Pro-aborts aren’t the only ones waging a “war on children”
by Carder
When Saint Pope John Paul II and his successor Francis speak relentlessly of a “culture of life,” many only hear the issue of abortion. But we are seeing through the barbarity of ISIS that a culture of life means much more. It is a linear promise that extends from arguments for life in the United States to moral barriers to the ISIS barbarity.
Some say that the actions of ISIS are in literal accord with the teachings of Islam. Others, including the last two presidents, aggressively disagree. I am no Islamic scholar, but if the teachings of Islam can support the barbarity against the innocent by ISIS in the slightest way, the world is in for a wicked future.
~ J. Christian Adams, PJ Media, February 4
[HT: American Thinker]
Feb.06, 2015 6:00 am |
Apologetics |
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
While I am no “scholar” I have taken a course on world religions including an intensive study of Islam. I can assure that the actions of ISIS are cultural, not religious.
Many of the core teachings of Islam are identical to those of Christianity and Judiasm- the same Commandments and belief in the sanctity of life.
There are of course, the passages about how it’s alright to stone women in cases or keep slaves- but Judiasm and Christianity inarguably have these outdated passages as well.
In truth, Islam is a religion based around love. Passages of the Qu’ran confirm that women should be able to own land and vote- rights women in pretty much every culture lacked and would still lack for centuries. In order to be a Muslim, one of the five ruled is to donate 2.5% of your income- if and only if you can afford it- not to the church but to charity. And there is not one mention of women being required to wear a burqa.
Culturally, the Middle East is a culture of destruction. Women have pretty much no rights, they are forced to wear occasionally dangerous uniforms in the name of religion, even though their religion has no mention of it. Countries are co trolled by terrorists, people are being tortured and killed.
ISIS is not doing this because of their beliefs in Islam. Islam is a crux for them- a way to connect to the people they are controlling, a way to explain their oppression to minimize rebellion, a way to manipulate children into growing into bombers.
Remember, if a terrorist organization overtook a Christian country, they could keep people as slaves, stone or burn women over trivial things, have women considered property of their fathers, outlaw divorce and premarital sex, in the name of God. They would have textual evidence to support this. It doesn’t mean Christianity is not a loving religion.
I won’t speak of the religion of Islam, the matter of which I have not studied. However, we know the history of Islamic warfare well enough: Since the time of the Prophet, military conquest is central to their cultural identity. To live on the border of Islam meant constant warfare until one’s homeland was conquered and assimilated.
At a few instances in history, a thousand years ago, Christendom pushed back into formerly Christian lands. Those were the Crusades, which are vilified by the post-modern rhetoric as proof that Christianity is the source of all violence in the world.
The habit of warfare, combined with a legal theology that assigns a lower dignity to non-Muslims, has led some militant Islamic groups to commit atrocities and crimes against humanity.
The Culture of Death is a thing we can speak of more intimately, because we are living in it. The Culture of Death believes that killing is a suitable solution to just about any sort of problem. Thus we have barbaric practices of abortion and euthanasia returning to the modern era. Contraception is celebrated as a way to prevent life. Environmentalists urge for a dramatic reduction in the human population.
A Culture of Life affirms the dignity of every human person. The Culture of life recognizes that the healthy and able persons have a duty to care for the weak and innocent persons among us. We owe a special duty of care to the sick, the elderly, the physically and mentally handicapped, children in the womb, and their mothers. Killing is not an option.
We also have a duty to protect the innocent from persecution — even in other lands. Our duty as human persons knows no national borders. This is the Culture of Life.
Megan, I too have taken courses, and the Quran and their accepted traditions contradict what your course instructor told you. Yes, Islam has the five pillars, including charity. Islam was actually a great advance for the people of Arabia, because it did away with their lex talionis, giving them a legal code to make them less like Sicily, e.g. you killed my brother, I’m killing your cousin, you killed my cousin, I’m killing your uncle, etc. But there is a reason it is called the Islamic State in Syria. Their culture is their religion, those are not separate things. As Del points out, there was a reason the rag-tag bands of Arabian nomads became formidable warriors, toppling the last vestige of the Roman Empire.
It most certainly is NOT a “Religion of peace” !
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/AboutSite.htm
http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/04/still-think-islam-is-a-religion-of-peace-you-wont-after-seeing-this/
As Del points out, there was a reason the rag-tag bands of Arabian nomads became formidable warriors, toppling the last vestige of the Roman Empire.
If you think the Ottoman Empire was a rag-tag band of Arabian nomads, the courses you mention above probably weren’t history courses.
Having been to the Middle East and having taught collegiate geography in the US, I struggle with attempts to define all of Islam ie Islam is peaceful, or Islam is warlike. The Qur’an means different things to many different Muslims, and many Muslims are peaceful and many Muslims are not.
I have worked with Turkish military officers who see the benefits of Islam’s Core Pillars but themselves struggle with the words of the Qur’an, ie killing Jews, enslaving women, etc. I asked one officer, “Is there any place for a reformation of Islam?” He shook his head sadly and said “Islam is the cultural way of life, not just the religion, in too many tribal settings in the Arab world; and authority outside of the tribal setting is meaningless.”
“and many Muslims are peaceful and many Muslims are not.”
Then the peaceful Muslims should be talking with the not-so-peaceful Muslims.
“Then the peaceful Muslims should be talking with the not-so-peaceful Muslims”
Agreed.
The Culture of Death believes that killing is a suitable solution to just about any sort of problem – well Del, I know it’s fairly obvious that people of the ilk of Rick Perry are amongst the more open members of this “Culture of Death” cult, but I don’t get the impression that they think that killing is a solution to ‘just about any’ sort of problem. Just a few perhaps.
The peaceful muslims are as much in fear of the extremists/terrorists as anyone, maybe more.
Its the Muslim king of Jordan who is showing real courage and leadership in the battle against ISIS while Western leaders, including our p-willy president, do little more than wring their hands…and play golf.
Megan, I disagree with your assessment. ISIS is looking to Mohammad as its role model as the ideal Muslim. Anyone who has studied Islam should know that Mohammad made war on everyone who didn’t embrace him as a prophet, and his followers and successors were constantly warring with those who didn’t adopt Islam—hence the reason for his, and consequently Islam’s, often violent hatred of Jews and Christians. He was angry about being rejected. He had thought that Jews and Christians would see him as a prophet, and when they didn’t. . . .off with their heads! Mohammad executed hundreds of Jews by beheading and took their women and children as slaves. He himself took women as personal sex slaves. When ISIS systematically beheads people, they are emulating their most revered religious leader. When Boko Haram kidnaps girls and forcibly “marries” them to Muslim men, they are doing exactly what Mohammad himself did to women he captured.
You’ve heard some Christians say “What would Jesus do?” Well, ISIS asks themselves “What would Mohammad do?” Whereas Jesus heals, Mohammad maimed. Jesus raised people from the dead, Mohammad killed people. Mohammad enslaved, Jesus never enslaved anyone. Mohammad made captive women his sex slaves, Jesus never did such a thing. To faithfully follow Jesus’ example is a profoundly different thing than to faithfully follow Mohammad’s.
Additionally, I don’t know how much you know about Muslim theological practice, but much of the feel-good Koran passages people try use to prove that Islam is peaceful are no longer valid according to the Islamic principle of abrogation. This means that earlier ‘revelations’ (where most of the ‘friendly’ sounding “People of the Book” passages reside), have been abrogated, or superseded, by the later ‘revelations’. In other words, abrogation makes the later, more violent Suras of the Koran of supreme importance. Because Mohammad at first was trying to woo Christians and Jews to his cause, the earliest Suras are friendly, the later Suras are hostile because by then he knew he was not going to get the recognition he craved and he instead wanted to wipe out all opposition.
Chris,
Culture and religion is separate. There is a difference, one is a belief system, the other a way of life. In the Middle East, culture is allegedly based off of Islam, but in many cases it isn’t. As I said, it is a defence. Examples:
– It is a culture against women while the religion is not. As I said, passages are very progressive about the role of women, and it is clear that marriage should be a choice for all. Burqas and other dress (excluding the hijab which is far from oppressive) are completely created outside the context of te Qu’ran and they use the book to enforce them. That is a prominent aspect of their culture completely separate from Islam.
– They have a culture of death but no way a religion of death. Every holy book- including those here who are Christian- has an “okay to kill” section. Why? Probably not because there is a deity that is so contradictory, but because while the humans who wrote it innately know killing is wrong, they really like it when it helps them out. But, like every other religion, Islam is based on peace and aiding others. ISIS is horrifically abusing those who legitimately follow the religion. Their actions are in no way supported by their religion.
The current violence and rampant misogyny is in no way directly caused by the actual religion, but the religion is used to defend this. We have a very Christian-based culture. Literature, morals, politics all have roots in Christiana beliefs. Suggesting our high use of technology, sexual culture, corrupt politicians who claim to be Christian, or our materialism is one and the same as Christianity is wrong. Our culture has deviated from actual Christianity in many ways. The Middle East has deviated from Islam is almost every way. They may pray and eat the appropriate diet, but the entire culture is built around keeping men in power, not abiding by the rules of the religion.
And my instructor was not in any way biased- information about the prophet Mohammed, terrorism, all of it was there, but with the actual beliefs presented to us from religion scholars, the cultural landscape did not add up.
Meghan,
Yes, it is very true. Jesus is a symbol of peace, whereas Mohammed is pretty far from it.
That said, Jesud himself contrasts with another important Biblical character- God.
Mohammed was willing to kill those who disagreed with him. The Old Testament is essentially a list of people- including innocents- God was willing to kill. Islam is an Abrahamic religion, Mohammed’s actions ARE founded on Old Testament principles- doubting his power/crossing him is, in their religion, akin to crossing God/Allah himself, thus it was okay.
The defence of Mohammed is prominent is the Qu’ran- and this is why extremists terrorize other countries. That said, every religion has opportunity for extremists to harm with support from their holy text. If a man stoned his wife for cheating well, he CAN cite the Bible for support. Nevertheless, my point isn’t to compare the two religions.
Terrorist attacks do have some- although very little- sincere Islamic roots. Most scholars do not believe there is any support from the Qu’ran for killing others for not believing in Islam, for depicting Mohammed, and the attacks on America, pretty much just for being America, are not founded, they are extreme takes. That said, within their own countries, there is no excuse for the violence, the killing of Christians, the extreme punishments, lack of women’s rights. None of that is defended by the Qu’ran. It is not stemmed from defending Islam.
Most scholars agree there is not significant support from the Qu’ran for the violent culture, all agree that at the very least, Islamic countries should be more feminist if they were truly following the book.
Do not blame a belief system for the horrors overseas. It isn’t at fault. Removing it wouldn’t deceease the violence just te scapegoat.
Those were the Crusades, which are vilified by the post-modern rhetoric as proof that Christianity is the source of all violence in the world.
If anyone is actually saying that, he or she is spouting nonsense. But there is no doubt that Crusaders killed women and children, both in the Middle East and in the Rhineland.
To live on the border of Islam meant constant warfare until one’s homeland was conquered…
As was also true for those who lived on the border of Christendom. See Charlemagne’s Saxon Wars, or the colonization of Latin America.
…and assimilated.
Sometime you should try looking up why there were no Jews left in Spain after 1500. And, of course, we’re not even addressing the reality that no one has ever persecuted Christians more savagely than other Christians.
I guess it’s inconvenient for this blog to acknowledge the war on children waged by the Christian Lord’s Resistance Army. Or, in this country, the Christians who kill their children during exorcisms or beat them to death in the name of Godly discipline. Happily, secular law in this country largely protects Christians from each other and the rest of us from them.