If I Could Give Fr. James Martin One Book

I’ve always wondered what book I would give to a liberal heretic if I ever met them.  Obviously Fr. James Martin is the most famous one in the English speaking world so he occupies the heretic slot in the question.  What book would I give to Fr. Martin?  Of course, Fr. Martin could be replaced with Ted McCarrick, Cardinal Wuerl, or any of the pseudo-theologians who composed the Instrumemtum Laboris for the upcoming Amazon Synod.

I just finished The Price to Pay: A Muslim Risks All to Follow Christ by Joseph Fadelle.  Fadelle was born to a high profile Shiite family in Iraq.  I won’t give too many details as I’m going to be doing a review.  The important thing to know is that Iraq isn’t friendly for a convert to Christianity.  In many Muslim countries today, converting to Christianity would make one a social outcast.  In Iraq in brings betrayal, prison and torture.

When Fadelle’s high profile Shiite family finds out about his new religion.  They beat him, tie him up, put him in the trunk of a car and drive 124 miles to Najaf which is one of the holiest cities in Shia Islam.  It’s where Ali is buried.  Because of the importance of their family, they are able to get an audience with the Ayatollah Muhammad Sadr who was the highest Shia cleric in Iraq at the time.  What did the Ayatollah say?  He quoted Surah 2:256 and told them that there was no compulsion in religion.

I’m just kidding; he didn’t say that.  The Ayatollah said:

If it is confirmed that he is a Christian, then he must be killed, and Allah will reward the one who carries out this fatwa.

Sounds like a lovely old chap.  It says in a footnote that the Ayatollah was later killed by Saddam Hussein.  According to Wikipedia, Sadr was assassinated for preaching against his tyranny .  I would normally sympathize with a religious figure who was killed for using his pulpit to preach against a brutal dictator like Saddam, even if he wasn’t a Christian.  Not in this case though; it was simply one demon killing another.

Luckily for Fadelle, he wasn’t killed.  He was taken to a prison and offered safety for revealing the names of the Christians that he talked to.  He doesn’t give the names and is tortured for months.  Later the prison is investigated by the UN and anyone who didn’t have a semi-legit reason for being there was sent home.  However, not before signing a document that says they’ll disclose nothing that happened in this prison to anyone under penalty of death.  Fadelle was then lucky enough to go home to his family that had thrown him under the bus over a year before.  He had also lost over 150 lbs while in prison.

When many people talk about martyrs of the church, it’s usually the martyrs of the Roman Empire.  The Roman martyrs are noble but it’s hard to relate to them as the last of them were 1,700 years ago.  Many Christians around the world today live in horrific environments of which Iraq is only one.

Fadelle’s book would be a prime candidate to give to Fr. Martin.  Religion is a serious thing.  While Fr. Martin goes on a podcast with a vulgar liberal Jew named Judy Gold, people are putting their lives on the line to become Catholic and receive the Lord Jesus Christ at the mass.  Maybe Fr. Martin would think less about throwing our faith under the bus if he read about Joseph Fadelle and what he went through.