Quote of the day:

“Austria and Prussia may go to war, and Italy or France may join in the turmoil. Blood may flow like water, but these things shake not the fact that Jesus loves you."

^{- Charles Spurgeon}

Today’s Headlines

Murder in Illinois

In a disturbing incident in Illinois, a landlord is facing charges of a hate crime, having allegedly fatally stabbed a 6-year-old Muslim boy and critically wounded his mother. This tragic event is believed to have been motivated by the victims' faith and exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East involving Hamas and Israel.

The incident unfolded in Plainfield Township, approximately 40 miles southwest of Chicago. Law enforcement officers discovered the 32-year-old woman and her young son late Saturday morning, having fallen victim to a brutal attack. Tragically, the child lost his life, while the woman sustained multiple stab wounds but is expected to recover.

The suspect, identified as 71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba of Plainfield, now faces a litany of charges, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two hate crime counts, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Authorities apprehended him near the crime scene, where he was found with a cut on his forehead.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas condemned the attack by saying, "There is no humane world that can and should tolerate the murder of an innocent child because of his identity," Mr. Mayorkas said. "The tragic events in the Middle East...have brought ideologies of hate to the fore across the world - notably antisemitism and Islamophobia. This must end.”

The Remnant's Response 

Indefensible acts like this are why the Lord endorses the death penalty (Genesis 9:6). This act would have been no less evil had the child been a member of Czuba's ethnicity, and the designation of this as a 'hate crime' is both unnecessary and dangerous. Jesus makes it clear that hatred and vile speech toward a fellow man is an offense against God (Matthew 5:21, 1 John 2:9, 1 John 4:20), and it is unwise to elevate certain groups to protected status over others. Hate is hate and is always wrong (1 John 2:11). Murder is murder, and it is always wrong (Exodus 20:13). The government that says it is wrong to speak or act out against certain "protected people groups" is a government that can create classes of people who are more valuable than others, something God's Word rejects (Genesis 1:26, Acts 17:26). It is also a government primed to one day prosecute people for "hate crimes" when they are really speaking the truth in love.

It is wicked to hate someone based on their ethnicity or anything else. It is already illegal to threaten to harm someone, irrespective of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity, and that is enough. In a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to the Judeo-Christian ethic, it will not be long before there is precedent to prosecute what is "speaking the truth in love" as a punishable "hate crime." Speaking the truth to others about their morality or beliefs is not hate (Proverbs 27:5-6), and it is dangerous to open the door to that possibility. Anti-semitism, anti-Palestinianism, misogyny, racism are wrong because anti-humanism is wrong. A society that divides itself hates itself (Matthew 12:25, Proverbs 14:1). There is a reason God's Word reminds us to "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31) because what a man thinks and speaks he soon does.

Czuba's actions were a vile act of foolishness and bloodlust committed by a man overcome by evil and operating in gross sin that deserves the death penalty irrespective of the boy's nationality (Romans 12:21). The young man who was murdered was born in our country, but it would have been no more evil if he, like his mother, was born in Palestine.

Israel Updates

A huge explosion devastated a crowded Gaza City hospital on Tuesday, killing hundreds of Palestinians seeking shelter there. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, but Israel said a Hamas rocket misfired. The blast intensified regional anger over the ongoing conflict and led to the cancellation of a regional summit Biden was set to attend with leaders from Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine today in Jordan.

President Biden agreed to make a risky wartime trip to Israel after receiving a commitment from Israel to open Gaza for humanitarian aid. Biden's visit will show strong support for Israel as it prepares its next response to Hamas, but he will also push hard to ease civilian suffering and allow Gazans to leave.

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The Remnant's Response 

**During the duration of the conflict in Israel we highly encourage new readers to read past editions on Israel. (10/9, 10/11, 10/13, 10/16) All past newsletters can be found online at mail.theremnantnews.org.**

With today's 24-hour news cycle, we will continually see the horrors and devastation of war, which we should pray will make men despise it. We can also pray that men will be careful not to shrink back from letting war accomplish what it must: the prosecution and eradication of evil (1 Peter 2:14).

While the news is clearly reporting on the fact that a hospital in Gaza was hit, it is not yet clear who is responsible. We do know Israel has been warning all Palestinian people to move south and away from places they are targeting. We also know Israel is an accomplished military power that has the ability to be incredibly precise in its missile strikes. We also know that no matter how excellent they are, there will be collateral damage, and we know that it is not beyond Hamas to lie or intentionally bring suffering to residents in Gaza in an effort to turn the world's opinion against Israel. War involves death and suffering. Yes, Israel will be held accountable for how it prosecutes this war, but we should be clear that Israel, or any nation that is attacked as they were on October 7th, has every right to respond with extreme force in hopes of eliminating the existential threat of their enemies.

There is no way for us to know for sure whether Israel intentionally targeted the hospital, accidentally hit the hospital, or if Hamas itself played a role in the attack to garner sympathy. What we do know is that humans are suffering. We should pray for God in His kindness to show Himself merciful to those suffering and be quick and powerful in supporting those prosecuting evil so this war can end. May justice and peace pour forth like a river, and may God's righteousness flow like an ever-flowing stream (Isaiah 66:12).

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Microsoft Activision Merger

Microsoft has successfully completed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, marking the largest technology deal in history despite facing regulatory challenges. The company owns a number of the most popular and lucrative gaming franchises and intellectual properties in existence. Activision stockholders will receive $95 per share with CEO Bobby Kotick remaining in his role until the end of 2023. UK authorities approved the deal after Microsoft transferred cloud-streaming rights for Activision's video games to a rival company. The US Federal Trade Commission opposed the acquisition but couldn't block it.

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The Remnant's Response 

Thirteen years ago (almost to the day), John Piper famously tweeted, "One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."

Microsoft is betting $69B that whatever the world is going to be up to in the near future, it won't be so busy that it doesn't have time for video games. Jesus taught us that one of the reasons we will fail to allow the Word of God to produce all it should in our lives is because of the ease with which we are distracted by our "concern for many things" (Mark 4:18-19).

Recreation is a good thing, but beware that what you take in as entertainment doesn't grow into an addiction that wrecks your life (Proverbs 4:23). We should wonder, if the Bible were owned by Activision, would Microsoft believe it was worth $69B given how much time the remnant was going to spend with it this next decade (Proverbs 2:1-5)? Solomon, who knew a thing or two about investing in precious metals, thought investing precious time in the Word was a better idea (Proverbs 3:13-17). Ezekiel learned that consuming God's Word was sweet to his soul (Ezekiel 3:1-3), and we are confident you will learn the same. No less than ten times in the gospels did Jesus admonish others with the simple question, "Have you not read?" (Matthew 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:16; 21:42; 22:31; Mark 2:25; 12:10; 12:26; Luke 6:3), which seems to indicate He thought bible intake was an essential part of our "call of duty." Activation and Microsoft are betting you are not as good of a "soldier" as you are a "gamer" (2 Timothy 2:4), and we are praying the remnant proves them wrong. There is a reason we link to God's Word here. Readers who read the Scripture provided in every story will find this exponentially more of a blessing than those who do not.

Samuel Chadwick rightly points out, "No man is uneducated who knows the Bible, and no one is wise who is ignorant of its teachings."

If you want to be educated and wise, simply follow this advice when picking your "vices” and planning your discretionary time: Bible first. Bible most.

 Other news you should know

🏏 5 new sports headed to the Olympics.

✈️ Governor Desantis helps get 270 Americans out of Israel.

👩🏻‍⚖️ Trump is headed back to court today to resume his civil trial.

✝️ Catholic Priest offers himself in exchange for hostages held by Hamas.

🧑‍🏫 This Stanford scientist has no idea the debate he just walked into…

 Remnant Resources: Weekly Picks

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You can read all past editions at mail.theremnantnews.org