Here is one on theology, culture, and Anglicanism:
Anglican + Calvinist
Here is one from a friend of mine who backpacked around Europe and Asia and is posting his experiences. He comes from a Pentecostal/charismatic background:
An American in the Middle East
Enjoy.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
A Small Minority?
From the Telegraph, which has not become a mouthpiece for Dar al Islam like the shameful Al Gaurdian.
Lord Stevens also gave warning that al-Qa'eda-linked extremists were already trying to infiltrate the police and the security services and that dozens had already been weeded out.
He urged that known terrorism suspects and "hate clerics", such as Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada, should be deported, adding: "Our human rights come first. Yet, incredibly, our so-called Human Rights laws, and our enviable history of religious tolerance, mean that foreigners preaching death and destruction to our way of life are allowed to stay here because their own countries won't tolerate such evil."
Remember those Riots in France?
Well, since I have France on my mind I thought I would post something I wrote back when those Muhammad cartoons came out. It was Part II of my series on Islam (recently published Part XI on this blog). Enjoy.
Part II: Islam, Cartoons and Riots
I was chatting with a friend of mine who lives in Saudi Arabia yesterday. She has always lived there, her dad has three wives, she has never been outside of the Middle East. She is a smart lady, and witty too. I asked her about the cartoon debacle and she said what many folks here are saying: they don't have the right to offend Islam that way.
I just got back from spending some time with a very moderate Muslim friend who is not an Arab. His sisters don't wear head coverings, he doesn't go to mosque often. He compared the cartoons to people who praise the holocaust. I said that it was illegal to incite violence against a group, which is what you have in his holocaust example. Here violence was not being incited against Muslims. He responded, but it led to violence on the part of Muslims--so what's the difference?
These two twenty-somethings represent the future of the Middle East. They are well-educated, multi-lingual, intelligent people, and they are both dear friends of mine. Neither of them had even seen the cartoons though.
So what is the reason for this gulf between our approach and theirs? Let me suggest two possible factors:
The language of rights. It is foreign to Islam, specifically in the generalized form of "human rights" or "inalienable rights." While rejecting positivism, the rights of a person are derived from the fact that they are living under a valid Islamic authority. Politics is sacramental, so a Muslim ruler is an outward sign of an inward grace, namely the subjugation and subjection of the peoples of the world to God's rule. (Note that violence can become sacred under this model.) So speaking of a right to anything that is insulting to Islam is inherently self-contradictory.
The Final Revelation. Islam is very confident that it is the final and true revelation from God. Therefore to allow space for any belief that might contraddict this is unjustified. Christianity and Judaism are allowed to exist, but under a system of governance that assures their eventual extinction. This system has been spectacularly successful in Northern Africa and Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula.
These are just two points. There are others, but I think it will help us to at least size up how different the two frames of mind or worldviews are from eachother.
So how should Christians react to those who offend them? I think there is no one answer to that, but it is clear that the genesis of that action must begin with loving our enemies and blessing those who curse us.
I think Christians are so used to having our faith ridiculed that it is hard for us to imagine the novelty of what many Muslims are experiencing. But give it a try. Feel the fury, the anger, the desire to kill and to destroy. But then hear the voice of your conscience brought alive by the Spirit reminding you that you are as guilty as your enemy, that if he deserves death then so do you, and that if you are to live up to the name of Christian that you must love him. And love mercy. Pray for that zealous desire to forgive.
I think that is where Christians are obliged to start, though depending on conditions it will lead us to different places and actions. But not to hoping for nuclear destruction in this or that country or the lawless torching of embassies. Not there, I am sure.
Part II: Islam, Cartoons and Riots
I was chatting with a friend of mine who lives in Saudi Arabia yesterday. She has always lived there, her dad has three wives, she has never been outside of the Middle East. She is a smart lady, and witty too. I asked her about the cartoon debacle and she said what many folks here are saying: they don't have the right to offend Islam that way.
I just got back from spending some time with a very moderate Muslim friend who is not an Arab. His sisters don't wear head coverings, he doesn't go to mosque often. He compared the cartoons to people who praise the holocaust. I said that it was illegal to incite violence against a group, which is what you have in his holocaust example. Here violence was not being incited against Muslims. He responded, but it led to violence on the part of Muslims--so what's the difference?
These two twenty-somethings represent the future of the Middle East. They are well-educated, multi-lingual, intelligent people, and they are both dear friends of mine. Neither of them had even seen the cartoons though.
So what is the reason for this gulf between our approach and theirs? Let me suggest two possible factors:
The language of rights. It is foreign to Islam, specifically in the generalized form of "human rights" or "inalienable rights." While rejecting positivism, the rights of a person are derived from the fact that they are living under a valid Islamic authority. Politics is sacramental, so a Muslim ruler is an outward sign of an inward grace, namely the subjugation and subjection of the peoples of the world to God's rule. (Note that violence can become sacred under this model.) So speaking of a right to anything that is insulting to Islam is inherently self-contradictory.
The Final Revelation. Islam is very confident that it is the final and true revelation from God. Therefore to allow space for any belief that might contraddict this is unjustified. Christianity and Judaism are allowed to exist, but under a system of governance that assures their eventual extinction. This system has been spectacularly successful in Northern Africa and Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula.
These are just two points. There are others, but I think it will help us to at least size up how different the two frames of mind or worldviews are from eachother.
So how should Christians react to those who offend them? I think there is no one answer to that, but it is clear that the genesis of that action must begin with loving our enemies and blessing those who curse us.
I think Christians are so used to having our faith ridiculed that it is hard for us to imagine the novelty of what many Muslims are experiencing. But give it a try. Feel the fury, the anger, the desire to kill and to destroy. But then hear the voice of your conscience brought alive by the Spirit reminding you that you are as guilty as your enemy, that if he deserves death then so do you, and that if you are to live up to the name of Christian that you must love him. And love mercy. Pray for that zealous desire to forgive.
I think that is where Christians are obliged to start, though depending on conditions it will lead us to different places and actions. But not to hoping for nuclear destruction in this or that country or the lawless torching of embassies. Not there, I am sure.
France on My Mind
Well, France just elected a new president, Nicolas Sarkozy. You can read a summary of his positions on various things at this blog.
So why is France important? It is at the heart of the European project, along with Germany. It has a very large percentage of Muslims, compared to most other European countries. And most sadly, many of the Christians there are only so in name. The Protestants do not go to church, the Catholics do not go to mass...There are some signs of hope. Churches--both Protestant and Catholic--are receiving an influx of lively African believers who, in some cases, can help to revive congregations. Conservative Christians from all traditions are embracing the Biblical teaching that it is a fform of worship to God and a gift to society to bring children into the world. May there be many more!
France has made immense contributions to the faith. It has provided great preachers, theologians, missionaries, and pastors. While we do not normally remember it, the Reformation took deep roots in certain parts of France. God is not done with France yet--this is my hope.
Here is an excerpt:
So why is France important? It is at the heart of the European project, along with Germany. It has a very large percentage of Muslims, compared to most other European countries. And most sadly, many of the Christians there are only so in name. The Protestants do not go to church, the Catholics do not go to mass...There are some signs of hope. Churches--both Protestant and Catholic--are receiving an influx of lively African believers who, in some cases, can help to revive congregations. Conservative Christians from all traditions are embracing the Biblical teaching that it is a fform of worship to God and a gift to society to bring children into the world. May there be many more!
France has made immense contributions to the faith. It has provided great preachers, theologians, missionaries, and pastors. While we do not normally remember it, the Reformation took deep roots in certain parts of France. God is not done with France yet--this is my hope.
Here is an excerpt:
Sarkozy has taken a hardline against Islamic radicals operating inside France....he served as the country's Interior Minister during the Paris riots by Muslim radicals in 2005 and was responsible for ordering the severe police crackdown on such radicals....there are now fears the Muslims will launch a new wave of violent protests because Sarkozy has been elected....worth noting: polls showed that voters in the Muslim neighborhoods where the worst of the violence took place in 2005 overwhelming backed the socialist candidiate, Segelone Royal...."Sarkozy is deeply unpopular in housing estates where the residents are mostly second- and third-generation immigrants, many of them Muslims from former colonies in North Africa," reported Reuters...."If Sarkozy wins there will certainly be riots here in Clichy and all over France," said Moroccan-born Mohammed Saidi, 43, a first-time voter in Clichy-sous-Bois, one of the neighborhoods where the worst rioting took place....on other foreign policy issues, Sarkozy is strongly opposed to allowing Turkey to join the European Union, warning of the threat of allowing 100 million more Muslims free reign through the European continent....
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Christian Fads
It is a fad among evangelicals, and indeed Protestants in general, to say that by the 4th C. Christianity had lost its Apostolic roots. Rubbish.
Read the biography of Saint Ambrose of Milan and ask yourself if his faith was corrupted and interested only in political power.
Not at all. He was a great man of God. "Who are you to judge another man's
servant?" And as bishop of Milan, he was God's servant for the people
of Milan, and they judged him well, as a man of God andexample of righteousness.
An excerpt:
At Christian History.
Read the biography of Saint Ambrose of Milan and ask yourself if his faith was corrupted and interested only in political power.
Not at all. He was a great man of God. "Who are you to judge another man's
servant?" And as bishop of Milan, he was God's servant for the people
of Milan, and they judged him well, as a man of God andexample of righteousness.
An excerpt:
Having been trained in rhetoric and law and having studied Greek, Ambrose became known for his knowledge of the latest Greek writings, both Christian and pagan. In addition to Philo, Origen, and Basil of Caesarea, he even quoted Neoplatonist Plotinus in his sermons. He was widely regarded as an excellent preacher.
In many of those sermons, Ambrose expounded upon the virtues of asceticism. He was so persuasive that noble families sometimes forbade their daughters to attend his sermons, fearing they'd trade their marriageable status for a life of austere virginity.
One piece of his pastoral advice is still universally known: "When you are at Rome, live in the Roman style; when you are elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere."
Ambrose also introduced congregational singing, and he was accused of "bewitching" Milan by introducing Eastern melodies into the hymns he wrote. Because of his influence, hymn singing became an important part of the Western liturgy.
At Christian History.
Treasures Old and New
I am pretty certain that one of the key weaknesses of modern
evangelical Christianity today is its inability to incorporate history
andgrasp God's wonderful acts throughout history.
We generally know about Acts and then we know about today. What happened during the 18 centuries in between? Well, there was a Reformation in the 16th C. but other than that, um not much.
Profound and weak. And really a discredit to God and his great power and his providence in guiding the saints throughout the ages. Irhamna ya Rrab (Have mercy on us Lord)!
Robert Webber died recently, and he was not such a man. He was evangelical and drew on the goodness of that tradition (and
there is much goodness there), but also understood that we do not know
the church today unless we know the church yesterday. Read his obituary
at
History.
evangelical Christianity today is its inability to incorporate history
andgrasp God's wonderful acts throughout history.
We generally know about Acts and then we know about today. What happened during the 18 centuries in between? Well, there was a Reformation in the 16th C. but other than that, um not much.
Profound and weak. And really a discredit to God and his great power and his providence in guiding the saints throughout the ages. Irhamna ya Rrab (Have mercy on us Lord)!
Robert Webber died recently, and he was not such a man. He was evangelical and drew on the goodness of that tradition (and
there is much goodness there), but also understood that we do not know
the church today unless we know the church yesterday. Read his obituary
at
History.
The Latest on the Turkish Martyrs
From another Turkish pastor. The reports of the multiple stab wounds were wrong, acccording to him.
Also,
on my last post regarding the Turkish martyrs someone posted a rather
angry response regarding my perpetuation of the 'myth of martyrdom'.
There is no myth. I know that it is very uncomfortable to Western
Christians who do not face martyrtdom on a daily basis to be confronted
with the reality that in some parts of the world the faith is costly.
Very costly. So costly that the powers and principalities of this world
demand the blood the saint who witnesses against their corruption and
spiritual bankruptcy.
We worship our God, the Father of Jesus
Christ, who has been so kind and gracious as to give us men like these.
Men who do not shrink away from death because they are true witnesses
of the Gospel. They are not the first, nor will the last.
The Greek word for witness and martyr are the same. Jesus said, "You will
be my witnesses..." Which is the same as him saying, "You will be my
martyrs..."
>Dear brothers and sisters,
>I greet you in the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus
>Christ. May the Lord abundantly bless you, your families, your
>churches, and your work. We know and appreciate very much your heart for us.
>Brothers and sisters, in the last ten days we have experienced very
>painful moments, which words cannot begin to express. Our painful
>experience has shown us that our lives are as the Lord describes:
>"What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time
>and then vanishes." For this reason we have understood one more time
>how holy and close to the Lord we should live our lives.
>We have also understood that our society is easily given to emotion
>and that in such painful moments some people, whether intentionally
>or not, report certain events inaccurately and we have not prevented
>this or have not been able to do so.
>When the Malatya massacre happened we, the brothers from Diyarbakir,
>besides those already on the scene at the time of the crime, were the
>first to get there. When we got to Malatya our brother Ugur was still
>alive, but his condition was critical. Around 5:30 PM Ugur entrusted
>his spirit to the Lord.
>Dear brothers and sisters, that painful moment has slowly come into
>perspective for us so that now we have begun to see some things as we
>should. For example, it appears that those who murdered or arranged
>for the murder of these brothers are getting what they hoped for. By
>means of our reactions we may unwittingly help them. If we do not
>bring the facts into the light, these people will end up getting what
>they desired.
>Brothers Tilmann, Necati, and Ugur were murdered in a bloodthirsty
>way. This is a fact. But there are also some inaccurate claims about
>this massacre and one of these is the extent of the torture.
>According to rumors brother Tilmann was stabbed with a knife 156
>times. Brother Ugur had countless knife wounds, it has been said.
>These rumors, however, are unfounded. At the morgue we wanted to put
>brother Tilmann's body, which was in a plastic bag, into the coffin,
>but the officials and police did not like this. "It is sinful to do
>it this way, we should wrap the corpse in a shroud," they said. I
>accepted this idea and did what was right in their eyes. I asked them
>for a shroud (white cloth) and the officials moved Tilmann's body out
>of the plastic bag, which they placed to the side. I took advantage
>of this opportunity to examine brother Tilmann's body as far down as
>his stomach. I did not see any knife wounds. Only Tilmann's throat
>had been slit 8-10 centimeters and there was the stitched autopsy
>incision down the middle of Tilmann's chest. Unfortunately there are
>very different rumors circulating about brothers Tilmann and Necati.
>It has been said that their noses, lips, and ears were cut. These
>rumors do not reflect the truth. I telephoned our brother Ed Grudier
>in Adana because I knew he had seen brother Tilmann's body. I asked
>him about the knife wounds on brother Tilmann's body. Ed said to me,
>"Brother, I came across three or four knife blows in the chest area.
>I didn't see his back. On his face I can't say there were knife
>wounds, but scratches, maybe from hitting his face when he fell
>down." I knew that Ihsan Ozbek from Ankara had seen bodies. I asked
>him which bodies he had seen and he said, "I saw the chest area of
>both Tilmann and Necati. I saw purple [from bruising] on Necati's
>lips and chin, but I did not see knife wounds. I looked at brother
>Tilmann's chest, but I did not see knife wounds." These are the
>statments of those you saw the bodies of these two brothers.
>It is true that our brothers were knifed and tortured. But it was not
>to the extent of statements such as "too many wounds to count, beyond
>description." Apparently Ed Grudier looked more carefully than
>brother Ihsan and I did. Ed saw three or four knife wounds in the
>chest.
>No one saw brother Ugur's body because on the night of the same day
>the murder happened, around midnight, his family took his body for
>burial.
>I believe that brother Ugur had knife wounds similar to those of our
>other two brothers. It has been said that Ugur was stabbed all over
>his body, including his genitals. I do not believe this. You may ask
>why I don't beleive this. I think someone stabbed this much would die
>on the spot. Ugur would not have been able to remain alive until 5:30
>PM if he had been stabbed so much. That nothing abnormal happened to
>Ugur can be understood [from the fact that] exaggerated statements
>have been about our other two brothers, too.
>Therefore we reach the following conclusion: yes, these brothers were
>tortured, but not to the extent that has been explained.
>We are sons and daughters of the truth. Unfortunately unfounded news
>reports and media exaggerations have now gone out all over the world.
>Our brothers and sisters and people sensitive [to such news] have
>been misinformed. We do not intend to offend anyone. But whether the
>true facts are, let us report them without exaggeration. Let people
>everywhere think about the plain facts.
>Who started these exaggerated facts [about the Malatya massacre]? We
>purpose two possibilities:
>Those who perpetrated
>the crime planned this [the spreading of exaggerated facts] from the
>beginning and the murderers were simply tools for these people [who
>had planned to blow the murder into exaggerated proportions]. The
>goal of those who planned this murder and the exaggerated claims was
>both to frighten the Christians living in Turkey, causing them to
>shrink back and be timid, and to humiliate Turkey as a country that
>invites and causes such bloodthirty massacre, thereby damaging
>Turkey's chances of entering the European Union and making matters
>worse in the country. Furthermore, [the planners of this massacre]
>wanted to give the government and our people the impression that
>Christians distort and exaggerate everything.
>In every situation we
>see that the media either totally disregards something we say or
>totally exploits it. We investigated the bloody clothing that was
>submitted to the public as the underclothing of our brothers. None of
>this clothing belonged to our brothers. That clothing had been taken
>off the bodies of people shot to death weeks earlier. But what did
>the media do? They took this clothing and presented it as freshly
>removed from the bodies of our brothers. Is there anyone who does not
>yet know about the exaggerations and sometimes boldfaced lies of the
>media?
>Therefore, brothers and sisters, if we do not explain the true facts
>to you our hearts will not find peace. I have written this report
>because I have read exaggerated or unfounded facts in news both home
>and abroad. The true facts are those in this report. Before sending
>these facts to you, as you will see below, I have requested
>statements from our brothers Ihsan Ozbek and Ed Grudier. I have had
>these statments translated from English in order to pass them on to
>you.
>May the Lord bless you abundantly.
>XXXXXX XXXXXXX, pastor of XXXXXX Church in Turkey
Also,
on my last post regarding the Turkish martyrs someone posted a rather
angry response regarding my perpetuation of the 'myth of martyrdom'.
There is no myth. I know that it is very uncomfortable to Western
Christians who do not face martyrtdom on a daily basis to be confronted
with the reality that in some parts of the world the faith is costly.
Very costly. So costly that the powers and principalities of this world
demand the blood the saint who witnesses against their corruption and
spiritual bankruptcy.
We worship our God, the Father of Jesus
Christ, who has been so kind and gracious as to give us men like these.
Men who do not shrink away from death because they are true witnesses
of the Gospel. They are not the first, nor will the last.
The Greek word for witness and martyr are the same. Jesus said, "You will
be my witnesses..." Which is the same as him saying, "You will be my
martyrs..."
>Dear brothers and sisters,
>I greet you in the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus
>Christ. May the Lord abundantly bless you, your families, your
>churches, and your work. We know and appreciate very much your heart for us.
>Brothers and sisters, in the last ten days we have experienced very
>painful moments, which words cannot begin to express. Our painful
>experience has shown us that our lives are as the Lord describes:
>"What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time
>and then vanishes." For this reason we have understood one more time
>how holy and close to the Lord we should live our lives.
>We have also understood that our society is easily given to emotion
>and that in such painful moments some people, whether intentionally
>or not, report certain events inaccurately and we have not prevented
>this or have not been able to do so.
>When the Malatya massacre happened we, the brothers from Diyarbakir,
>besides those already on the scene at the time of the crime, were the
>first to get there. When we got to Malatya our brother Ugur was still
>alive, but his condition was critical. Around 5:30 PM Ugur entrusted
>his spirit to the Lord.
>Dear brothers and sisters, that painful moment has slowly come into
>perspective for us so that now we have begun to see some things as we
>should. For example, it appears that those who murdered or arranged
>for the murder of these brothers are getting what they hoped for. By
>means of our reactions we may unwittingly help them. If we do not
>bring the facts into the light, these people will end up getting what
>they desired.
>Brothers Tilmann, Necati, and Ugur were murdered in a bloodthirsty
>way. This is a fact. But there are also some inaccurate claims about
>this massacre and one of these is the extent of the torture.
>According to rumors brother Tilmann was stabbed with a knife 156
>times. Brother Ugur had countless knife wounds, it has been said.
>These rumors, however, are unfounded. At the morgue we wanted to put
>brother Tilmann's body, which was in a plastic bag, into the coffin,
>but the officials and police did not like this. "It is sinful to do
>it this way, we should wrap the corpse in a shroud," they said. I
>accepted this idea and did what was right in their eyes. I asked them
>for a shroud (white cloth) and the officials moved Tilmann's body out
>of the plastic bag, which they placed to the side. I took advantage
>of this opportunity to examine brother Tilmann's body as far down as
>his stomach. I did not see any knife wounds. Only Tilmann's throat
>had been slit 8-10 centimeters and there was the stitched autopsy
>incision down the middle of Tilmann's chest. Unfortunately there are
>very different rumors circulating about brothers Tilmann and Necati.
>It has been said that their noses, lips, and ears were cut. These
>rumors do not reflect the truth. I telephoned our brother Ed Grudier
>in Adana because I knew he had seen brother Tilmann's body. I asked
>him about the knife wounds on brother Tilmann's body. Ed said to me,
>"Brother, I came across three or four knife blows in the chest area.
>I didn't see his back. On his face I can't say there were knife
>wounds, but scratches, maybe from hitting his face when he fell
>down." I knew that Ihsan Ozbek from Ankara had seen bodies. I asked
>him which bodies he had seen and he said, "I saw the chest area of
>both Tilmann and Necati. I saw purple [from bruising] on Necati's
>lips and chin, but I did not see knife wounds. I looked at brother
>Tilmann's chest, but I did not see knife wounds." These are the
>statments of those you saw the bodies of these two brothers.
>It is true that our brothers were knifed and tortured. But it was not
>to the extent of statements such as "too many wounds to count, beyond
>description." Apparently Ed Grudier looked more carefully than
>brother Ihsan and I did. Ed saw three or four knife wounds in the
>chest.
>No one saw brother Ugur's body because on the night of the same day
>the murder happened, around midnight, his family took his body for
>burial.
>I believe that brother Ugur had knife wounds similar to those of our
>other two brothers. It has been said that Ugur was stabbed all over
>his body, including his genitals. I do not believe this. You may ask
>why I don't beleive this. I think someone stabbed this much would die
>on the spot. Ugur would not have been able to remain alive until 5:30
>PM if he had been stabbed so much. That nothing abnormal happened to
>Ugur can be understood [from the fact that] exaggerated statements
>have been about our other two brothers, too.
>Therefore we reach the following conclusion: yes, these brothers were
>tortured, but not to the extent that has been explained.
>We are sons and daughters of the truth. Unfortunately unfounded news
>reports and media exaggerations have now gone out all over the world.
>Our brothers and sisters and people sensitive [to such news] have
>been misinformed. We do not intend to offend anyone. But whether the
>true facts are, let us report them without exaggeration. Let people
>everywhere think about the plain facts.
>Who started these exaggerated facts [about the Malatya massacre]? We
>purpose two possibilities:
>Those who perpetrated
>the crime planned this [the spreading of exaggerated facts] from the
>beginning and the murderers were simply tools for these people [who
>had planned to blow the murder into exaggerated proportions]. The
>goal of those who planned this murder and the exaggerated claims was
>both to frighten the Christians living in Turkey, causing them to
>shrink back and be timid, and to humiliate Turkey as a country that
>invites and causes such bloodthirty massacre, thereby damaging
>Turkey's chances of entering the European Union and making matters
>worse in the country. Furthermore, [the planners of this massacre]
>wanted to give the government and our people the impression that
>Christians distort and exaggerate everything.
>In every situation we
>see that the media either totally disregards something we say or
>totally exploits it. We investigated the bloody clothing that was
>submitted to the public as the underclothing of our brothers. None of
>this clothing belonged to our brothers. That clothing had been taken
>off the bodies of people shot to death weeks earlier. But what did
>the media do? They took this clothing and presented it as freshly
>removed from the bodies of our brothers. Is there anyone who does not
>yet know about the exaggerations and sometimes boldfaced lies of the
>media?
>Therefore, brothers and sisters, if we do not explain the true facts
>to you our hearts will not find peace. I have written this report
>because I have read exaggerated or unfounded facts in news both home
>and abroad. The true facts are those in this report. Before sending
>these facts to you, as you will see below, I have requested
>statements from our brothers Ihsan Ozbek and Ed Grudier. I have had
>these statments translated from English in order to pass them on to
>you.
>May the Lord bless you abundantly.
>XXXXXX XXXXXXX, pastor of XXXXXX Church in Turkey
Friday, May 04, 2007
Review: God's Continent
I have written a little on Europe in the past: Islam and the Future of Europe
And I have also posted a link to an interview with Philip Jenkins who is a favorite author of mine.
Here is a quote from a review on his most recent book:
From the genius mind of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus at First Things. The entire article is a great review of a book by Jenkins, who is a good author and whom I have met personally at my old university where I studied theology.
Read the whole thing.
And I have also posted a link to an interview with Philip Jenkins who is a favorite author of mine.
Here is a quote from a review on his most recent book:
At a recent dinner party with European intellectuals, I put to an influential French archbishop Daniel Pipes’ projection: Either assimilation or expulsion or Islamic takeover. That, he said, puts the possibilities much too starkly. “We hope for the first,” he said, “while we work at reducing immigration and prepare ourselves for soft Islamization.” Soft Islamization. It is a wan expression. Whether soft or hard, the prospect is that, in the not-so-distant future, someone will publish a book titled Allah’s Continent. In fact, several Muslim authors have already published books with very similar titles, anticipating the future of the Europe that was. Needless to say, and historical contingencies being as contingent as they are, I very much hope that they turn out to be wrong. As I very much wish Philip Jenkins’ God’s Continent provided better reasons for believing they are wrong.
From the genius mind of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus at First Things. The entire article is a great review of a book by Jenkins, who is a good author and whom I have met personally at my old university where I studied theology.
Read the whole thing.
Zarqa, Jordan: The Making of Martyrs, the Training of Terrorists
Interviews with Abu Ibrahim and relatives of the other men show that rather than having been individually recruited by an organization like Zarqawi's, they gradually radicalized one another, the more strident leading the way. Local imams led them further toward Iraq, citing verses from the Koran to justify killing civilians. The men watched videos depicting tortured and slain Muslims that are copied from Internet sites.
"The sheik, he was a hero," Abu Ibrahim said of Zarqawi. But, he added, "I decided to go when my friends went."
For the final step, getting the phone number of a smuggler and address of a safe house in Iraq, the men used facilitators who act more like travel agents than militant leaders.
"Most of the young people here in Zarqa are very religious," an Islamist community leader said. "And when they see the news and what is going on in the Islamic countries, they themselves feel that they have to go to fight jihad. Today, you don't need anyone to tell the young men that they should go to jihad. They themselves want to be martyrs."
From the IHT, read it all.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Muslim Dating in the UK
Great article here on Muslims dating in the UK. I find particularly attractive that here is an avenue for divorced Muslim women (including women with children) to find a mate.
Also positive is that many professional Muslimaat (that's the plural for female Muslims--Arabic is neat like that, like Spanish) are seeking Muslim men born and raised in the UK. It is a great gulf--for people of any religion--to marry someone who was raised in the developing world, while they were raised in the West.
A sign of hope. A fair amount of the strife in Islamic communities could be helped by breaking ethnic boundries. (The example given here is one person from a Pakistani background and the other from a Bengali background getting married.)
Here is the link: Washington Post.
Also positive is that many professional Muslimaat (that's the plural for female Muslims--Arabic is neat like that, like Spanish) are seeking Muslim men born and raised in the UK. It is a great gulf--for people of any religion--to marry someone who was raised in the developing world, while they were raised in the West.
A sign of hope. A fair amount of the strife in Islamic communities could be helped by breaking ethnic boundries. (The example given here is one person from a Pakistani background and the other from a Bengali background getting married.)
Here is the link: Washington Post.
Utter Twaddle: More on the Al Guardian Article
That is how Stephany from Australia put it in her response to the recent article from The Guardian in England. Here is her response, found on the response section to article, the link is on the original post:
I will try to find some positive remarks to the article and post those too. There are about 20 pages or so of responses to the article in question on Europe's Islamic Identity. Almost everything there is against the article (which I support, as the article is quite frankly ridiculous) or just anti-religion period. And that worries me. Any response to Islam without the charity of Christian faith could degenerate into something violent and xenophobic.
What utter twaddle.
The reality is that Islam slowly strangled the spirit of free scientific enquiry wherever it took hold.
One example:
Taqi al-Din could have been the Ottoman equivalent of the great Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. His observatory, built in Istanbul in 1577, was certainly up to the task.
Tycho Brahe went on to revolutionise astronomy.
Taqi al-Din's observatory was raised to the ground by a squad of Janissaries on orders of the grand mufti. With it died a 2,500 year old tradition of astronomy that had started with the Babylonians.
BEFORE ISLAM
The Babylonians were the world's premier astronomers. Using only naked eye astronomy and water clocks they discovered that 19 solar years equaled 235 lunar months. They established a calendar that had seven leap months every 19 solar years. The calendar lives on in the form of the modern Hebrew calendar. Even the months of the Hebrew calendar have Babylonian names. Tishri derives from the Babylonian Tashritu.
BEFORE ISLAM
Eratosthenes, third Librarian of the Great Library at Alexandria, conducted an experiment to estimate the circumference of the Earth. His estimate of 250,000 stadia -- equivalent to about 40,000 km -- was remarkably accurate. Eratosthenes hailed from present-day Libya.
BEFORE ISLAM
Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria compiled the Almagest, the greatest compendium of of mathematical and astronomical knowledge the world had seen up to that time. (The name Almagest is a combination of Arabic and Greek)
BEFORE ISLAM
Hipparchus who hailed from present-day Turkey discovered, among other things, the precession of the equinoxes.
Books could be written about the scientific achievements of scholars who lived in present-day Dar-ul-Islam BEFORE ISLAM.
AFTER ISLAM -- FADE TO BLACK
Christianity too nearly succeeded in extinguishing scientific enquiry. But Europe recovered. Dar-ul-Islam never did.
Spare me claptrap about Islam's contribution to civilisation. For a while Islamic civilisation was able to live on the intellectual capital of those who had gone BEFORE ISLAM. Islamic civilisation added nothing and eventually the pre-Islamic intellectual capital was exhausted.
Every serious student of scientific history knows that between 1550 and 1950 nearly, not quite all, scientific advancement was the provenance of White men who traced their ancestry to Europe.
Since 1950 scientific research has become an international endeavour. An endeavour marked by the almost total absence of participation by the inhabitants of Arab countries.
The Arab Human Development report 2003 compares the Arab world to South Korea. Every year South Korean companies patent more inventions in the United States than the Arab world manages in a quarter century. South Korea has one quarter the population of the Arab World and was recently much poorer than any Arab country.
BEFORE ISLAM the present day Arab territories were at the leading edge of scientific enquiry.
The heart of Dar-ul-Islam has yet to recover from its Islam-induced dark ages.
The question is whether the rise of Islam in Europe will herald another European dark age.
I will try to find some positive remarks to the article and post those too. There are about 20 pages or so of responses to the article in question on Europe's Islamic Identity. Almost everything there is against the article (which I support, as the article is quite frankly ridiculous) or just anti-religion period. And that worries me. Any response to Islam without the charity of Christian faith could degenerate into something violent and xenophobic.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The Poverty of Islamic Acheivement in History
Please see the post below, which this is posted in regards to.
Here is a link to an essay by an author arguing (with actual examples, instead if simple assertions, which is all you have in the article from Al Guardian below) that in fact European culture and accomplishment occurred in spite of Islam, rather than because of it.
I have read a good deal on the history of both regions and their interactions and I think there is more good scholarship on the side of the argument that Islamdom in general impoverished rather than enriched world civilization on the whole. It is a harsh verdict, and I am open (even eager) to be proven wrong.
An excerpt:
"About Mesopotamia (Iraq), Niebuhr had this to say: 'In Cairo there is at least still a store where the Muhammedans can buy old books. In Baghdad one will not find that sort of thing. If one collects books here, and is neither prepared to copy them oneself nor to let others copy them, one must wait till somebody dies and his books and clothes are carried to the bazar, where they are offered for sale by a crier. A European who wants to buy Arabian, Turkish or Persian manuscripts will find no better opportunity than in Constantinople for here at least there is a sort of bookstore where Christians – at least Oriental Christians – can buy books' (Niebuhr, Vol. 2, p. 305)
"Printing had not been adopted in the Muslim Middle East due to religious resistance. Three centuries after Gutenberg had invented the movable type printing press in 15th century Europe, and a thousand years after the earliest versions of printing were invented in China, books were still rare in Muslim countries and could be bought most easily when somebody died."
Here is a link to an essay by an author arguing (with actual examples, instead if simple assertions, which is all you have in the article from Al Guardian below) that in fact European culture and accomplishment occurred in spite of Islam, rather than because of it.
I have read a good deal on the history of both regions and their interactions and I think there is more good scholarship on the side of the argument that Islamdom in general impoverished rather than enriched world civilization on the whole. It is a harsh verdict, and I am open (even eager) to be proven wrong.
An excerpt:
"About Mesopotamia (Iraq), Niebuhr had this to say: 'In Cairo there is at least still a store where the Muhammedans can buy old books. In Baghdad one will not find that sort of thing. If one collects books here, and is neither prepared to copy them oneself nor to let others copy them, one must wait till somebody dies and his books and clothes are carried to the bazar, where they are offered for sale by a crier. A European who wants to buy Arabian, Turkish or Persian manuscripts will find no better opportunity than in Constantinople for here at least there is a sort of bookstore where Christians – at least Oriental Christians – can buy books' (Niebuhr, Vol. 2, p. 305)
"Printing had not been adopted in the Muslim Middle East due to religious resistance. Three centuries after Gutenberg had invented the movable type printing press in 15th century Europe, and a thousand years after the earliest versions of printing were invented in China, books were still rare in Muslim countries and could be bought most easily when somebody died."
Revisionist History: Islam as a Foundation of European History
I am surprised at how often I hear Westerners observe that Islam was
foundational to Western (especially European) progress.
The idea is
that Islam should be able to take some (or all) of the credit for the scientific
and economic successes of the West. Of course one looks at Islamdom
today and one sees corrupt governments and unproductive economies
(aside from oil and natural gas) and an inability to engage in critical thought. So, what of the genius of Islam,
which is of course the superior civilization in the world? Well, the Europeans
should be thankful, their respect for human rights, the scientific
revolution, democracy--all of what is good in Europe goes back to Islam.
This is the revisionist and completely unsound history that is being peddled today. And people are buying it.
Here is a good example from the Guardian (or shall we say Al Guardian :-) I hate to stoop to the level of ridicule, but the Guardian has become such a blatant tool and unthinking limb of Islamdom. Shame on them.
Might post some responses later.
Al Guardian
foundational to Western (especially European) progress.
The idea is
that Islam should be able to take some (or all) of the credit for the scientific
and economic successes of the West. Of course one looks at Islamdom
today and one sees corrupt governments and unproductive economies
(aside from oil and natural gas) and an inability to engage in critical thought. So, what of the genius of Islam,
which is of course the superior civilization in the world? Well, the Europeans
should be thankful, their respect for human rights, the scientific
revolution, democracy--all of what is good in Europe goes back to Islam.
This is the revisionist and completely unsound history that is being peddled today. And people are buying it.
Here is a good example from the Guardian (or shall we say Al Guardian :-) I hate to stoop to the level of ridicule, but the Guardian has become such a blatant tool and unthinking limb of Islamdom. Shame on them.
Might post some responses later.
Al Guardian
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