There Is Hope

Dr. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, says the failed plan is evidence of the spiritual darkness in which Muslims exist.

"In the war against terror," says Moeller, "we have to give Muslims a reason for living before they come to us with a reason for dying."

Moeller's group assists Christians living and serving in persecuted countries such as Pakistan, the country of origin for most of the terror suspects in the foiled plot.

"These suicide bombers, these suicide terrorists, are laboring in a hopeless reality, without Christ, without hope of eternal life," he notes, "except -- in their belief -- if they martyr themselves for the cause of Islam.

The Open Doors president says the failed plot shows the importance of Christians living and working in Islamic nations to reach others with the gospel. "We have to reach out in Christ's love to witness to these people so they don't come to us with bombs," he says. "We can go to them with the weapon of love in Jesus Christ."

In the aftermath of the planned terror plot, Moeller is concerned that Christian missionaries in those nations are on the front lines in a war that has eternal consequences. "It is a spiritual battle that has real, physical results on the ground," he explains. "These days are extremely tense right now throughout the Middle East with Israel's and Lebanon's war going on."

And these latest developments, he says, certainly do not help matters. "[W]ith this terror plot unveiled about our transportation between the U.S. and the U.K., these things create increasing tension for our brothers and sisters on the ground in those countries.

"We need to pray for them," he says. "We need to pray that their witness remains strong."
Moeller expects persecution and tensions to increase in Muslim nations as more come to Christ throughout the region.