Is this a joke? It doesn’t seem possible that this is for real. Was this story concocted by the enemies of ISIS to make them look like monsters? Because I just don’t want to believe any human beings are actually this odious:

ISIS is trying to sell the remains of beheaded journalist James Foley to his parents or the US government for $1 million, according to a new report.

A source who is a middleman contacted by ISIS to broker the deal told BuzzFeed that the terror group is trying to present it as an act of mercy for the family and a “humanity case,” the website said. . . .

But with the price of crude oil now plummeting and the United States and Britain standing firmly by their policy to not pay ransoms, ISIS — also known as the Islamic State — devised the plan to sell the corpse.

If ISIS is actually this desperate, or this depraved, it’s clear they’re not long for this world. I guess that is good news. As much as it pains me that the mourning family of James Foley does not have the opportunity to bury him properly and pay due respects to his memory, I hope they refuse to give ISIS a dime. I pray that other families and countries follow suit. It’s a difficult thing to give up your own personal interests in order to serve a greater cause. If the Foleys and other families in similar situations don’t pay, they might lose a loved one. But by refusing to pay, they discourage ISIS from using these tactics.

It’s time we prove to ISIS why we are fighting for something worth defending: selfless faithfulness. That’s something on which you can build a community and a civilization. Is selfish fanaticism a good foundation for civilization? No. So even if ISIS takes the Middle East, what will it do then?