Last year, my oldest 30 year old son was going through some very difficult times with his wife, his 17 year old son and his career simultaneously. So one night he stopped by to talk and vent. As he spoke, I could hear and feel his frustration, anxiety, hurt and anger. Then suddenly out of the blue he asked me, “What do you regret most about your life?” It took only a split second for the answer to come, because this was something I could not help but to think about over the past few years. It was not so much a regret as it was a desire to be able to set the clock back in order to share something I know now that I did not know then. It was also times like this that continue to rekindle that desire and make it burn in my soul. So I was able to quickly answer: “My biggest regret is not realizing the relationship we could all have with God much earlier in my life.”

I told him how all of our lives could have been so much better in so many ways if God was introduced into our lives at the age of understanding. We talked for some time and he seemed to have calmed down. I know he really wanted to believe the things we spoke about. But he was not quite able to cross the threshold from brain - where we think about God or even the possibility of God - to Soul - where God resides and is known. Where he can be recognized glimpse by glimpse as an influencing factor in our lives from the beginning. Where he has been expressing his own nature and attributes through us and as us, in so much as we have allowed. But like me, no one pointed this out to him as such. So we remained unaware; and therefore, unable to have allowed this relationship to grow. If we had, we would have learned to recognize God’s voice within us, the voice that compels, motivate and directs us. We would have learned we can trust it, and in so doing, overcome many of the fears so common in life. We would have learned to see Gods nature and attributes expressed in others; and as a result, enjoyed better relationships with each other. And we would have noticed as our relationship with God expands in love and trust, our life expands as well. We would have experienced the feeling more and more, day by day, that we are peacefully gliding through life as if on auto pilot, as if our life took on a life of it’s own. But in truth we merged in oneness with God within our soul. As Paul said, “I, not I liveth, but Christ liveth my life.”

Its not that I think it is ever too late to share anything with anyone. But over time our hearts and souls get so tossed and turned in the confession of this world that we seem to become less receptive and more skeptical of the idea of a clear and present influence in our lives which we can not perceive with the five physical senses. And because I can’t turn the clock back, I really do not want much more time to pass before my five and seven year old granddaughters are brought into this awareness. So I have put together a list of ten fingers pointing to attributes of God, that are present in us all, and in a manner I hope they will understand.

1. God is the part of us that feels sad and wants to help when we see someone with a problem that is too big for them to handle.

We Call This Compassion

2. God is the part of us that quickly forgets the things that people do to us that are not nice and so we still love them and forgive them even without them saying they are sorry.

We Call This Mercy

3. God is the part of us that can still see things even when we close our eyes. Like when we close our eyes and think about someone we know. Or when we close or eyes and think about something we would like to do. Or how even when we are sleeping we can still see our dreams.

We Call This Consciousness

4. God is the part of us that wants to do more and more of all the things we love to do.

We Call This Passion

5. God is the part of us that suddenly gets the feeling that we need to do something, like call or go home. Or not do something that we would normally do.

We Call This Intuition

6. God is the part of us that always knows what is right, honest and fair and feels sad when we do something wrong, dishonest or unfair.

We Call This Conscience

7. God is the part of us that understands what we see, hear and learn. And is able to use this information to solve all kind of problems.

We Call This Intelligence

8. God is the part of us that cares so much about the people in our life and would do almost anything for them.

We Call This Love

9. God is the part of us that makes our body work. Just like electricity is the energy that makes a light bulb work, God is the energy that makes our whole body work.

We Call This Life

10. God is the part of us where all these parts are held together like pieces of a puzzle and the picture they form is you.

We Call This Your Soul

And because your Soul is also part of God it remains alive in Him forever.

Not only is this awakening important for our children’s own well being, but also for the world. For they are the growing and upcoming consciousness.

So please join in with ideas about how we can share what we have come to understand with our children.

Pete_SE

Jesus calls it “Adultery”… ‘What do You call IT?’

What is ‘The Agenda’… of those that call “Adultery = The Grace of God IN Forgiveness”?

… Is it TO better our Society … or TO destroy it… from Within???  Is “The TRUTH”… No longer wanted by… “Christian America?” Is it As Follows???

1.       (1Timothy 4:1-2)  Now the Spirit says clearly that in the last times some people will abandon the faith by following deceitful spirits, the teachings of demons,   (1Tim 4:2) and the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences have been burned by a hot iron.

2.     (Isaiah 29:13)  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men:

Those “No-Fault Divorces” –and- ‘Easy Remarriages’… have set a “Path of destruction” for our… ‘One Nation Under GOD?’  How then can God Bless... The USA

Is this really what GOD had in mind for a people that say that… ‘They are His People?” How about it… You that call the Blessed Name of Christ?  [1Timothy 5:20]

John the Baptist lost his Life, as he called Herod’s Adultery… just as GOD did, “Adultery”… in ‘Matthew 18 -&- Mark 6.’  What do YOU call it??? [Jude 1:3-4]

Today ‘MOST Pastors’ will not address what ‘The Bible’ calls Adultery, as it will Empty their Pockets and Churches… Of Donations!  [Isaiah 5:20-21]

Instead of “Repentance and Restitution and Healing”, those Ministers / Pastors allow the Sins to Continue… “To the contamination of the Gospel… and the Church of Christ Jesus.” [Galatians 5:9 -&- 1Corinthinas 5:1-to-13]

Some, because they know it is wrong… do it anyway, and ‘Choose to marry… Not in a Church’… ‘but in a parking lot… or… in a county park!’  Never do you hear the Pastor / Minister… say, “IF any have just cause why these should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace.” [James 4:4] But… What about your First Wedding Vows… “To JESUS?” Did JESUS, not hear them?  And ALL the witnesses in The Church?  Have those words… ‘Just Evaporated?’

Never do you hear ‘the Pastor’ say… as “Jesus” said… in His Word, The Bible!  [Isaiah 8:20 -&- Jeremiah 32:1-2]  

·         (Luke 16:18)  Everyone divorcing his wife and marrying another commits adultery; and everyone marrying her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

·         (Mark 10:11-12)  And He said to them, Whoever shall divorce his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  (Mark 10:12)  And if a woman shall divorce her husband and marries to another, she commits adultery.

·         (Matthew 19:9)  And I say to you, Whoever shall divorce his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

·         (Romans 7:2-3)  For a married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning her husband.  (Rom 7:3)  So while her husband is living, she will be called an adulterer even if she lives with another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from this law, so that she is not an adulterer if she marries another man.

Now, you have been presented… what The Word of GOD Says, “What do You Say?” Will you believe your Pastor, Minister or Priest?  Or will YOU Believe GOD? 

 Most will simply say: …‘you are a legalist’ -or- ‘you don’t know what you are speaking about!’  ‘You don’t know what I’ve been through’ -or- ‘you can’t even say that’, Because…Jesus said, ‘Not to Judge!’ … Or some Other Excuse! …[Ephesians 5:3-to-7]

Is calling what Jesus called ADULTERY… Wrong? -or-  NOT? ? ?  Jesus called it ADULTERY!  Do I then call it “GRACE”  or NOT?  [Matthew 12:37]  

IF… the foundation of our Nation is the Family, …and the Family is built on “Lies and Spiritual Treachery”… THEN… What is the hope of our… future generations?    

…“Lies… are the Root… Adultery… is the Fruit!”…  

Lies will mostly prevail, and Readers will  simply say… “Can’t we all just get Along?”   Are you willing to “Settle for… LIES?”  How about from your… Doctor? Perhaps JESUS… said it best!  [John 12:43-to-50]

·         (Luke 3:8)  Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather.' For I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!

Most will not… “Repent and Confess with Restitution”… and so this will be their… ‘Consequence!’  

·         (2Timothy 3:1-to-7)  Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand.   (2Tim 3:2)  For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (2Tim 3:3)  without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, (2Tim 3:4)  traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (2Tim 3:5)  having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these. (2Tim 3:6)  For of these are those who creep into houses and lead captive silly women loaded with sins, led away with different kinds of lusts, (2Tim 3:7)  ever learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of The Truth.

 Is there ‘Any Hope’… for the Broken Families?  God gave these instructions!

·         (Acts 17:30-31)  Though God has overlooked those times of ignorance, He now commands everyone everywhere to repent,  [Luke 19:8-9-10]

(Acts 17:31)  for He [GOD]  has set a day when He is going to judge the world with justice through a man He has appointed, and He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him [JESUS]…from the dead."

 …“Christ Jesus”… came as A Savior To “ALL” Mankind!  But on His Terms… Not On YOURS!  …[Matthew 7:12-to-23] Thanks for your Ear!  Roger459 /

…[Jeremiah 1:8 -&- 1Timothy 5:20]

End..!

Although this is a question for PastorD, it is certainly opened for discussion or for anyone who wishes to respond.

Pastor, at what point in time can a member of clergy deny anybody the right to enter or to join a church?  It is my understanding that Jesus taught that all who come are welcome and embraced within the church.  If this is the teaching of Jesus and if the person who comes is truly sincere in their beliefs, is it right for a member of clergy to dismiss that person from entrance within the church.  And if that person has done nothing to offend and has been nothing but be honest and sincere, what reason would a clergyman or woman have to turn them away? Also if a man is going to marry a woman who has every desire to join his church, does a member of clergy have any right to pursuade such a man that his choosen bride has no intent to join his church and turn her away?   Does this clergyman have the right to do this without even taking the time to speak to the woman and discover what her mind is on this subject?  Wouldn't this be considered dishonest and unprofessional? 

I ask because I know of someone who has faced this circumstance  and in which the man in question left his bride because of statements by such a member of clergy. 

The… “BRISTOL Stomp!”  Attack of the Desperate!

This morning’s news, carried the story of Bristol, the daughter of The Republican Vice President Candidate’s Daughters… Pregnancy out of wedlock.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/09/01/palin-pregna
nt.html?ref=rss

Since when did Imperfect Parents… conceive and raise… “PERFECT Children?” Absolutely NEVER!

Since when did Children’s Mistakes… Doom the Political Career… of a “Presidential Vice President Candidate?” Absolutely NEVER!

Perhaps, MANY… have forgotten that GREAT MORAL PRESIDENT… “President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky?”  Absolutely NEVER?

Perhaps, Many… have forgotten that GREAT MORAL PREISDENT… “President Kennedy and Marylyn Monroe and the Other EXTRA Marital affairs?” Absolutely NEVER!   

The DESPRATION of the Democratic Party… and their FEBLE ATTEMPT TO IMPUNE… their Opposition… “Only Demonstrates HOW VERY UN-HONORABLE… They ARE!” Absolute DUPLICITY!

Did the Democratic Party cover the Antics of President Clinton… while President?  Absolutely YES!

Did the Democratic Congress… Ever Do ANYTHING… about the SEX… that is broadcast into the HOMES… of Americans… Every moment of Every DAY… from the TELEVISION and MOVIES? Did you forget about Desperate Housewives, the Soaps and the Victoria Secret Commercials? Absolutely NOT! 

“The Double Standard… of the Democratic Party… has Reached… A New LOW!”  IF Hillary could not Control BILL… Why do they SLAM, the parents for a Childs Bad Decision?  Absolute DESPARATION!

Thanks for your Ear!  Roger459

Permission to Publish, Signed, RR / End…!

Polygamy - the right to put down women

Andrew Bolt

June 27, 2008 12:00am

WE haven't heard the last of this call by Muslim leaders for the right to polygamy.

After all, how can a society that's moving to give a man the right to marry another man then refuse a man the right to marry two women?

Give way on gay marriage, you must give way on polygamy. In both cases it's about consenting adults, right?

So I couldn't blame the sheiks who thought it was time this week to demand we change our laws to make polygamy legal.

Sheik Khalil Chami, of the Islamic Welfare Centre in Lakemba, said we already had Muslims in polygamous marriages here, and should protect them with legal status.

These weren't just polygamists who had somehow slipped through immigration checks, either: "There are a lot of sheiks here . . . (who) conduct that marriage no problem at all."

Chami soon had backers. Sheik Isse Musse of Werribee mosque said Melbourne had some 20 polygamous families from Africa, mainly Somalis and mainly refugees. The second wives deserved to have their marriages recognised so they weren't seen as having sex outside wedlock but, alas, "the Australian law is unfortunate".

Keysar Trad, translator for the former mufti of Australia and head of the Islamic Friendship Society, agreed, saying he'd even proposed to a second wife. And the current Mufti, Sheik Fehmi Naji el-Imam, said this was an issue for the Australian National Council of Imams to discuss.

And relax, crooned Yasser Soliman, one of the Muslim advisers handpicked by then prime minister John Howard: "I don't think it should be discussed in terms of any threat to the Australian way of life."

Except, of course, that it is.

It's not just a threat in the obvious way, being a challenge to the way we regard women in this country.

Women have slowly, painfully won the right to be considered equal to men in status and freedoms. Do we betray that ideal now by approving a form of union in which women are inevitably subservient?

It's no coincidence, after all, that these sheiks are utterly against giving women the equal right in turn to several husbands. And you need only hear Trad argue for polygamy to suspect they feel a woman's place is under a man, literally.

Trad this week said he'd proposed to a second woman because he'd fallen in love and thought it sinful to commit adultery. His wife, Hanifa, said she'd approved, because it would mean "having (sex) in the right way instead of having it like go to a prostitute . . ."

A second wife as a prostitute substitute? How could any woman resist such a sweet offer? No wonder Trad's proposal was turned down.

Six years ago, in another interview, Hanifa made even plainer the humiliation of such a deal, saying she'd only agreed to her husband taking a second wife because "we were having a terrible time . . . He fell in love and I wasn't thinking about myself."

In fact, that profile of the Trads also hinted at the deeper danger to "the Australian way of life" posed by polygamy.

Keysar Trad then had nine children and no steady job, relying on low-income support from government. He could not maintain his own family on his own, yet still was asking another woman to join his tribe.

In fact, I suspect that behind these new calls for the legalising of polygamous Muslim marriages is a need for the taxpayers' support that would flow with it.

It's largely for that very reason that Britain this year agreed to formally recognise polygamous relationships, almost all of Muslims, allowing second wives to claim income support of around $80 a week.

Given the poverty of so many such families, this means British taxpayers will now be funding marriage arrangements many will think unhealthy, if not immoral or even alien.

That isn't a reaction the Left can simply dismiss as plain bigotry, to be ignored or tackled with some "awareness" campaign. There is actually a moral issue here: should taxpayers support relationships that necessarily make women the underlings of men?

But there is also this to consider: here is yet another wedge to split us into tribes. After all, communities are formed by a shared morality, and a sense that we may each expect from others what others expect from us.

But what if those others expect from us help we feel is wrong to give, and which we would never dream of demanding ourselves?

That doesn't just break down trust and a sense of community, it destroys our support for the welfare state that needs our cash to exist. Is that what the Left really wants?

No, multiculturalism is cute when it's all souvlakis and fiestas, but here is one ethnic custom that must make way for our own. Marriage is between one man and one woman, people.

For your own good, and ours, and above all the children's, we must insist on that.

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Bottom of Form

Saturday June 28, 2008 - 11:16am (CDT)

Allah says Insha Allah (if Allah wills)

In Sura Kahf (sura 18) Allah narrated to Muhammad the story of sleepers. Previously, the Jews had enquired of Muhammad if he had any idea about a few biblical stories. Muhammad was perplexed, as he had no idea of what the Jews were talking. He requested two weeks (approximately) of reprieve to find the answer, assuring that his Allah will provide the correct response. Two weeks passed. Muhammad was still reticent. The Jews understood the depth of Allah’s intellectual competence. Then, after a long delay, Allah purportedly narrated the story as written in Sura Kahf. In verse 18:23 24. Muhammad complained to Allah for his (Allah’s) delay. Allah admonished Muhammad for not saying ‘Insha Allah’ when talking with the Jewish Rabbis.

Here are those verses (tr. Hilali and Khan):

18:23 And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow."
18:24 Except (with the saying), "If Allâh will!" And remember your Lord when you forget and say: "It may be that my Lord guides me unto a nearer way of truth than this."

In Sura al Kalam (sura 68) Allah tells the story of the people of the garden who boasted about the harvest of their garden, but forgot to mention “Insha Allah” when they intended to pick the fruits. Because of forgetting ‘Insha Allah’, when they entered their garden in the morning, they found their garden ruined.

Let us read these verses:

68:17 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning,
68:18 Without saying: Inshâ' Allâh (If Allâh will).
68:19 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep.
68:20 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins).

Amazingly, Allah Himself says “Insha Allah” in the following verses (tr. Hilali and Khan):

48:27 Indeed Allâh shall fulfil the true vision which He showed to His Messenger [i.e. the Prophet saw a dream that he has entered Makkah along with his companions, having their (head) hair shaved and cut short] in very truth. Certainly, you shall enter Al¬Masjid¬al¬Harâm; if Allâh wills, secure, (some) having your heads shaved, and (some) having your head hair cut short, having no fear. He knew what you knew not, and He granted besides that a near victory.

In the above verse, Allah clearly chants “Insha Allah”. If we have any doubt, we might consider the Arabic Qur’an. It is there in Arabic, the word ‘Insha Allah”. Here is the transliteration of verse 48:27:

Laqad sadaqa Allahu rasoolahu alrru/ya bialhaqqi latadkhulunna almasjida alharama in shaa Allahu amineena muhalliqeena ruoosakum wamuqassireena la takhafoona faAAalima ma lam taAAlamoo fajaAAala min dooni thalika fathan qareeban. (Note: thebold emphasis is mine)

To hide Allah’s inanity and silliness, Maududi writes the following comment on this verse:

Here, about the words insha'-Allah (if Allah so wills), which Allah Himself has used with His promise, one can raise the objection that when Allah Himself is making this promise, what is the meaning of making it conditional upon His own willing it? The answer is: Here the words insha'-Allah have not been used in the sense that if AIlah dces not will, He will not fulfil His promise, but in fact these relate to the background in which this promise was made…(commentary number 48/48).

I could not make any head or tail from the above commentary of Maududi. Perhaps, Allah Himself will not understand either.

The Fatuous Mind of Allah

By Abul Kasem

August 28, 2008

In Islam, it is compulsory for all Muslims to believe that Allah has written every word in the Qur'an. If any Muslim denies this, he/she is a blasphemer and is subject to harsh punishment which might include beheading. Nevertheless, if anyone reads the Qur'an seriously and with an open mind he/she will be stunned at the ambiguous, contradictory and erroneous verses buried inside this Holy Scripture. Many verses in the Qur'an clearly tell us that those words cannot be the words of Allah.

In this essay, we shall witness how silly Allah could be when He wrote the Qur'an.

Allah praises, thanks, and blesses Himself

Let us consider the following hilarious situations:

Jesus Christ blessing Jesus Christ
Kali Mata (a Hindu goddess) praising Kali Mata
Ganesh (another Hindu god) thanking Ganesh
Lord Buddha praising Lord Buddha
Nelson Mandela blessing Nelson Mandela
Hitler thanking Hitler
Radovan Kardzic praising Radovan Karadzic
George Bush blessing George Bush
Barack Obama praising Barak Obama
Osama bin Ladin thanking Osama bin Ladin
Hilary Clinton blessing Hilary Clinton
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praising Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Indira Gandhi blessing Indira Gandhi
Karl Marx thanking Karl Marx
Vladimir Putin praising Vladimir Putin
Sir Winston Churchill blessing Sir Winston Churchill
……..and so on.

We might consider the above citations absurd, illogical, silly and dim witted. We might even say those who pronounce or write such passages are insane/mad, and must be relegated to mental asylums. But hang on, Allah the presumed author of the Qur’an precisely does so. Here are few verses from Sura Kahf (tr. Hilali and Khan) where Allah unabashedly praises Allah.

18:1 All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad) the Book (the Qur’an), and has not placed therein any crookedness.
18:2 (He has made it) Straight to give warning (to the disbelievers) of a severe punishment from Him, and to give glad tidings to the believers (in the Oneness of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism), who work righteous deeds, that they shall have a fair reward (i.e. Paradise).
18:3 They shall abide therein forever

If we were to make any sense from the above verses, we may conclude:

Muhammad or another person/entity is the author of these verses.

Had Allah said those verses to Muhammad then Allah must had been drunk or under the influence of a strong drug.

Allah must be the resident of a mental asylum.

Here are a few more verses (tr. Hilali and Khan) to amuse the readers.

25:1 Blessed be He Who sent down the criterion (of right and wrong, i.e. this Qur'ân) to His slave (Muhammad) that he may be a warner to the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinns).
34:1 All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. His is all the praises and thanks in the Hereafter, and He is the All¬Wise, the All¬Aware.
35:1 All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the (only) Originator [or the (only) Creator] of the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels messengers with wings, - two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Verily, Allâh is Able to do all things.
37:182 And all the praise and thanks be to Allah, Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists.
45:36 So all the praises and thanks are to Allâh, the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the earth, and the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

In the above verses, Allah is praising and blessing Allah.

Readers should note that at the beginning of those verses Allah did not ask Muhammad to utter the Arabic word ‘kul’ (read). Thus, we may conclude that Muhammad or another entity is speaking in those verses.

If we were to believe that Allah is the only author of the Qur'an, we must conclude that Allah’s silliness has no bound.

The Myth:

Religious minorities have flourished under Islam. Muslims are commanded to protect Jew and Christians (the People of the Book) and to do them no harm.

The Truth:

Religious minorities have not “flourished” under Islam. In fact, they have dwindled to mere shadows after centuries of persecution and discrimination. Some were converted from their native religion by brute force, others under the agonizing strain of dhimmitude.

What Muslims call “tolerance,” others correctly identify as institutionalized discrimination. The consignment of Jews and Christians to dhimmis under Islamic rule means that they are not allowed the same religious rights and freedoms as Muslims. They cannot share their faith, for example, or build houses of worship without permission.

Historically, dhimmis have often had to wear distinguishing clothing or cut their hair in a particular manner that indicates their position of inferiority and humiliation. They do not share the same legal rights as Muslims, and must even pay a poll tax (the jizya). They are to be killed or have their children taken from them if they cannot satisfy the tax collector’s requirements.

For hundreds of years, the Christian population in occupied Europe had their sons taken away and forcibly converted into Muslim warriors (known as Jannisaries) by the Ottoman Turks.

It is under this burden of discrimination and third-class status that so many converted to Islam over the centuries. Those who didn’t often faced economic and social hardships that persist to this day and are appalling by Western standards of true religious tolerance and pluralism.

For those who are not “the People of the Book,” such as Hindus and atheists, there is very little tolerance to be found once Islam establishes political superiority. The Qur’an tells Muslims to “fight in the way of Allah” until “religion is only for Allah.” The conquered populations face death if they do not establish regular prayer and charity in the Islamic tradition (ie. the pillars of Islam).

Tamerlane and other Muslim warriors slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Buddhists, as well as displacing or forcibly converting millions more over the last thousand years.

At best, Islam has a dual personality toward other religions. In some places they are explicitly cursed by Allah, in others there appears to be a measure of tolerance shown. There are about 500 verses in the Qur’an that speak of Allah’s hatred for non-Muslims and the punishment that he has prepared for their unbelief. There is also a tiny handful that say otherwise, but these are mostly earlier verses that many scholars consider to be abrogated by the later, more violent ones.

If tolerance simply means discouraging the mass slaughter of those of a different faith, then today's Islam generally meets this standard more often than not. But, if tolerance means allowing people of other faiths the same religious liberties that Muslims enjoy, then Islam is fundamentally the most intolerant religion under the sun.

The Myth:

Muhammad was a peaceful man who taught his followers to be the same. Muslims lived peacefully for centuries, only fighting in self-defense when it was necessary. True Muslims would never act aggressively.

The Truth:

Muhammad organized 65 military campaigns in the last ten years of his life and personally led 27 of them. The more power that he attained, the smaller the excuse needed to go to battle, until finally he began attacking tribes merely because they were not part of his growing empire.

After Muhammad’s death, his most faithful followers and even his own family turned on each other almost immediately. There were four Caliphs (leaders) in the first twenty-five years. Three of the four were murdered. The third Caliph was murdered by the son of the first. The fourth Caliph was murdered by the fifth, who left a 100-year dynasty that was ended in a gruesome, widespread bloodbath by descendents of Muhammad’s uncle.

Muhammad’s own daughter, Fatima, and his son-in-law, Ali, who both survived the pagan hardship during the Meccan years safe and sound, did not survive Islam after the death of Muhammad. Fatima died of stress from persecution within three months, and Ali was later assassinated. Their son (Muhammad’s grandson) was killed in battle with the faction that became today’s Sunnis. His people became Shias. The relatives and personal friends of Muhammad were mixed into both warring groups, which then fractured further into hostile sub-divisions as Islam grew.

Muhammad left his men with instructions to take the battle against the Christians, Persians, Jews and polytheists (which came to include millions of unfortunate Hindus). For the next four centuries, Muslim armies steamrolled over unsuspecting neighbors, plundering them of loot and slaves, and forcing the survivors to either convert or pay tribute at the point of a sword.

Companions of Muhammad lived to see Islam declare war on every major religion in the world in just the first few decades following his death - pressing the Jihad against Hindus, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Buddhists.

By the time of the Crusades (when the Europeans began fighting back), Muslims had conquered two-thirds of the Christian world by the sword, from Spain to Syria, and across North Africa. The Arab slave-trading routes would stay open for 1300 years, until pressure from Christian-based countries forced Islamic nations to declare the practice illegal (in theory).

Today, there is not another religion in the world that consistently produces terrorism in the name of religion as does Islam. The most dangerous Muslims are nearly always those who interpret the Qur’an most transparently. They are the fundamentalists or purists of the faith, and believe in Muhammad’s mandate to spread Islamic rule by the sword, putting to death those who will not submit.

The holy texts of Islam are saturated with verses of violence and hatred toward those outside the faith. In sharp contrast to the Bible, which generally moves from relatively violent passages to far more peaceful ones, the Qur’an travels the exact opposite path. The handful of earlier verses that speak of tolerance are overwhelmed by an avalanche of later ones that carry a much different message. While Old Testament verses of blood and guts are generally bound by historical context within the text itself, Qur'anic imperatives to violence usually appear open-ended.

By any objective measure, the "Religion of Peace" has been the harshest, bloodiest religion the world has ever known.

I've always wanted to use the word "digress" in a written sentence, and now I must do just that, "digress", to get it straight for the sake of this epiphany.

I managed to spend several "installments" in  the Florida Department Of Corrections, and on one of those occasions, myself and another "convict" slipped past fences, gaurds, and swamps to end up hiking to Tampa, some 75 or so miles away. 

I just wanted to get out of prison right then, damn the consequences.  I did, but my "running partner" went to another state to receive yet another charge. Later in my sentence I ran into him as he was beginning a long sentence and I was leaving for a work-release facility.  

I am not glorifying this event, but remembering how scared I was slipping underneath a fence virtually in front of the gaurds noses, leaving us three hours or more to escape through the swamps surrounding three sides of the prison, and only a single road entering and not an option for use. 

We planned for days, yet the escape itself was quite spontaneous in character.  We left the dining hall, walked to the fence where someone had not blocked the ditch, and crawled under it into the minimum security facility next to the "max" we were in.  A short run to the back of a church, and under the fence again, and we were facing the last hurdle.  To this day, I don't know how high that fence was but it seemed like it was several hundred feet tall with long, sharp razors at the top. 

I just kept moving on the wire, and got many cuts, but no major damage, and we were then in the swamps.  We had several hours to move, and move we did.  My daily runs paid off, I set myself for a long jog through farms, citrus groves and fields.  My partner barely kept up, having opted to sit and wait instead of conditioning himself, but we made it to the outside of any perimeter that the gaurds might have set up for us.  My partner wanted to steal a car, or get to a highway, but I insisted we stay in the woods and swamp area surrounding the prison, and it's what kept us from getting caught.  I was not running to commit more crimes, I was only running to get home and do whatever I thought I had to do to make things right with the people I cared about, or so I thought of it that way.

Snakes, a couple of gators, lots of spiders and insects fought against us, and the fear and craziness of what I had done kept me going for several days until we emerged somewhere just north of Tampa.  My running partnder, whom I shall call Phil, had family in Tampa.  He made a call and a couple of hours later, I was soaking the swamp and the adrenalin charged fear out of my body in a hot bath.

I worked for the people who picked us up, family and friends of "Phil" for about a month.  My girlfriend alientated me, my family was afraid to have any contact to do with me, and I wasn't sure I knew what to do.  So I drank and worked for the next month, most days, not even remembering what I did the night before.  I was pretty much alone in the world of my own making.  About a month went by and I went to a bar I frequented, to meet my girlfriend to "talk" about my future.  She wanted me to turn myself in, I refused.  She met me at the bar, and we had a few drinks before she left angry at me for not doing the right thing.  A few minutes later, all hell broke loose, and cops came from everywhere, bearing down on me.  I managed to get a few blocks away before they cornered me in a wooded area. 

I remember a cop had me hemmed in with her car, and I begged her to kill me, run me owver, anything to take me out of my misery and anger.  Of course, she just handcuffed me and put me in the squad car insead.  My run was over.

Back to jail and more of the same things I knew, courts and jails. 

Presentation has a lot to do with how something will be received. How things are received have a lot to do with how people react. Do we carry a welcome sign, where people are encouraged to interact with us? Do we carry a forceful sign that encourages people to flee and not consider a possible option? I was thinking about this problem this morning. It reminded me of a while back, when I encountered a bunch of protesters at an abortion clinic (in my blog archive). They held up signs that stated the usual things, murderer... blah... blah. They were forcefully harassing women. I was appalled.... I stopped and asked one of the ladies "what kind of sign would Jesus carry". She looked at me and rudely said, "we are trying to save babies here". I told her, try carrying a different sign! How about one that said, "I'll babysit for free", "I'll buy you diapers", "I'll buy your baby formula". WWJD, definitely not carry a sign like theirs.

The point is, they weren't carrying a sign or message that will bring about change. All they accomplished, was to harass women and teenagers who are under stress, pushing them further and faster into a devastating decision. There was no sign or message of help, hope or compassion.

Have we become so embroiled, that we discard an opportunity to build a bridge? If people's thoughts are always dismissed or struck down they eventually avoid those types of situations. Communication enables people to consider something in a different light, perhaps they will even change their entire perspective on something.... People need to see a personal application in their life to change something. It's a process, a reflection, not just a sign!

A Christian writes to “A Muslim”

I find that there are many of the Muslim / Islamic faith... that are beginning... ‘To Question’ their Religion?

May I first compliment YOU… as your religion has given you the discipline that many other religions ‘do not have.’  Your dedication to pray 5-times a day and attend your religious services for teaching is admirable. Your major sects are regionally divided in each Middle East country, such as Iraq and Iran. Each one warring against the Other! 

Now as you take a look at what is called ‘Christian’… you find that there are many sects.

The most predominate is a PSEUDO Christian Religion that has the trappings of Idols and Statues. 

May I say that Most are not A Biblical Christian… but hold to the teachings of their Church over that of the Word of God.

Sim