Offender of the faith
I think we can all agree that the Pope should probably not have mentioned that hundreds of years ago, somebody dissed The Prophet. That's not the sort of thing that tends to foster a constructive interfaith debate.
On the other hand, once word gets out, thousands of Muslims go on a tear, burning the pontiff in effigy and setting fire to the American flag. (Why the American flag? What did we do? The Vatican's not in Milwaukee and the Pope's not from Kansas.)
I believe that people should defend their faith, defend it with passion and conviction.
But keep the Zippos and Molotov cocktails out of it.
It's like my mom (who didn't believe in much of any thing, really) always said:
"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.''
OK, maybe it's not 100 percent true; words can hurt. But if push comes to shove, I'm betting Allah can protect his own without all the noise, gunfire and blood.
On the other hand, once word gets out, thousands of Muslims go on a tear, burning the pontiff in effigy and setting fire to the American flag. (Why the American flag? What did we do? The Vatican's not in Milwaukee and the Pope's not from Kansas.)
I believe that people should defend their faith, defend it with passion and conviction.
But keep the Zippos and Molotov cocktails out of it.
It's like my mom (who didn't believe in much of any thing, really) always said:
"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.''
OK, maybe it's not 100 percent true; words can hurt. But if push comes to shove, I'm betting Allah can protect his own without all the noise, gunfire and blood.
posted by Michael Riley at 2:34 PM
9 Comments:
If one says that Muslims are likely to go on a rampage when they are insulted, will they take that as an insult and go on a rampage?
yeah..any excuse for the extremist Muslims (note I said extreme, not all) to avenge Americans (Of any faith but their own)in the name of Allah...
"I think we can all agree that the Pope should probably not have mentioned that hundreds of years ago, somebody dissed The Prophet."
Speak for yourself, Riley. If anything, The Holy Father should have gone further and stated that Mohammed most certainly was not a prophet, and that the Koran most certainly is not inspired text. I would have liked to have seen the Pope say that Jesus is God and that any religion claiming revelation for salvation after Jesus and not through Jesus plainly does not have God as its author. In short, it would have been nice if the Vicar of Christ on Earth and the voice of over a billion Catholics on this planet said what essentially all Christians believe -- namely that Islam is heresy.
Incidentally, what follows is a provisional translation of the Pope's remarks:
The Holy Father's Remarks in Regensburg
"That's not the sort of thing that tends to foster a constructive interfaith debate."
Who is calling for "a debate?"
You know a little about Sacred Scripture, Riley, right? If you are interested in a debate, allow me to introduce you The Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani, a leading Muslim voice in Iraq:
Meet the Grand Ayatollah
Like you, he even has a blog. (He's not funny either, by the way.) He encourages people to go to his web site and ask various questions about the Islamic faith, which he then answers. In short, he is a Muslim apologist.
Let's Ask the Ayatollah
Take a look at his site, Riley. Take a look at what Muslims believe about "temporary marriage" or how playing chess is forbidden by God. See that that while cock fighting is permitted, shaking hands with a woman is a big no-no. See what this learned man has to say on a whole host of issues. When your done with your Islam 101 tour, contrast what you've read with what you believe; compare it with what other Christians and Jews believe. Then come back here and speak again about "fostering constructive interfaith debates."
Can't we all justlet everyone believe in whatever they want and call it a day? There's plenty variety of faith and spirituality and religious doctrines/beliefs to suit all so knowing when not to inflame certain fanatics (regardless of their religion) is being a responsible human being..I think that is what the Pope made a mistake about..using restraint of inflammatory statements in a public forum that could/would cause those fanatics to act so violently.
That Mohammed was a criminal is a historical fact. The Pope had every right to say as much. If that offends Muslims, too bad. A thief should be called a thief; a murderer should be called a murderer; and Mohammed should be called evil.
Mohammed: Prophet of Evil
and Catholic priests are child molesters, embezzle church funds and are hypocrites..they murdered millions over the centuries in the name of their God through inquistions etc...
Your criticisms notwithstanding, the Catholic Church that you speak of would be the very same Catholic Church that Christ himself founded in 33 AD, and which is very much distinct and unlike the thousands of Protestant churches/faiths that were, centuries after The Resurrection, founded by mere men (e.g., heretics like Luther and Wesley).
"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." -- Matthew 16:18
"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me ..." -- Luke 10:16
It is the same Catholic Church that has the authority from Christ himself to forgive sins. Christ gave that authority to his Apostles, the first bishops of the Catholic Church, and they have, for 2,000 years, conferred that authority onto their successors. A Catholic priest can forgive post-baptismal sins; a clown like Michael Riley, whose authority comes from nothing more than the job offer some local church board of directors (elders) offered him, most certainly cannot.
"Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, even so I send you.' And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'" -- John 20:21-23
I usually don't debate other posters ... but "Farmingdale Jim" above has implied that Protestant religions are frauds, compared to the Catholic religion.
I've always felt, as western religious thought evolved from its original religion, Judaism, to Catholicism, and then to Protestantism, man focused more on the spirit-of-the-law than on the letter-of-the-law. He went from punching a guy out who punched him (eye-for-an-eye), to seeking a priest who would approve a divorce, to finally understanding that if God is goodness, then other men's victories or approvals are not germane.
farmingdale jim, the more you express your obvious personal dislike for Mr. Riley, the more ignorant and very un-Christian-like you sound. What's your beef with him anyway? This is America..freeedom of speech ring a bell? For that matter, freedom of religion , too. As my son would say, "chill,dude".
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