"N" By Tammy Swofford

Commentary published on August 15, 2014, in reaction to this hideous information in Catholic Online:

“I believe in God the Father, Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, he was crucified, and dead and buried. And I believe what I believe, is what makes me what I am. I did not make it; no it is making me. It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man. I believe that He who suffered was crucified, buried and dead. He descended into hell and rose on the third day, rose again. He ascended into Heaven where he sits at God’s mighty right hand. I believe that He’s returning to judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men.”

Enter lyrics to Creed, a Christian declaration of faith, by musical artist Rich Mullins.

N. Just simply call me “N”. Nazarene. Follower of Jesus Christ. “N”. It is imprinted on my heart, my forehead and on my right hand. “N” is the pupil of my eye. It is also embedded in my spirit. “N”. I am marked for life, marked by His love for all mankind.

N. We are everywhere. We are along the banks of a river in Mongolia and in the heat of Africa dispensing free medical care. We are in Pakistan, sending our funds to assist widows and orphans, or to lighten the burden of an aspiring lawyer who comes from a family of 10 children. We are in the supermarkets performing random acts of kindness. We are everywhere. Quiet, gentle and almost invisible. But our works precede us and do not follow us. They run ahead and give testament of our lives on the Day of Requital. Holiness is a place of abiding with an understanding of God’s love. Faith is an action that moves forward with an understanding that we should be the most grateful people on the planet. And so we move through life both resting and acting, in the name of Jesus.

N. This mark means quite another thing for IS (Islamic State). It is the letter marked in Arabic on the doors of Christian homes in Mosul. This letter stands for one thing: annihilation of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Actually, annihilation is probably too soft a word. The word means complete obliteration or destruction. What IS is doing falls in the category of extermination. This word means “killing, especially of a whole group of people or animals” (Oxford dictionary).

[...]

N. We are bugs and our children are bugs. IS is beheading little children. One of the images shows a headless little girl in a simple little dress, stockings and shoes. What is the sin she has committed? What is her crime?

N. We are being hunted by sub-humans. The latest killing field is in Iraq and the cry reaches the heavens but it does not reach the White House....

N. The most vicious image thus far is that of a Christian woman with a large hole in her anterior neck. Her hair is being held back and her blood drained into a bowl. Are IS members drinking the blood of Christians? Now that, my friend, is Satanic ritual.
I am N. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Read the rest HERE, in the Daily Times Pakistan.