All God, All The Time
The conversation at All Things Beautiful, caused us to reflect.
A while back, Dr Sanity wrote a post that struck us as very insightful. In Spreading Darkness To Every Corner of The Earth, she quotes Daniel Pipes, Bruce Thornton and their discussions of the relationship between terror and Islam. She then goes on to make a very powerful observation.
As incredible as it is, the notion of killing innocents in God's name, is alluded to by Muslims as a 'misinterpretation' of Islam. It is not regarded as wrong, or evil, but rather, as an idea not applicable in this instance. That is the equivalent of saying that those who allow bestiality or necrophelia is are 'misinterpreting' Christianity and Judaism, under certain circumstances.
The divide between Islam, Judaism and Christianity is the result of how we see and characterize our relationship with God.
As we have noted earlier, in The Fundamentals,
This of course, is antithetical to our beliefs, to nature even. As we have noted before,
There is another truth that needs to be reiterated. What distinguishes real believers is their reluctance to kill and their distaste for it. Irrespective of the cause, even a cause seemingly just, killing is never the goal. The cost of a military victory is understood. Eisenhower and other Allied generals visited the Death Camps and wept, and then went into the coldest rage a human can muster- unlike their German counterparts, who posed for pictures and laughed at the plight of the 30 million dead souls. The heirs to the Nazis, the Islamists have posed for pictures with the heads of those they have decapitated. Palestinians bare bloodied hands, some holding human entrails, of Israelis they have butchered. They have filmed themselves kicking a decapitated head about on a field, as if it were just another soccer field. All the while, mosques celebrate these barbarities with music and sweet pastries.
We do not kill with joy. We do not place civilians, or schoolchildren or the sick an infirm in harms way. We do not engage an enemy, hiding behind children. We develop weapons that are ever more accurate. Others develop weapons with labratory developed poisons that can be ever more widely dispersed- and they have used them.
To kill with joy and to celebrate death, is to disregard God. To commit terror and celebrate the deaths of innocents, is to dishonor God and to refute his Dominion. Those who disregard His message corrupt and debase His message. Those who find justification or apology for such acts, or blame the victim, disgrace themselves and their faith. In the assembly of believers, they accomplish nothing but to shame themselves and their communities.
We wrote in The Dark Side Of God,
This post was originally published November 30, 2005. It was republished today because many of you seem to have forgotten our wise words. If any of what we have to say offends some 'progressives,' feel free to move to Canada.
A while back, Dr Sanity wrote a post that struck us as very insightful. In Spreading Darkness To Every Corner of The Earth, she quotes Daniel Pipes, Bruce Thornton and their discussions of the relationship between terror and Islam. She then goes on to make a very powerful observation.
Traditionally -- in Christianity, at least--a "martyr" was someone persecuted and killed by others for their religion's sake. In the lives of many martyrs, their shining love for their religion was so inspiring that it might even convert those who were responsible for the martyr's death.With those words, Dr Sanity makes two important points. Firstly, in how we can use- and misuse language to put forth or obscure an idea. Secondly, she indirectly highlights the relationship between man and God, as viewed by much of the Islamic world and the Judeo-Christian culture.
But in Islam a "martyr" is a person who persecutes and kills others for their religion. Note the difference. By any rational definition, a person in this latter group is a monster. The indiscriminant slaughter of innocent lives inspires only the utmost revulsion in normal people. Converting to a religion that supports and encourages martyrs like that would be the height of insanity and self-delusion.
As incredible as it is, the notion of killing innocents in God's name, is alluded to by Muslims as a 'misinterpretation' of Islam. It is not regarded as wrong, or evil, but rather, as an idea not applicable in this instance. That is the equivalent of saying that those who allow bestiality or necrophelia is are 'misinterpreting' Christianity and Judaism, under certain circumstances.
The divide between Islam, Judaism and Christianity is the result of how we see and characterize our relationship with God.
As we have noted earlier, in The Fundamentals,
Christians (and Jews- ed) believe that the Divine Will is the purview of God. Fundamentalist Muslims believe that they can and do speak for God. As recent events in Iraq show, Muslim fundamentalists are not above slaughtering their own, even innocent women and children, in the 'name of God.' To be clear- it is as if religious fundamentalists could impose upon Job his travails. In effect, they strip God of His dominion and exert that dominion as they see fit. God is no longer God- He exists only to serve a purpose, that of validating the will of those with a certain political agenda. Christians and Jews believe that God has a purpose for us- and that purpose is not necessarily understood by man. As Muslims claim to speak for God and His intent, they usurp God of His Omnipotence.In other words, there are those who claim to be speaking for God and doing His bidding, whereas in reality, they are pursuing an agenda of evil, cloaked in religiosity. Some take it upon themselves to commit murder and acts of terror on a massive scale and claim that God receives with joy, their acts of evil and depravity, done in His name. The works of terror are celebrated by clerics and are applauded in Houses of Worship. The evil doers, those who would kill innocents without provocation are referred to as martyrs. These men of evil and their deeds are revered and are said to be worthy of emulation. There is much dancing and celebrating at death, and no regard for the implication of the act.
This of course, is antithetical to our beliefs, to nature even. As we have noted before,
The biblical tale of Abraham and Isaac is instructive. No matter how willing his servant is, God does not allow Abraham to sacrifice his son.God does not demand that we sacrifice our children. That truth speaks for itself.
God does not demand from Abraham that he obviate his role as a parent. He insists rather, that Abraham resume his natural role as a parent. God does not need Abraham's son as a sacrifice.
There is another truth that needs to be reiterated. What distinguishes real believers is their reluctance to kill and their distaste for it. Irrespective of the cause, even a cause seemingly just, killing is never the goal. The cost of a military victory is understood. Eisenhower and other Allied generals visited the Death Camps and wept, and then went into the coldest rage a human can muster- unlike their German counterparts, who posed for pictures and laughed at the plight of the 30 million dead souls. The heirs to the Nazis, the Islamists have posed for pictures with the heads of those they have decapitated. Palestinians bare bloodied hands, some holding human entrails, of Israelis they have butchered. They have filmed themselves kicking a decapitated head about on a field, as if it were just another soccer field. All the while, mosques celebrate these barbarities with music and sweet pastries.
We do not kill with joy. We do not place civilians, or schoolchildren or the sick an infirm in harms way. We do not engage an enemy, hiding behind children. We develop weapons that are ever more accurate. Others develop weapons with labratory developed poisons that can be ever more widely dispersed- and they have used them.
To kill with joy and to celebrate death, is to disregard God. To commit terror and celebrate the deaths of innocents, is to dishonor God and to refute his Dominion. Those who disregard His message corrupt and debase His message. Those who find justification or apology for such acts, or blame the victim, disgrace themselves and their faith. In the assembly of believers, they accomplish nothing but to shame themselves and their communities.
We wrote in The Dark Side Of God,
...there is one inescapable truth: God did not create man and this world, so that we might destroy each other and ourselves...Those truths are the mirror into which much of Islam refuses to look- and why much of the Muslim world has excluded itself from participation as equals.
We are to help each other, nourish each other and support each other. If we accept that our mission on this earth is not to destroy each other, then we must accept as truth that the principal part of our lives is to be spent living in peace and harmony. We are all connected, each of us. The accumulation of our contributions are what define us as a community. Those that do not contribute, exclude themselves from that community, of course- and that weakens the community in general.It is our collective mission to bring light into this world, not darkness.
This post was originally published November 30, 2005. It was republished today because many of you seem to have forgotten our wise words. If any of what we have to say offends some 'progressives,' feel free to move to Canada.
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