If you think that the Islamic war on the cartoons is a silly thing, you are right. In your western perspective you are right.
But you have another think coming, as my grandma used to say.
In my other think over the last few days, several rather unpleasant things intruded into the silliness.
1. There are many silly things done in the name of religion in the United States and in the other secular democracies. It is bearable because it is one of the costs of liberty. But the silly things being done in the name of Islam are not bearable. We forgive a child for being silly; we cannot bear the silliness of a murderer.
2. It is one thing for a man to be silly; it is another thing for millions to be silly. As long as Hitler was saying his silly things in beer halls he was laughable, but the world stopped laughing when he gained the power and might of Germany and the obedience of the German people. It suddenly stopped being funny. The affair of the cartoons shows that the present silliness of Islam isn't funny, either. The very existence of liberty and freedom is at risk. "To Hell with freedom" read one of the signs among the protestors. This is not the sentiments of one or two silly people, but the sentiments of millions around the world.
3. Silliness can be tolerated unless it is in possession of deadly weapons. We may tut, tut over the rantings of a child who is angry about something, but the whole business is changed if the child is holding a shot-gun, or in the case of the His Silliness in Iran, the makings of nuclear weapons. There is no tut, tut about that.
There are dangerous days ahead.
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Thursday, February 09, 2006
Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "Cindy Sheehan, the anti-Iraq war activist whose son was killed in the conflict there, put an end to speculation on Thursday that she would launch a long-shot bid to become a U.S. senator from California."
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aaaaah, shucks.
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aaaaah, shucks.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Some Thoughts on Cartoons
The evidence is in that the Islamic riots over some old cartoons are not a spontaneous reaction to Danish blundering, but a well staged presentation sent as a warning to the West. The message: It is for the same purpose that drove the Japanese to atrocities in Korea and the Philippines in WWII, the Nazi's to do the same in Europe, and Al Capone to bash heads with baseball bats.
You remember the bully on the playground? I remember one when I was in the third grade. He was a big dumb kid who should have been in the fifth grade, but he had failed twice in his first five years of school. [You are really old if you can remember when kids failed in school. Self-esteem sensitivity laid that practice to rest.]
Every disagreement with that big dumb kid always ended the same way, "Wanna make something out of it?" Nobody ever did, because he was twice as big as the rest of us and used terror to impose his will.
This is exactly what Islam is doing. It's bully boy tactics. Remember how effeminate Europe complained that the "Arab street will erupt" if Bush took strong military measures against Saddam. They didn't, of course, because they didn't care a bit about Saddam. This war is not about politics; it is about religion.
If the west can be painted as warring against Mohammed, the prophet, the bullies hope that they can raise enough emotional support for their beloved jihad. Won't work, of course, just as it didn't work for Capone, Hitler, or the Land of the Rising Sun.
Didn't work for the big dumb kid either. Even sixty-some years later I get pleasure remembering the day he had his clocked cleaned by a mild-manner boy in the fourth grade. Really bloodied his nose, and in those days you had lost the fight if your nose bled.
You remember the bully on the playground? I remember one when I was in the third grade. He was a big dumb kid who should have been in the fifth grade, but he had failed twice in his first five years of school. [You are really old if you can remember when kids failed in school. Self-esteem sensitivity laid that practice to rest.]
Every disagreement with that big dumb kid always ended the same way, "Wanna make something out of it?" Nobody ever did, because he was twice as big as the rest of us and used terror to impose his will.
This is exactly what Islam is doing. It's bully boy tactics. Remember how effeminate Europe complained that the "Arab street will erupt" if Bush took strong military measures against Saddam. They didn't, of course, because they didn't care a bit about Saddam. This war is not about politics; it is about religion.
If the west can be painted as warring against Mohammed, the prophet, the bullies hope that they can raise enough emotional support for their beloved jihad. Won't work, of course, just as it didn't work for Capone, Hitler, or the Land of the Rising Sun.
Didn't work for the big dumb kid either. Even sixty-some years later I get pleasure remembering the day he had his clocked cleaned by a mild-manner boy in the fourth grade. Really bloodied his nose, and in those days you had lost the fight if your nose bled.
Are They Nuts?
I see that Russia has warned the rest of the world about having a nuclear confrontation with Iran. Nice and pious.
I wonder what song they would be singing if the Islamic terrorists who shot up the school a few years ago in Russia had had an atomic bomb? Hmmmmmm?
boooooooom!
I wonder what song they would be singing if the Islamic terrorists who shot up the school a few years ago in Russia had had an atomic bomb? Hmmmmmm?
boooooooom!
Monday, February 06, 2006
Michael Jackson Sings for the Pope. Not So Strange?
US News Article | Reuters.com: "He [Father Giuseppe Moscati] dismissed the recent controversy surrounding Jackson, who is living in Bahrain after a Californian court acquitted him of child molestation charges last June.
'He has been cleared of all charges,' Moscati said.
'As a celebrity he is perhaps a bit remote from the teachings contained in the Pope's prayers. But if he can help us put together a group of singers that fulfil the criteria of the project then we'll study the proposal,' he said.
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Well, maybe yess, maybe no. But keep him away from the altar boys.
'He has been cleared of all charges,' Moscati said.
'As a celebrity he is perhaps a bit remote from the teachings contained in the Pope's prayers. But if he can help us put together a group of singers that fulfil the criteria of the project then we'll study the proposal,' he said.
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Well, maybe yess, maybe no. But keep him away from the altar boys.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Go to Red Sky Brothers!
You will find an innovative and hard-hitting blog at the Red Sky link on the right. Enjoy.
Maybe the West is Winning!!
My Way News: "Thousands of Syrians enraged by caricatures of Islam's revered prophet torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus on Saturday - the most violent in days of furious protests by Muslims in Asia, Europe and the Middle East."
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Sort of ironic, isn't it? How could anyone get angry with Norway and Denmark? Anything goes there. Everyone and everything are loved and respected. Why get mad at vanilla pudding? Islam seems bent on self-destruction: just hit anyone handy. Why convince the wimps of Europe that you are evil afterall?
But then, Bush has done such a good job of protecting the American homeland that Islam has not been able to create an incident here--only liberals can make a nuisance of themselves, and we have learned to yawn over their activities.
If you cannot kill the one you hate, just hit anyone in sight.
But then, when fanaticism becomes sensible, it is no longer fanaticism, is it?
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Sort of ironic, isn't it? How could anyone get angry with Norway and Denmark? Anything goes there. Everyone and everything are loved and respected. Why get mad at vanilla pudding? Islam seems bent on self-destruction: just hit anyone handy. Why convince the wimps of Europe that you are evil afterall?
But then, Bush has done such a good job of protecting the American homeland that Islam has not been able to create an incident here--only liberals can make a nuisance of themselves, and we have learned to yawn over their activities.
If you cannot kill the one you hate, just hit anyone in sight.
But then, when fanaticism becomes sensible, it is no longer fanaticism, is it?
A Chance for Greatness
Some are born great,some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. [Shakespeare, from Twelfth Night
Very dangerous days are ahead for America and for Christianity. It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to shed the nonsense, the entertainmentism, the blatant heresies, the lust for fame and wealth, the sinfulness of our ways for the enemy that we face is fierce and implacable. What will it take for us to repent: our wives and daughters being executed in our football stadiums?
It is time to take the Bible seriously and return to the robust and manly faith of our faithers.
These are times that will thrust greatness upon Christians. The church is very weak today. False churches are strong and attract great numbers of people to their religious circuses and entertainment. There the people utter banalities or gibberish and think they are in the very heights of spirituality, as if people are edified by nonsense. Gain is confused with godliness.
I have great feelings of foreboding tonight. The war began long ago, with the birth of Mohammed in 570 AD or so. Islam's attempt at the conquest of the world was thwarted by brave Christian soldiers at Tours, France, in 732, under the command of Charles Martel. The Crusades were only a temporary part of the long war of Islam against Christianity and brought only a time of respite for Europe. Christians were put on the offensive for a while, but soon the onslaught was renewed and wave after wave beat upon Christian civilization until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 left Europe vulnerable. The history is long and complicated; war is sometimes ugly, but Christianity fought for its very life, and Islam fought to keep the gains that had been won by the force of arms at the expense of Christians. Over two hundred years of war followed the conquest of Constantinople. Only in 1683 after Islam was repulsed at the walls of Vienna did Europe know peace from those who thought they would gain heaven by slaying Christians. But Islam has never changed its fundamental faith, that the whole world must fall under the rule of the Islamic faith. There is no separation of church and state in the dogma of Islam.
The modern conflict, punctuated by the bombings of 9/11, is just a renewal of an ancient and deadly conflict. America does not realize it yet, but America has not caused the hatred nor can she do anything to assuage it. The evil is real and it is a religious evil. The only way Spain could gain religious peace was to expel Islam, and they did in 1492, after the fall of Granada. Harsh, but effective. But no harsher than the dictum of Islam to conquered Christians: Become Islamic, pay heavy tribute, or die. Spain's treatment was humane by the standards of the day.
From 1683 until 2001, a period of 318 years, the Western World was asleep, forgetting history, forgetting the deep roots of religious hatred that were being nourished in Islam. We should have known, but we disregarded the warning signs in our day. We were under a religious delusion of our own, that those who hate can be pacified by tolerance and kindness. We should have learned from the Nazis, the Fascists, and the Communists, but we didn't. We have to be hit in the head over and over again.
We forgot the words of Christ, "He that is not with me is against me," and we thought that our forbearance and kindness would evoke forbearance and kindness in others. It was wrong, of course. We should love and forbear, not because it is a good policy and will make us friends, but because it is the right thing to do. But love and forbearance does not imply that we must pretend that false religions and hateful religions are equal to the faith of our Lord Jesu Christ. We will not win men to vrtue by becoming an enemy of virtue.
But the gates of hell will not prevail upon the church of Jesus Christ, for Christ rules from heaven and is above all things [Eph. 1]. Men will have greatness thrust upon them and will do valiant deeds. The West may suffer immensely because we are a wicked people, but the future does not belong to the Crescent any more than it belonged to the Hammer or Sickle or the Swastika. Immense amounts of blood will flow and the world will be cleansed by that blood and life will spring from death. There are yet American heros in our future and we will not lose this war.
Even the evil of Islam has its purpose. It involved Charles V in so many wars in the sixteenth century and he was never able to deal with Luther and the Lutherans until it was too late and the Reformation was in full flower. God makes even the wrath of men to praise Him. God also has a purpose in this present war. This preacher hopes and prays that it will be the opening of the gospel to the Islamic world in a way that has never been seen before. What joy it would be to see northern Africa, the Middle East, Persia, and Egypt once again under the domination of Christian civilization as it was before the sword of the Prophet laid it waste. Islam should give back all the land it stole in the 7th and 8th centuries. Not to Israel, but to the people of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose land it was. Fair is fair, afterall. [These last sentences were written with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek].
Mohammed is dead. Those who worship dead prophets know nothing but death. Not only does Islam not have separation of church and state, they also do not have a Risen Lord Jesus Christ. We pity them, but must not yield our families and institutions to their dark control.
They will have no rest, and no peace, until they bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ. Some temporary victories may cause Islamic children to dance in the streets as they did after 9/11 but such victories will be temporary. Julian the Apostate learned the power of Christ and exclaimed after receiving his death wound, "Galilean, Thou hast conquered!"
Do you?
Very dangerous days are ahead for America and for Christianity. It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to shed the nonsense, the entertainmentism, the blatant heresies, the lust for fame and wealth, the sinfulness of our ways for the enemy that we face is fierce and implacable. What will it take for us to repent: our wives and daughters being executed in our football stadiums?
It is time to take the Bible seriously and return to the robust and manly faith of our faithers.
These are times that will thrust greatness upon Christians. The church is very weak today. False churches are strong and attract great numbers of people to their religious circuses and entertainment. There the people utter banalities or gibberish and think they are in the very heights of spirituality, as if people are edified by nonsense. Gain is confused with godliness.
I have great feelings of foreboding tonight. The war began long ago, with the birth of Mohammed in 570 AD or so. Islam's attempt at the conquest of the world was thwarted by brave Christian soldiers at Tours, France, in 732, under the command of Charles Martel. The Crusades were only a temporary part of the long war of Islam against Christianity and brought only a time of respite for Europe. Christians were put on the offensive for a while, but soon the onslaught was renewed and wave after wave beat upon Christian civilization until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 left Europe vulnerable. The history is long and complicated; war is sometimes ugly, but Christianity fought for its very life, and Islam fought to keep the gains that had been won by the force of arms at the expense of Christians. Over two hundred years of war followed the conquest of Constantinople. Only in 1683 after Islam was repulsed at the walls of Vienna did Europe know peace from those who thought they would gain heaven by slaying Christians. But Islam has never changed its fundamental faith, that the whole world must fall under the rule of the Islamic faith. There is no separation of church and state in the dogma of Islam.
The modern conflict, punctuated by the bombings of 9/11, is just a renewal of an ancient and deadly conflict. America does not realize it yet, but America has not caused the hatred nor can she do anything to assuage it. The evil is real and it is a religious evil. The only way Spain could gain religious peace was to expel Islam, and they did in 1492, after the fall of Granada. Harsh, but effective. But no harsher than the dictum of Islam to conquered Christians: Become Islamic, pay heavy tribute, or die. Spain's treatment was humane by the standards of the day.
From 1683 until 2001, a period of 318 years, the Western World was asleep, forgetting history, forgetting the deep roots of religious hatred that were being nourished in Islam. We should have known, but we disregarded the warning signs in our day. We were under a religious delusion of our own, that those who hate can be pacified by tolerance and kindness. We should have learned from the Nazis, the Fascists, and the Communists, but we didn't. We have to be hit in the head over and over again.
We forgot the words of Christ, "He that is not with me is against me," and we thought that our forbearance and kindness would evoke forbearance and kindness in others. It was wrong, of course. We should love and forbear, not because it is a good policy and will make us friends, but because it is the right thing to do. But love and forbearance does not imply that we must pretend that false religions and hateful religions are equal to the faith of our Lord Jesu Christ. We will not win men to vrtue by becoming an enemy of virtue.
But the gates of hell will not prevail upon the church of Jesus Christ, for Christ rules from heaven and is above all things [Eph. 1]. Men will have greatness thrust upon them and will do valiant deeds. The West may suffer immensely because we are a wicked people, but the future does not belong to the Crescent any more than it belonged to the Hammer or Sickle or the Swastika. Immense amounts of blood will flow and the world will be cleansed by that blood and life will spring from death. There are yet American heros in our future and we will not lose this war.
Even the evil of Islam has its purpose. It involved Charles V in so many wars in the sixteenth century and he was never able to deal with Luther and the Lutherans until it was too late and the Reformation was in full flower. God makes even the wrath of men to praise Him. God also has a purpose in this present war. This preacher hopes and prays that it will be the opening of the gospel to the Islamic world in a way that has never been seen before. What joy it would be to see northern Africa, the Middle East, Persia, and Egypt once again under the domination of Christian civilization as it was before the sword of the Prophet laid it waste. Islam should give back all the land it stole in the 7th and 8th centuries. Not to Israel, but to the people of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose land it was. Fair is fair, afterall. [These last sentences were written with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek].
Mohammed is dead. Those who worship dead prophets know nothing but death. Not only does Islam not have separation of church and state, they also do not have a Risen Lord Jesus Christ. We pity them, but must not yield our families and institutions to their dark control.
They will have no rest, and no peace, until they bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ. Some temporary victories may cause Islamic children to dance in the streets as they did after 9/11 but such victories will be temporary. Julian the Apostate learned the power of Christ and exclaimed after receiving his death wound, "Galilean, Thou hast conquered!"
Do you?
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