gives to His people. The expectation is that hearers will not only have kids, but will do what God commands and disciple them unto godliness.

Thus, I submit to you that the command to "be fruitful and multiply" is really a Great Commission verse. You help fulfill the Great Commission of "making disciples" (Matt 28:18-20) by having children in whom you cultivate Christlikeness. God is obeyed and God is glorified.

Sadly, I think followers of false religions understand this better than we do. Evangelicals* tend to have a birth rate significantly below that of Muslims, Roman Catholics, etc. For those of us particularly concerned about the rising influence of Islam in this country, self included, the fact that they are "taking ground" without having to resort to war or the shedding of blood shows just how shrewd a threat followers of the religion of non-peace really are.

The solution is not to pick up guns or have more babies. The solution is to make more disciples, as God enables, including being fruitful and multiplying to that end.

• See also Gunny's somewhat lighthearted encouragement to pursue par or better with regard to family size: Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three.

*I'm not sure if the term "evangelical" really has much meaningful significance anymore, but that's another show, as Donahue would would say.