Still relevant: Peter Berger on American apostasy

It has been over a quarter of a century since Peter L. Berger delivered his 1987 Erasmus Lecture entitled, "Different Gospels: The Social Sources of American Apostasy." While the social, religious, and political landscape were somewhat different at the time, his observations on the not so rosy state of the American church, particularly its mainline Protestant franchises, remain astoundingly relevant today. Consider his caution against blurring the lines between the temporal and eternal realms, particularly good advice on this election day.

If we are liberated by faith, we act in the full knowledge of the precariousness and tragic unpredictability of all human projects. Most important, we act in this world not to be saved, not to attain some perfect purity or justice (which goals are not attainable), but to be of specific and necessarily limited service to others. Paul addresses himself to the Galatians on this issue when he insists that the freedom of the Christian is to be used as an opportunity for service, in love of one's neighbor (Gal. 5:13-14). Let me put this in terms as worldly as I can find: we get no moral brownie points for good intentions or noble goals. The moral measure of actions is their probable consequences for others. This is especially so in the case of political actions, because this is a category of actions with particularly unpredictable and potentially disastrous consequences. Precisely because of this, we are most likely to be effective politically (effective, that is, in being of service to our neighbors) if we ground ourselves in a realm beyond politics, thus becoming free to deal with political reality soberly and pragmatically. We cannot do this if we look on politics as the realm of redemption.

Elsewhere, he relates a personal story to illustrate how churches which immerse themselves in political agendas lose sight of the things that matter most.

Some time ago a friend of mine went through a very difficult period when it was suspected that he might be suffering from cancer. It turned out later that this was not the case, but during this anxiety-ridden period neither he nor his family was given any attention by the clergy or the active members of his congregation. This is a congregation famous for its social and political activism. No one was interested in what, compared with the allegedly great historic challenges or our age, was the trivial matter of one man's fear of pain and death. The people of this congregation had more important things to do--attacking the "root causes" of hunger by lobbying in Washington, organizing to "show solidarity" with Nicaragua, going on record ("making a moral stand") against apartheid. My friend says that during this time he felt like an invisible man in that congregation. Needless to say, this is a congregation that religiously employs "inclusive language." (Again, I can hear some mutterings: Can one not lobby in Washington and also minister to the sick? Perhaps. In this case, the first activity precluded the second. And one may reflect that it is easier to love people in distant lands than people next door.)

So, if you happen to be a "traditionalist" Unitarian . . .

. . . you'd better watch out. The progressives have a new favorite cause.

The joke about Unitarians is that they’re where you go when you don’t know where to go. Theirs is the religion of last resort for the intermarried, the ambivalent, the folks who want a faith community without too many rules. It is perhaps no surprise that the Unitarian Universalist Association is one of the fastest-growing denominations in the country, ballooning 15 percent over the past decade, when other established churches were shrinking. Politically progressive to its core, it draws from the pool of people who might otherwise be “nones” – unaffiliated with any church at all.

But within the ranks of the UUA over the past few years, there has been some quiet unrest concerning a small but activist group that vociferously supports polyamory. That is to say “the practice of loving and relating intimately to more than one other person at a time,” according to a mission statement by Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness (UUPA). The UUPA “encourages spiritual wholeness regarding polyamory,” including the right of polyamorous people to have their unions blessed by a minister.

Not to worry, though. There are still a few courageous souls who can be counted on to hold the line.

Over coffee last week, a friend of mine who is studying to become a Unitarian minister wondered aloud how she would feel if folks in a future congregation asked her to perform a polyamorous commitment ceremony. She is a traditionalist; she’s glad, she says, that the issue hasn’t come up.

It really makes you long for the good ol' days of Edmund Sears, doesn't it?

Ragsdale: Counterfeit Christianity or authentic paganism?

Catholic lawyer and deacon Keith Fournier takes Katharine Ragsdale to task for her aggressive propagation of a "counterfeit Ideology claiming to be Christian."

In her testimony before Congress on Thursday she boasted of taking a 15 year old girl whom she had never met before for an abortion. She cited her vows as an Episcopal priest as authority for the act. She pledged that she would openly break such a law in the future if it was enacted.

She further attempted to clothe such a brazen act as noble and courageous. This woman regularly reminds me of these words from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah "Ah! Those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness to light, and light into darkness, who change bitter to sweet, and sweet into bitter." (Is. 5:20)

Last year she gave an address at a fundraiser for the "Jane Fund" of Central Massachusetts which proclaims on its web site, "CHOICE should not be limited to WOMEN who have MONEY... Our mission is to help women who cannot afford abortion services." This group offers her entire speech online for those who want a fuller example of her horrid rhetoric. It is an example of evil masquerading as good, espoused by one who claims to be a Christian and a member of the Clergy.

Here are some examples, "When a woman gets pregnant against her will and wants an abortion -- it's the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing. When a woman might want to bear and raise a child but fears she can't afford to because she doesn't have access to healthcare or daycare or enough income to provide a home -- it's the lack of justice that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing. ."

"And, here's one that really gets me in trouble, when a woman simply gets pregnant unintentionally and decides this is not a good time for her to bear and care for a child -- there is no tragedy. The ability to enjoy healthy sexuality without risking a pregnancy that could derail her education or career, the development or exercise of the gifts God has given her, is a blessing."

In her speech at the Jane Fund fundraiser she signaled where she is leading the opponents of the fundamental Human Right to Life in her final charge: "Our words matter. Our strategies matter -- not only in their short-term efficacy but in their long term consequences. We have to play hard and play smart. We need to think farther down the road than the next bill in front of us.

"We must create a climate where abortion is not only a legal, safe, accessible, affordable option for every woman but where she can take advantage of that option without risking socially imposed guilt.It's time to be angry -- be fed up -- to refuse to be nice. To eschew conciliation."

I would disagree, slightly, with Fournier's characterization of Ragsdale's ideology as "counterfeit" Christianity. The Prosperity Gospel of Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, et al. is a counterfeit form of Christianity which leads astray the weak-minded masses desperate to hear their life is somehow worth something. At least, those pretenders put up a good front about the value of human life. What Ragsdale promotes is not a counterfeit form of Christianity but an authentic form of pagansim akin to the ancient cult of Molech, the abominable god of the Ammonites who demanded the sacrifice of children by fire.

The Old Testament rightly condemned wayward Israelites who defiled themselves by engaging in the unspeakably evil practices of the surrounding nations. The present-day teachings and practices of Katharine Ragsdale are equally abominable and equally worthy of unequivocal condemnation.

When a collar becomes a millstone

This article from Anglican Ink requires little explanation for those familiar with the track record of Katharine Hancock Ragsdale. It is, nevertheless, a chilling reminder of how deeply the culture of death has become embedded in mainline American Protestantism. The sectarian fringe represented by Ms. Ragsdale can no longer be considered -- in any way, shape, or form -- a valid expression of the Christian faith.

The ordination vows of the Episcopal Church provide a moral mandate for helping minors procure abortions, the dean of the Episcopal Divinity School told Congress last week.

Appearing as a witness called by the Democrat members of the U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, Dr. Katharine Hancock Ragsdale shared an account of her having taking a 15 year old girl to an abortionist without informing the girl’s parent’s.

Her remarks came as Congress debated the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (H.R. 2299). The proposed bill would criminalize attempts to “circumvent parental consent laws in a state by, without the parents’ knowledge, taking a minor girl across state lines for an abortion.”

While “New Hampshire was closer to that girl’s home than Boston, as it happened, I did not take her across state lines,” Dr. Ragsdale said, adding “Nor did I, to my knowledge, break any laws.”

But “if either of those things had been necessary in order to help her, I would have done them,” she said.

“If helping young women like her should be made illegal I will, nonetheless, continue to do it,” Dr. Ragsdale said, citing the promises made at her ordination as leaving her “no choice” but to break the law to help young girls procure abortions.

The vocal activist for gay rights and abortion views have elicited criticism. In a 2007 speech given in Birmingham, Ala., Dr. Ragsdale stated that abortion was a “blessing” for women.

Among the most imperative of the church's biblical and historical mandates is to care for "the least of these" with a particular concern for "widows and orphans," that is, the most vulnerable of women and children who are so often neglected by the wider society. What does it say when women like Katharine Ragsdale are given positions of authority in the church and proceed to treat children with such disregard and hold the weakest and most innocent among them, the unborn, in utter contempt?

Jesus said, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:5-6).

May God have mercy on Katharine Ragsdale. Her clerical collar has become a millstone.

Christians pray, Muslims panic

If Islam is such a great and powerful religion, its followers should not be concerned in the least about something as benign as a bunch of Christians getting together for a prayer meeting. In Detroit, however, Muslims are in full panic mode over just such a thing. Folks, you can't make this stuff up.

Detroit, which has one of the largest Muslim communities outside the Middle East, is reportedly bracing itself for a 24-hour prayer rally by a group that considers Islam among the ills facing the United States.

The gathering at Ford Field starts Friday and hopes to tackle issues such as the economy, race, same-sex marriage and abortion. But the decade-old organization known as the TheCall has characterized Detroit as a "microcosm of our national crisis" in all areas, including the "rising tide of the Islamic movement," MyFoxDetroit.com reports.

Leaders of TheCall believe a satanic spirit is shaping all parts of U.S. society, and it must be challenged through intensive Christian prayer and fasting. Such a demonic spirit has taken hold of specific areas, Detroit among them, organizers say. In the months ahead of their rallies, teams of local organizers often travel their communities performing a ritual called "divorcing Baal," the name of a demon spirit, to drive out the devil from each location.

"Our concern is that we are literally being demonized by the organizers of this group," said Dawud Walid, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter, which last week urged local mosques and Islamic schools to increase security. "And given the recent history of other groups that have come into Michigan ... we're concerned about this prayer vigil stoking up the flames of divisiveness in the community."

Earth to the Muslim community in Detroit and elsewhere: It is followers of your religion who have engaged in such "divisive" practices as strapping bombs to themselves, flying planes into high rise buildings, and going on shooting sprees while shouting, "Allahu Akhbar!" If the mere mention of Christians gathering for prayer causes you to increase security at your schools and mosques, then you have exposed how weak and frail a "faith" Islam really is.

Reuters and divine inspiration

GetReligion's Mollie Ziegler Hemingway ponders the media's use of titles and honorifics for religious leaders, noting a concern recently expressed by a reader regarding Reuters' use of the term "the Prophet Mohammad."

I’ve just noticed recently that Reuters is following in the footsteps of AP and AFP in designating the Islamic prophet Mohammad as “The Prophet Mohammad”. I as a Christian don’t consider him my prophet, and neither do, I’m sure, Jews, atheists, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.

Why then have all the mainstream news outlets decided to treat us all as if we are Muslims? Rightly, he should be described as “the Islamic prophet Muhammad” rather than “The Prophet Muhammad”.

The response by Religion Editor Tom Heneghan is pretty much what any careful reader of religious news copy would expect.

In the religious sphere, we use official titles and honorifics that are common in the faith concerned and widely understood across religious boundaries. We refer to Jesus Christ, even though non-Christians would dispute his honorific “the Annointed One.” The same goes for Buddha, a title (“the Enlightened One”) for Siddhartha Gautama that non-Buddhists could also contest.

The explanation sounds reasonable on the surface. But drawing an equivalency between the titles and honorifics used by various religions for their particular leaders is a somewhat perilous task. Absolute consistency would oblige Mr. Heneghan and his reporters to refer to the leader of the Christian faith as "the Lord Jesus Christ." But, of course, such a lofty title can only be conferred upon Jesus by persons writing or speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

More evidence that the U.N. is one big international joke and climate change is a hoax masquerading as a fraud disguised as a scam

H/T to Wesley J. Smith at Secondhand Smoke for this choice tidbit from the Washington Post:

Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, invoked the ancient jaguar goddess Ixchel in her opening statement to delegates gathered in Cancun, Mexico, noting that Ixchel was not only goddess of the moon, but also “the goddess of reason, creativity and weaving. May she inspire you — because today, you are gathered in Cancun to weave together the elements of a solid response to climate change, using both reason and creativity as your tools.”…

“Excellencies, the goddess Ixchel would probably tell you that a tapestry is the result of the skilful interlacing of many threads,” said Figueres, who hails from Costa Rica and started her greetings in Spanish before switching to English. “I am convinced that 20 years from now, we will admire the policy tapestry that you have woven together and think back fondly to Cancun and the inspiration of Ixchel.”

Commentary would be superfluous.

The case against the Ground Zero mosque

The sacred ground of Ground Zero is no place for Muslim house of worship.

NAPLES (Catholic Online) – Muslims have it over secularists, but not Christians – at least the clear thinking ones anyway. The Muslim proposal to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero is not only an affront to all people who died there, but another chapter in a cultural jihad that seeks to replace the cultural traditions of Christendom with Sharia, the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed.

First the caveats. Yes, most Muslims are not jihadists; they may see the non-Muslim as an infidel but won’t resort to violence to defeat him . Yes, Muslim believers pose no threat to American cultural norms and legal structures as long as their numbers remain small. Yes, every Muslim citizen should be afforded the rights due to all Americans regardless of their religion.

The $100 million mosque however, represents more than religious freedom. Named the “Cordoba House,” it is meant to recall the great Cordoba Mosque built in Cordoba, Spain in 784 after the Muslim conquest (and etch it forever in the West’s historical memory). The Cordoba House in New York (which assuredly will function as a mosque) is meant to broadcast to the world that the destruction of the Twin Towers was a victory for jihad.

It’s a perverse twist to a practice that Christians hold dear: Some ground is sacred and must reference God to make sense of the events that took place on it.

Sacred ground is more easily understood by European Christians than their American counterparts (the relative youth of America may have something to do with this). Some events are so catastrophic, or prove to be so historically significant, that they transcend the categories we normally employ to explain them. These events must reference something higher to make sense to us; they must appeal to something outside of ourselves that can explain paradox or recognize great moral courage or even reconcile inhuman suffering.

America has places of holy ground, even though most Americans, while drawn to those places and often deeply moved by their visits to them, don’t always grasp that the sacred character of those places is what moves them. Appomattox, where the American Civil War ended with Lee’s surrender to Grant, is one such place. The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor comes to mind. Ellis Island is another. There are surely more.

The secularists don’t see it that way of course. But their blindness (which must inevitably default to perceiving these question only in legal categories) is the result of an a priori rejection of the sacred dimension of life.

You can think of secularism as merely a long layover from one city to the next, although this trip takes a few centuries instead of hours. Secularism is not strong or deep enough to sustain a culture. It can’t and won’t hold. Secularism lives off the religious heritage of Christianity (and Judaism before it), and if Christendom ceases to be Christian the secularist will end up embracing Islam .

The Muslims understand this. Some Christians do too. That is why building a mosque represents not, as some Americans think, an example of American tolerance towards “religious belief,” but the continuing desacralizing of American culture under the rubric of tolerance.

If the mosque is built, we will see the slow but certain drift to referencing 9-11 to the god of Mohammed rather than the God of Abraham. And if we drift far enough, religious freedom will die and so will the political and cultural freedoms that are its progeny.

The "Religion of Peace" strikes again, Part MCMXXLVXVXVIX

FAISALABAD, Pakistan, July 19 (CDN) — Today suspected Islamic extremists outside a courthouse here shot dead two Christians accused of “blaspheming” Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.

The gunmen shot the Rev. Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and his 30-year-old brother Sajid Emmanuel, days after handwriting experts on Wednesday (July 14) notified police that signatures on papers denigrating Muhammad did not match those of the accused. Expected to be exonerated soon, the two leaders of United Ministries Pakistan were being led in handcuffs back to jail under police custody when they were shot at 2:17 p.m., Christians present said.

Rizwan Paul, president of advocacy group Life for All, said five armed, masked men opened fire on the two Christians amid crowds outside Faisalabad District and Sessions Court.

“Five armed, masked men attacked and opened fire on the two accused,” Paul said. “Sajid died on the spot,” while Rashid Emmanuel died later.

Rai Naveed Zafar Bhatti of the Christian Lawyers’ Foundation (CLF) and Atif Jamil Pagaan, coordinator of Harmony Foundation, said an unknown assailant shot Sajid Emmanuel in the heart, killing him instantly, and also shot Rashid Emmanuel in the chest. Pagaan said Sub-Inspector Zafar Hussein was also shot trying to protect the suspects and was in critical condition at Allied Hospital in Faisalabad.

CLF President Khalid Gill said the bodies of the two Christians bore cuts and other signs of having been tortured, including marks on their faces, while the brothers were in police custody.

As news of the murders reached the slain brothers’ neighborhood of Dawood Nagar, Waris Pura, Faisalabad, Christians came out of their homes to vent their anger, Pagaan said. Police fired teargas cannons at Christian protestors, who in turn threw stones.

“The situation is very tense,” Gill said. “Police have arrested eight people for damaging property and burning tires.”

Paul of Life for All said tensions remained high.

“The situation in Faisalabad has deteriorated,” Paul said. “Indiscriminate shootings between Christians and Muslims have ensued. The situation has become very volatile, and local police have initiated a curfew.”

The courthouse shooters escaped, and Punjab’s inspector general has reportedly suspended the superintendent of police and his deputy superintendent for their failure to provide security to the slain brothers.

Lynch Mob Mentality
The report by handwriting experts to Civil Lines police station in Faisalabad presented a major setback to the case filed against Emmanuel and his younger brother under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s widely condemned blasphemy laws.

Muslims staged large demonstrations in the past week calling for the death penalty for the brothers, who were arrested when Rashid Emmanuel agreed to meet a mysterious caller at a train station but was instead surrounded by police carrying photocopied papers that denigrated Muhammad – supposedly signed by the pastor and his brother and bearing their telephone numbers.

The Muslim who allegedly placed the anonymous call to the pastor, Muhammad Khurram Shehzad, was the same man who filed blasphemy charges against Emmanuel and his brother and was already present at the Civil Lines police station when the pastor and an unnamed Christian arrived in handcuffs, said Pagaan of Harmony Foundation. Civil Lines police station is located in Dawood Nagar, Waris Pura, in Faisalabad.

Pagaan said that on July 1 Rashid Emmanuel received an anonymous phone call from a man requesting to see him, but the pastor declined as he was due to lead a prayer service in Railways Colony, Faisalabad. After the service, Emmanuel received a call at about 8 p.m. from the same man, who this time described himself as a respectable school teacher.

Pagaan said that Emmanuel agreed to meet him at the train station, accompanied by the unnamed Christian. As they reached the station, Civil Lines police surrounded them, showed them photocopies of a three-page document and arrested them for blaspheming Muhammad.

Sources told Compass that police released the young, unnamed Christian after a couple hours, and on July 4 officers arrested Emmanuel’s younger brother, a graduate student of business.

On July 10 and 11 hundreds of enraged Muslims paraded to the predominantly Christian colony of Dawood Nagar calling for the immediate death of the two Christian brothers. Some chanted, “Hang the blasphemers to death immediately,” sources said, adding that the mob hurled obscenities at Christ, Christians and Christianity.

Islamic extremists led the protests, and most participants were teenagers who pelted the main gate of the Waris Pura Catholic Church with stones, bricks and shards of glass and pounded the gate with bamboo clubs.

Some 500 protestors gathered on July 10, while on July 11 more than 1,600 demonstrated, according to Joseph Francis, head of Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement. Fearful Christians locked their homes, while others fled the area, as the demonstrators had threatened a repeat of the violence wreaked on Korian and Gojra towns in July and August 2009.

Nazim Gill, a resident of Waris Pura, told Compass that Muslims burned tires and chanted slogans against Christians last week, and that on Friday (July 16) announcements blared from mosque loudspeakers calling on Muslims “burn the houses of Christians.”

Khalid Gill contacted authorities to request help, and police forbid anyone to do any damage.

Saying “continuous gunshots have been heard for the past five hours now,” Kashif Mazhar of Life for All today said that Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif had ordered the provincial inspector general to restore law and order and arrest the murderers of the Christian brothers.

Other Victims
Khurram Shehzad had filed the blasphemy case on July 1 under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which are commonly abused to settle personal scores.

Section 295-C states that “whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) shall be punishable with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall be liable to fine.”

Section 295-A of the blasphemy laws prohibits injuring or defiling places of worship and “acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens.” Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or a use of its extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.

Khalid Gill said Khurram Shehzad, a merchant of Rail Bazar, Faisalabad, filed the charge after his servant told him that the two Christians had put up blasphemous posters at a truck station.

The Emmanuel brothers had been running United Ministries Pakistan for the last two years in Dawood Nagar, area Christians said.

The last known Christian to die as a result of a false blasphemy charge was Robert Danish on Sept. 15, 2009. The 22-year-old Christian was allegedly tortured to death while in custody in Sialkot on a charge of blaspheming the Quran. Local authorities claimed he committed suicide.

Area Christians suspect police killed Danish, nicknamed “Fanish” or “Falish” by friends, by torturing him to death after the mother of his Muslim girlfriend contrived a charge against him of desecrating Islam’s scripture. The allegation led to calls from mosque loudspeakers to punish Christians, prompting an Islamic mob to attack a church building in Jathikai village on Sept. 11 and the beating of several of the 30 families forced to flee their homes. Jathikai was Danish’s native village.

Three prison officials were reportedly suspended after Danish died in custody.

In other recent blasphemy cases, on July 5 a Christian family from Model Town, Lahore, fled their home after Yousaf Masih, his wife Bashrian Bibi and their son-in-law Zahid Masih were accused of blaspheming the Quran. Some 2,000 Muslims protested and tried to burn their house, Christian sources aid.

Police have filed a case against them due to pressure from Muslim mobs, but local sources say the allegations grew out of personal enmity.

Faisalabad was the site of the suicidal protest of Bishop John Joseph. The late Roman Catholic bishop of Faisalabad took his own life in May 6, 1998 to protest the injustice of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

England may be "enemy territory" for Benedict

Recall, a few months back, the infantile publicity stunt by atheists, calling for the arrest of Pope Benedict upon his arrival in England.

The campaign, led by atheists Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, claims the Pope has committed crimes against humanity. UK human rights lawyers are preparing a brief against Benedict, claiming he has covered up sex abuse in the Catholic Church, ANSA reports.

Atheist polemicist Christopher Hitchens has argued that the Vatican is not a legal state and Pope Benedict cannot claim diplomatic immunity.

For his part, Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and leading atheist, said he hoped to raise public consciousness “to the point where the British government will find it very awkward indeed to go ahead with the Pope's visit.”

Well, not to be outdone, leaders of the British chapter of the "Religion of Peace" are urging their followers to stir up trouble for the Pontiff when he leads an open air mass in Birmingham. Matthew Archbold reports:

I’ve been saying recently that Pope Benedict XVI is heading into enemy territory in “Post-Christian” England. Sadly, I may be more right than I imagined.

A member of British Parliament says he fears violence at an open air mass with Pope Benedict XVI after an Islamic publication called Muslims to attend the Mass to convert Catholics and “tell the Pope in no uncertain terms what Muslims think of his evil slanders against the last Prophet of God and his message.”

I think it’s the “in no uncertain terms” that’s making some a little nervous. Oh, the same publication also called the Pope “evil.”

The Islamic Standard writes:

“A change of venue gives Birmingham Muslims a chance to tell the Pope just what they think of him after his insults against the Prophet Muhammad… As well as this chance to challenge these evil words of this evil Pope, over 80,000 Catholics from all over the UK are also expected to attend the open air ceremony….We hope Muslims can be there to meet him as well and to also call people away from the shirk of worshipping the dead like the Catholics do, calling out to them for help and intercession…The Birmingham event however brings the pope and who worship him into direct contact with the the large Muslim population of Birmingham and offers them the perfect chance to learn about Islam and for the Muslims to forbid the Munkar of worshipping dead men and following the dictates of the sodomite child molesting Church of Rome…

We at the Islamic Standard hope the Muslims of Birmingham take this duel [sic] opportunity to give Da’wah to these 80,000 travelling disbelievers, whilst at the same time telling the Pope in no uncertain terms what Muslims think of his evil slanders against the last Prophet of God and his message.

MP Khalid Mahmood fears that this call may be an incitement to violence. He‘s quoted in British newspapers saying: “These supposed Muslims are doing all they can to incite violence. Sadly, if Muslims do turn up and preach at Catholics it could easily turn to violence…The police should look at the comments on this site because they can only serve to increase tensions and perhaps even cause riots on the day.”

This news is especially worrisome in that, according to YNET news,: eight residents of the northern city of Nazareth were arrested on weapons charges and discussing murdering Jews, soldiers, and the Pope.

Let’s hope and pray that all turns out well for Pope Benedict XVI in England.

Anyone else starting to think that “Post-Christian Europe” might actually mean “Anti-Christan Europe?”

I can think of no more appropriate statement than that made thousands of years ago by a true prophet, Isaiah: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5.20).

The "Religion of Peace" strikes again, Part MCMXXLVXVXVII

From The Times of India:

DUBAI: An English-language Al-Qaida magazine in its first issue ran an article it said was penned by US-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki calling for the execution of anyone who defames the Prophet Mohammed.

"The proper solution to this growing campaign of defamation" of the prophet is "the execution of those involved," reads the article in web magazine "Inspire," in a text provided by the US monitoring service SITE on Sunday.

The article singles out Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris, who satirically proposed to make May 20 an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," although Islam bans the depiction of any prophet as blasphemous.

"A cartoonist out of Seattle, Washington, named Molly Norris started the 'Everyone Draw Mohammed Day,'" the article attributed to the radical Yemeni cleric says.

"She should be taken as a prime target of assassination, along with others who participated in her campaign."

"The large number of participants makes it easier for us because there are many targets to choose from," reads the article in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's magazine.

The killings should not, however, be limited to "Draw Mohammed" participants, the article says.

"Because (participants) are practising a 'right' that is defended by the law, they have the backing of the entire Western political system. This would make ... attacking any Western target legal from an Islamic viewpoint."

Awlaki, now based in Yemen, rose to prominence last year after it emerged he had communicated by email with Major Nidal Hasan, a US army psychiatrist accused of opening fire on colleagues at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13.

The imam has also been linked to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound flight with explosives in his underwear on December 25.

A US official said in April that President Barack Obama's administration had authorised the targeted killing of Awlaki, after American intelligence agencies concluded the cleric was directly involved in anti-US plots.

Okay, let's go over this one more time . . .


What would Jesus do?

What would Muhammad do?

Any questions?

Reminder: This is a Kathy-free zone

Word on the street is that the cross-dressing High Priestess of the Church of What's Happening Now has written a "pastoral letter" to her ever diminishing flock. Well, isn't that special? In keeping with long-standing editorial policy, it will not be posted here.

Statement on the consecration of Mary Glasspool

Y A W W W W W W W N !

The "Religion of Peace" strikes again, Part MCMXXLVXVIX

Gateway Pundit via The Washington Post . . .

The home of a Swedish artist who once drew a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad as a dog has been hit by a suspected arson attack, police said Saturday.

Lars Vilks, who lives in Nyhamnslage in southern Sweden, was not at home during the attack late Friday night and no one was reported injured.

It was the latest in a week of attacks on the 53-year-old cartoonist, who was assaulted Tuesday by a man while he lectured at a university and saw his Web site apparently attacked by hacker on Wednesday.

Police were alerted just before noon Saturday, as people passing by the artist’s house noted that several windows had been smashed. When officers arrived, they discovered plastic bottles filled with gasoline and fire damage on the surface of the building. Attackers are also suspected of having tried setting the inside of house on fire, but the flames are thought to have fizzled out.

Police have no suspects in the case, police Spokeswoman Sofie Osterheim said.

It goes without saying, but I will say it again. . .

What would Jesus do?

What would Muhammad do?

Is there anyone who still doesn't understand the difference?

The Sunday Comics: Pat Robertson, eat your heart out

Pat Robertson, who needs no introduction, caused a bit of a stir after the recent Haiti earthquake when he drug out an old urban legend about that country's founders and a "pact with the devil." Well, move over Pat! This Iranian cleric has just bested you when it comes to theories about the cause of earthquakes.

Tehran, Apr 17: An Iranian cleric has proclaimed that inappropriately [dressed] women leading to extramarital affairs are the resons behind the devastating earthquakes that frequently rattle the country.

Speaking to [worshippers] at the Friday prayers here on Apr 16, senior cleric Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi said, "Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes."

"Calamities are the result of people's deeds...We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers," the [religious] leader is quoted as saying in newspaper reports.

The Islamic laws prescribe a strict dress code for women. Females are expected to cover hair and bodily contours in public or face punishment and fine.

However, the cleric was probably referring to the women who appear on the streets with well-fitted clothes and layers of make-up as the evil forces behind the natural calamities.

Were it not for the last link in this cleric's chain, his comments would actually make a lot of sense. Women dress inappropriately (although "inappropriately" is defined much more strictly in Islamic countries), youths go astray, lose their chastity, and the result is extramarital sex. Few would dispute this. It is the natural course of fallen race in a fallen world. But as for rampant extramarital sex being the cause of earthquakes, well, that's a bit of a stretch.

FYI: This is not a controversial statement

Where, exactly, is the controversy in Brit Hume's advice to Tiger Woods?

It is a matter of fact, not opinion, that Buddhism does not offer the kind of forgiveness and redemption which Christianity offers. Forgiveness and redemption are not the aim of Buddhism because Buddhism has no concept of sin. To make this statement controversial is to be willfully ignorant of the distinctions between Christianity and Buddhism.

Some will argue, of course, that the controversy is not in the comparison of the two religions, but in Hume's suggestion that Woods leave one faith for another. But history bears witness, time and time again, of genuine transformation in the lives of countless persons--celebrities or otherwise--who have turned from the false promises of false religions and embraced the Truth embodied in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Tim Fountain suggests some possible reasons for the predictable outcry of the secularists.

Perhaps because a sudden outbreak of spiritual healing and moral decency among high profile people would wipe out the lucrative reality TV industry.

Perhaps because the decline of narcissism would would destroy the melodrama that medicates meaningless lives.

This is Getting to Be a Bit Disconcerting

Over the summer, Obama accused health care "reform" opponents of violating the ninth commandment. Well, what will he have to say to supporters who are violating the first commandment?

Warning: Oprah Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

As if Oprah Winfrey didn't have enough problems with her scandal-plagued school in South Africa and a fan backlash for her support of Barack Obama, now comes a report out of Australia that the feel-good, do-it-yourself "spirituality" she champions is not exactly the healthiest of lifestyle choices.

The first study examining young adults' religious and spiritual thoughts, behavior and feelings in Australia has found those replacing traditional religious beliefs with trendy, self-focused religions and spirituality are not the happier for their attempts at self-transformation.

Rosemary Aird conducted surveys of 3,705 21-year-olds in Brisbane as part of her Ph.D. studies at the University of Queensland's School of Population Health.

"I had a look at two different beliefs – one was a belief in God, associated with traditional religions, and the other was the newer belief in a spiritual or higher power other than God," Aird told the Brisbane Times.

Her research found the newer non-traditional beliefs linked to higher rates of "anxiety, depression, disturbed and suspicious ways of thinking and anti-social behavior" – results, she suggested, arising from New Age beliefs focused on self-transformation, self-fulfillment and self-enlightenment to the exclusion of community.

"Traditional religion tends to promote the idea of social responsibility and thinking of others' interests, whereas the New Age movement pushes the idea that we can transform the world by changing ourselves.

"The downside is that people are very much on their own and not part of a community, which may lead to a kind of isolation," she said.

Aird, a 51-year-old agnostic, said individualism was the common thread in the shift away from traditional religious thoughts to non-religious spirituality.

My only question is, why did it take a doctoral level research project to reveal something so obvious?