Afghanistan Gold

Last night I watched a presentation on television entitled : "The Hunt for the Afghanistan Gold." The story was told about the search for the Afghanistan gold and archeology from the time of the Greeks under Alexander the Great were in Afghanistan. In the course of that history they came to the period of the Taliban.

In their religious Islamic zeal, the Taliban in essence tried to eradicate the pre-Islamic history of Afghanistan by erasing all evidences of pre-Islamic history. Buddhist statues, some the only kind of their type, were blown up by the Taliban. Archeological digs were ravaged. Pottery in museums were destroyed.

When Islam took over the near east, churches were converted to mosques. Frescoes were painted over. Statues were destroyed.

These type of actions are not just the poison fruits of Islam. Protestants did it in the Middle Ages, the Roundheads did it in England, the Communists did it in China. There is no respect for belief systems other than those of the true believer.

A good treatment of the characteristics can be found in the book by Eric Hoffer entitled "The True Believer."

I believe that a person or a faith should be recognized for what they build up, not what they tear down. Tearing down is easy, even the mindless can do that. Building is much harder. Building things that are not built in vain is even harder than that. Scripture says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those that labour, labour in vain.

Many of the things that I have tried to build in life are a labour in vain. They were good things but the Lord was not involved in the building. They were houses built for my glory and my pleasure.

I hope in the latter part in life, any building projects will be for the glory of God. It is in building for the glory of God that our artisan's work is transformed to God's masterpieces. Even so, our work can not duplicate God's handiwork in the simple flower or in the bird that flies or the wondrous ant that works without discouragement when his ant hill is destroyed by man.

To God be the glory.

H.D.