You've probably heard about the man in Afghanistan who was threatened with execution because he reportedly changed his faith from Islam to Christianity some 15 years ago.

He has now been released, but his life is not out of danger. Pray for his life, and for these circumstances to lead people closer to God.

I have been trying to find out whether or not Islam (the Koran or else the legal interpretations of Sharia, Islamic law) truly indicates in no uncertain terms that everyone who is at some point a Muslim is to have no choice of faith from that point onward (or to face death if they change their mind about their faith).

I haven't found a definitive answer on whether this is a widely held Islamic theological principle, or whether this is primarily a populist cultural and social pressure that has made its way into (in this case) Afghan religious views, where some 99% of the population identify themselves with the religion of Islam. There are apparently differing viewpoints among Muslims about this.

If faith is a series of ongoing, deliberate choices about seeking God according to the limited human knowledge we have at each point along our spiritual journey, then I agree that would be FAITH -- believing and placing our trust in what we understand to be true about God.

This understanding cannot be scientifically proven, because God is far bigger than human language or science. And of course even believing that God exists is a point of faith.

Faith is faith. It involves volition, and belief in things that are beyond the human mind and experience.

If faith was merely inherited from one's family or culture and the only alternative to that was death or damnation, I would not be interested. That would have little to do with seeking God, it would have mostly to do with following the norms of previous generations.

By definition, that would remove human intellect from spirituality. This would invalidate God's word in Exodus, to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul" is invalid.

(Muslims are supposed to believe in the Torah, which includes the book of Exodus, which includes the commandments like the one above. And Muslims believe that God's Word cannot be destroyed or diminished. So what about this? Do we love God with our minds, or not? If we do, then surely we cannot suggest that followers of God should turn off their minds or cease to make choices about their faith?)

If I try to love God with all my mind, I surely must apply my mind to my faith. This means I have the ability to CHOOSE faith. God does give us freedom to choose for or against a relationship with our creator.

If my faith is significantly threatened by someone else deciding they no longer believe in the same faith assumptions I hold, mine would not be a very stable faith in the first place.

Truth is not about consensus or opinion or even tradition.

I should be able to weather the experience of someone else abandoning the things that I believe, whatever their reasons. I should even be open to considering their reasons!

Actually, this should be GOOD for my faith -- presumably it would cause me to evaluate and affirm the reasons I believe what I do, even when I can't "prove" it to someone else; and even when I can't control the faith choices of others who are free to believe or disbelieve.

I've never been a fan of proselytizing, and I don't find it to be demonstrated by Jesus in the gospels. As I understand it, proselytizing is an attempt to get someone to change their religion. I don't care much for religion. I do care much more about spiritual life, about seeking God and knowing God.

In the journey toward knowing God in meaningful ways, for those who follow this pursuit, two of my life goals are to facilitate others to more intimately know God our creator, and to do so myself. This is not about converting one's religion from A to B or B to A. This is about being in meaningful relationship to our loving creator if, as I believe, this is possible to do. It's about a relationship that grows deeper and closer, as our knowledge of God grows.

To insist on executing someone if they stray from one idea of what "religion" should look like is, in my opinion, a very strange authority for human beings to take upon themselves.

I think God cares most about inward allegiance. God waits to see who will truly seek, and promises that they will find; who will knock, and God promises to answer; who will ask, and promises that they will receive.

So I still don't know whether Islam truly teaches that someone's life should be taken in this scenario. If it does, then to be honest, it becomes a reason why I would not consider such a faith framework, because it is incompatible with two assumptions I DO believe: that God our creator is a God of love, and that God our creator made us "in the image of God."

We're not robots nor God's prisoners. Made in God's image, we're spiritual, intellectional, emotional, creative beings. Every human being alive today has an ongoing choice, not out of fear but out of worship and love, to take steps closer toward God or to move away.

True conversion is not from one religion to another; it is repentance (turning away) from selfish rebellion toward God, and submission instead to the freedom that is extended by the one who made us and gave his life for us.

God knows that faith is not easy for us. It certainly would not be easy to risk execution for one's faith choices.

I love the words of Jesus to Simon Peter in Luke 22 and I admire Simon Peter's response:

 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." 

I've been wrestling over what to make of this for several weeks. Sometimes it takes a while for me to process things.

We are a volatile species, we human beings.

In this recent episode: some Danish cartoons -- more controversial and less tasteful than Danish pastries -- including one of the prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his headdress.

This started out as a freedom-of-speech guinea pig and has so far led to international protests, mobs, boycotts, burnt buildings, death threats, and several dozen deaths.

(And, coincidentally, far broader exposure and newspaper reprints than the Danish cartoons were ever destined for.)

The irony here is too great to measure, of angry Muslims killing and threatening other acts of violence to protest printed satire, when the satire in question apparently stems from Islam's PR problem with terrorism and violence.

I'm not defending the satire, I saw the "bomb" cartoon and understandably it would be offensive to most Muslims if they didn't live in a culture where satire was common or accepted.

It didn't help that a few irresponsible leaders in some Islamic communities have slipped some other far more offensive cartoons into the mix along with the Danish cartoons. These were unrelated to the Danish cartoons. The add-ons are provocative hate speech, not free speech or satire by any stretch.

Show these in the streets of countries like Syria, Pakistan, Iran, and an angry crowd would likely gather quickly. The truth of who drew which and who published what becomes irrelevant when a crowd gets stirred to anger.

The stirring of these "extra" hate filled images into the mix might be what has led to the most violent protests and some deaths.

Thankfully this has largely simmered down by now.

The power of the image is probably one reason that Muslims are rightly cautious of the use of images in the realm of faith.

Christians are somewhat less cautious about using images in the context of worship, but one potential outcome when we do is the subtle idolatry that can and does sneak in when the door is left open to it. And sometimes it's more overt than subtle.

God warns us against idolatry of "graven images" or anything that would take the place of or interfere with our worship of God.

Graven Images even made the #2 spot on God's Top Ten List.

Hindus, on the other hand, seem to be the ones who would take this graven image stuff over the top.

How far does freedom of speech legitimately go, and where does it get off? Who's to judge?

It was freedom of speech (or the intolerance thereof?) that got Jesus crucified by people who were provoked and deeply offended by his strong words that challenged the religious power structures of the day.

The offense of Jesus' words was greater than satire, it was direct challenge to the religious leadership for having lost their way and abused their power.

There were also times when the words Jesus chose seemed intentionally offensive, designed to provoke a response.

Is freedom of speech a Biblical concept that Christians should endorse and defend? Is it a human, mainly Western notion? Is it a principle of truth, or falsehood? Or is it a neutral cultural value that some hold dear and others fairly de-emphasize or even reject?

As Christians, we should consider these questions from the foundation of scripture and the spirit of God, rather than looking primarily to the bias of our culture. This has to do with truth, not what feels good.

There has been some good debate because of these regrattable events, about whether freedom of speech should have any limits, what to do if and when it might breech a society's standards of decency or respect for others.

I hope that as people try to answer this question for themselves they won't lean primarily on reactionary extremes that they might hear about in their news-spin-of-preference.

The Bible has a LOT to say about freedom. But it's on another plane than many of the notions of freedom we hear about today in American society and other cultures.

Here are a few thoughts, which are just the tip of the iceberg.

1) God gives us an insane amount of freedom, starting with Adam and Eve's freedom in the garden to obey or disobey the only constraint God gave them.

Genesis 2:16
And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

They did, and they did. Today, we live and die under the consequence of that abuse of freedom. God could have made the branches and fruit too high to reach. God could have restricted the ability to choose freely, but did not.

2) Freedom is not the end game, it is a byproduct of truth and faith.

John 8:32-26
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

3) Spiritual freedom trumps physical freedom (or freedom of speech for that matter).

2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

A person can be in prison, yet spiritually free through the powerful presence of the "Spirit of the Lord."

4) Freedom is not license.

1 Corinthians 10:23
"Everything is permissible" — but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" — but not everything is constructive.

1 Peter 2:16
Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

5) Giving up "freedom" by subjecting ourselves to the will of God is true freedom.

This is one of the places where the fundamentals of the Christian and Islamic faiths agree, at least on the "what", though not the "how."

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

And see the words of Jesus in John 8 above: "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

6) Submission to God is freedom from being controlled by the wrong things, freedom to submit to the right things. By "wrong" and "right" I mean according to the one who designed and created us.

Psalm 119:32
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.

Psalm 119:45
I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

7) Freedom is a reward for righteousness.

Proverbs 11:21
Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

Who is without sin and interested to claim the prize of freedom, earned by righteousness? Lucky for us, Jesus redefined righteousness, and made the impossible possible, by conquering sin and death through his sacrifice. Our "righteousness" is by faith and by God's miraculous act. And the result is freedom.

8) God cares about freedom for those who don't have it.

Isaiah 58:6
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

And Isaiah the prophet said these words and Jesus claimed them for himself in the temple:

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..."

9) Freedom isn't just about ME.

1 Corinthians 8:9
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

1 Corinthians 9:19
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

10) Freedom carries with it responsibility and obligation.

Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Freedom: from what?
What is it that we as human beings desire to be free from? Freedom from any constraints whatsoever on our behavior and expression? That is license, not freedom, and it is a narrowly selfish world view.

I believe that some degree of accountability is necessary for freedom to be meaningful.

Freedom: to what?
I would imagine that some prisoners, when they have served their sentence and are set free, walk out of the gates without much idea where to go or what to do. Free at last... but to what?

Romans 6:18, 20
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness... When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.

These thoughts and pieces of scripture are a lot to boil down, and for me the reduction process is still simmering.

I haven't addressed the question of free speech very much yet. But some of the context above helps me think about it.

If on the simplest level we have two alternatives -- free speech versus controlled speech -- both have dangers and extremes. Because of the dangers of the latter, of WHO would control the speech and on what basis and with what fairness or integrity, I suppose I come down on the side of free speech.

A huge part of this conclusion for me is that God give us a wider latitude than I would ever dream of. Really, we're quite free to make great or horrible choices and continue making them throughout our lives. Every choice has consequences both immediately and eventually, but that doesn't preclude making the choice.

We're also free to change our direction when it is a wrong direction or even an unhelpful tangent. The word for this is "repent."

We're also free to "seek first the kingdom of God" and God's righteousness. What's the downside to that? Loss of personal "freedom?"

I do not think that freedom of speech includes the right to force that speech into the eyes or ears of people who would prefer to avoid it. Force-feeding is not a human freedom nor right.

To be fair, this goes for all types of advocacy speech, including evangelism. Evangelism is about demonstrating and telling the good news in loving relationship, not through an insulated megaphone to strangers. Jesus spoke to many crowds, but THEY came to HIM, and he entered into relationship with them. He engaged with their children, he ate with them and touched and healed their sick. He went into their homes, even against social norms.

I think that freedom of speech is legitimate and very important and should be preserved when it is not abused or used to provoke hatred and offense.

But one person's freedom is another person's blasphemy, or jihad, or offense, or stumbling block.

I might change my mind some day, but for now, I don't find clear scriptural principles in favor of or against "freedom of speech" as we think of it today. I'm in favor of responsible free speech, but not out of any clear framework from God's word.

I would like to learn from what God's spirit has taught those in many two-thirds world cultures, who follow Jesus, about the notion of freedom of speech and individual freedoms, versus community good and accountability.

I think these Christians have many good things to teach us if we can find ways to facilitate the dialog, and if we would stop excercising our freedom to speak, and listen intently for a change.

What are we looking for? How will we know when we find it? Is it hidden? What can we find fairly easily by simply looking in the right places?

This week, on a very loose interpretation of "we" and a random cross section of headlines from the past few days:

We're looking for top candidates to run America's ports who don't bring too high a political pricetag or unknown security risk along with their resume. We're looking for weapons of mass destruction and "evil doers" wherever they may be lurking. We're looking for political capital to spend or to put away for a rainy day.

Right or wrong, many of us are looking for validation of our personal predisposition to lean left or right, liberal or conservative. We may not be looking for dialog or balance, if having a strong opinion is an acceptable substitute. Some of us inadvertently align ourselves with dividers, not uniters. We're looking for political clout and the support of the crowd, not necessarily wisdom or truth.

And some of us are looking for peace in places where it proves elusive. We're looking for alternatives to war-making. (If not, then we're probably looking for alternatives to peace-making.) We're looking for a solution for AIDS and bird flu and hunger. We're looking for a global economy but only if it brings advantage to our own doorstep.

We're looking for God's kingdom to come on earth AND in heaven. Not either-or.

We're looking for racial reconciliation. (Where did Shalom go?) We're looking for one nation under God. We're looking for protection from the forces of "mother nature" and deliverance from evil. We're looking for freedom of speech but not responsibility. We say we're looking for democracy (read the fine print).

We're looking for a better diet or a good surgical alternative; less calories but better taste with an acceptable cancer risk; a better idol next door; a better Oscar winner speech; a more humane mousetrap; a more titillating, entertaining, shocking media fix than what we've become accustomed to by now. Kick it up another notch.

We're looking for decent education, decent jobs, decent neighborhoods, safety, shelter, freedom of religion (but not as much freedom as God gives, which seems downright careless), the luxury of having options and choices, and sincere relationships guarded by prenuptual agreements.

And a green environment if we don't have to pay for it. (As if God mandated that we are stewards of this place!)

Many of these things apparently remain hidden, because we're still looking for them.

What have we found? Opportunity? Contentment? Freedom? Fulfillment? Satisfaction? Acceptance? Purpose? Joy? Peace? Love? Hope?

Sorry for the long rhetorical intro, here are two modest servings of food-for-thought from scripture on this topic:

Col. 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now HIDDEN WITH CHRIST in God.

Philippians 3:8-11
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and BE FOUND IN HIM, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Hm. Sharing in his sufferings, and like Jesus in his death? This does NOT sound like something we are typically looking for on a good day. But resurrection from the dead sounds good.

And being hidden in Christ and found in Christ, with a righteousness that comes from God and is by faith... that sounds good too. Equipped with the other things Jesus promised those who follow him, I think there's a chance we'll prioritize and find some of the other things we're looking for.

God, teach us to seek the right things and find the right things, however hidden they might be in the noise and clutter of our world this week and this year.

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness..." So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
- Genesis 1:26-27

(I love the plurality and neutrality of who God is. God is one, and God's autobiographical pronoun is plural. Not in a pantheistic sense, but in the sense that God is beyond our concept of the identity of one being.)

This -- being made in God's image -- is one of the biggest beautiful mysteries of God's handiwork: how we, finite and fallible, are in some significant way created "in the image" of the creator. It's a mystery to unravel in prayer and worship throughout each of our lifetimes.

This all started out with two, in the garden. Then came temptation and sin -- departure from the few simple parameters God had put in place. Ironically, the allure of disobedience was to be "like God, knowing good and evil." As if Adam and Eve were not very in touch with their inner image. (Am I?)

They were already made in the image of God, yet tempted by what it might be like to be "like God" and know good and evil. (Did evil exist already in the little world of God's garden -- the serpent had to come from somewhere? Or was it primarily the seed of curiosity about evil that existed at that point?)

At any rate, in a slightly different sense than we use these terms today, Adam and Eve were pro-choice rather than pro-life. Their self-centered choice ultimately brought death.

The consequence of disobedience was expulsion from the garden, the place where God walked. Then came more sin, to the point that God grieved. "The LORD was grieved that he had made humankind on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (Gen. 6:6)

Then came a devastating flood, a clean slate, a new start from a small preserved remnant. And the first covenant followed.

It was only after this time that we hear of the instructions to the survivors to be fruitful and multiply.

"Be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it." (Gen. 9:7)

So this is what we have done! We have multiplied greatly in number. We've royally messed some other things up that God seems to have intended, but increasing in number, that we can do.

A few days ago, the world's population reached 6.5 billion living, breathing human beings, each one created in the image of God, with all the inherent sanctity of life that God intended.

Two centuries ago, there were only a billion people.

I'm not so ancient yet but even I remember when there were only 5 billion people. It's a bit astonishing that even in my lifetime, we've added another 1.5 billion while I wasn't noticing.

Earth's population is expected to reach 7 billion in 2012. A billion more in just 6 years.

Rounding to the nearest integer (since that's the mathematical package in which people tend to come and go from earth) every second, 4 people are born and 2 people die.

The debate continues on a scientific, demographic level, over how many people planet earth can support.

None of this is any surprise to God. What do you think God has in mind, and when, for the next chapter in human history?

Jesus said he is "preparing a place" and will return. Scripture says Jesus will return to judge nations and individual hearts.

But the sense of timing is tricky, at least for human minds and lifespans. In Jesus' day, many of his followers thought his return would be during their lifetimes. Two thousand years have passed. For God, this is a blip.

God's fulfillment of plans and promises is still underway.

I wonder what the world population will be when "the day" arrives? I wonder how the nations will be judged? I wonder if there will be surprises when the sheep and the goats are identified?

And I wonder what part we can have today and this week in bringing salt and light into the mix.

Meanwhile, God is at work in our world, and watching to see what each person is made of.