It's very comforting for us to dismiss as extreme, unreasonable and even insane all of the demands and complaints of Islamic fundamentalism. In an unstable age it reassures us of our own decency and righteousness.
It is a self-evident truth, of course, that suicide bombings and the murder of innocent people are repugnant. Here there is no argument. Similarly with some, if not all, of the geo-political aims of Muslim terrorists.
But what of their insistence that western society is decadent? Can we as Christians really ignore this criticism and assume that because a fanatic makes the point it contains no truth?
Just last week my seven-year-old daughter was looking for dinosaur photos on the Internet. Luckily we are always close when she is allowed on the computer. Because there on the page, totally out of context and designed to snare innocents, was a horribly pornographic website.
Which should come as no surprise. As glorious as the Internet is, it is used by millions of people today as a source of onanistic images. Put simply, the West has managed to turn so much that is golden into base metal.
Sex itself should be the supreme and supremely pleasurable act of physical love between two married people. Instead it has become a commercial enterprise, frequently a loveless exchange of bodily fluid as the mindless worship at the cult of the orgasm.
Yet the West is not decadent.
If sex is supposed to be a manifestation of love, children should be living icons of marital fertility. Instead, abortion rates rise steadily and ever-new methods of destroying unborn life are found by weird and amoral science.
This is if conception is even allowed to take place. Pills, rubber, patches and devices are employed to prevent what should be exquisite. Birth and babies. Individual responsibility is rejected and the notion of celibacy until marriage scorned as an archaic fantasy.
Yet the West is not decadent.
When marriage does occur it is thought in many circles almost eccentric for a couple to remain faithful. Our most successful television shows present adultery and promiscuity as being sophisticated and fashionable. Pity the wretch who knows only one partner for life.
Divorce is inevitable, single parent families are as complete as any other, drooling lust is only natural and the other litany of postmodern lies that tear away at the moral fabric of our society.
Yet the West is not decadent.
Men marry men, women marry women, teenagers become pregnant, the age of consent is constantly lowered and if anybody protests they are told that nobody cares and that such concerns are a digression from the real issues.
But what are those real issues? The gap between rich and poor is greater than it has been for a century and multinational corporations tell us what to drink, what to think and what to do. The environment is raped, the planet abused and our dinner portions grow larger.
Except in those nations colonized by Europe and North America and where people of darker skin scrape out a life and, more often, a death. Here we ignore and explain and justify.
Yet the West is not decadent.
Society, media and certain politicians encourage the casual use of drugs and there are increasingly loud calls by elites and activists for certain narcotics to be legalized or decriminalised.
It enables people to escape the incarceration of their own reality, which is in many ways the greatest tragedy of all. A life that should be full of love, family, children and joy becomes mundane and materialistic to the point where hash and hallucination are preferable to a shared moment with a loved spouse.
Video games where the goal is to kill policemen. Education where feelings matter more than facts. Games where steroids matter more than sportsmanship and entertainment where fights and fornication matter more than poetry and poignancy.
Yet the West is not decadent.
Fight the war on terror. But know as followers of Christ that sometimes defeat is to be found in the very core of victory. And know the West is, yes, decayed to its soul.
