Two rational views on the controversies surrounding violent Islamic mobs

First, from a secular view. From Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert. The Philosophical Question of the Day

If a man goes into the forest and pokes a bear with a sharp stick, and the bear kills the man, whose fault is it?
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Now substitute an irrational human being for the bear.
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And let’s say the irrational person is completely rational in every way that is not related to his religion. He might even be an engineer or a doctor. But his irrational side is well understood by all. Now the guy with the sharp stick pokes him and gets killed.

Whose fault is it?

And then a source from an evangelical Christian perspective. From an article forwarded to me by an evangelical missionary. John Piper writes How Christians Should Respond to Muslim Outrage at the Pope's Regensburg Message About Violence and Reason

"How should Christians respond to this situation? I will suggest ten responses that flow from the Bible.

1. Admit that the Christian church has often been too entangled with civil governments, with the result that violence has been endorsed by the church as a way of accomplishing religious, and not just civil, goals. ...

2. Make clear that the use of God-sanctioned violence between Israel and the nations in the Old Testament is no longer God’s will for his people. ...

3. Admit that there are many Muslims today who do not approve of violence in the spread of Islam. ...

8. Always be ready to die, but never to kill, for the sake of commending Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for sinners and rose again as the Lord of the universe. ...

9. Pray for the salvation of all those who belittle Jesus Christ. ...

10. No matter the cost, continue to exalt and commend Jesus Christ as the great and only Savior that he is. ..."

I would encourage interested persons to visit both links and benefit from the writings of these two wise men. One offers straightforward secular wisdom, the other a witness to Christ crucified amidst all this madness. Too often we have Christians speaking forth in the public square in a manner that sets aside both. Too often Christians embrace a foolhardy apology for the brutalities of the Empire-- engaging in an idolatry of Western Civilization-- instead of the foolishness of a suffering Christ.