“…For years, I’ve heard complaints from Christians about why Harry Potter should be avoided at all costs – though they are quick to defend, praise and all but worship JRR Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” series and CS Lewis books. It’s frustrating on several levels. First, JK Rowling is an amazing author – both in style and story telling. Second, you simply cannot love Tolkein’s work and reject Rowling’s based on Christian principles. In fact, if anything, you should be quick to defend Rowling for making such an obvious parallel to the pained life, death and resurrection of Christ…”

Islam has embraced armed military expansion for religious purposes since its earliest decades. In contrast, Christianity struggled in its divided attitudes toward military force and state power for its first 300 years. No “theology of Crusade” existed in Western Christian thought until the 11th century. In fact, the Christian Byzantine Empire had already been resisting Muslim expansion in the East for 400 years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade — as a defensive response to generations of armed jihad…