When it comes to the conflict between Christians and Muslims the lack of any cooperation among Christians stands out. A few examples:
1. The Byzantine Empire falls to the Muslim Turks in 1453. The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome around 460 AD, the eastern empire continued and prospered until its defeat by the Muslim Turks in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople. The Muslims had been on the march, conquering surrounding territory ever since the death of Muhammad in 632 AD.
After the Christian schism between the Roman church and the Greek church in 1054 AD the Roman and Greek (Byzantine) churches became enemies and have never reconciled to this day. Nothing could have been more tragic in the history of Christendom. This is the equivalent of a family divided. In 1453 total victory arrived for the Muslims with the conquest and destruction of Constantinople, the seat of Christianity for 1300 years. No Christian country in Europe offered any help. Only seven hundred private soldiers from Genoa, Italy, led by Giovanni Giustiniani, a brilliant siege commander, came to aid Constantinople; they fought valiantly against overwhelming odds until they were overrun by the superior Turkish forces. The Muslims did not stop with the Byzantine Empire; eventually they reached to gates of Vienna Austria in 1529 in their thirst for territory. The Europeans failed to see that the loss of the Byzantine Empire was not just a loss of territory but a religious defeat that would continue to harass them to this day. We're still paying the cost of the loss of the Byzantine Empire today. Lars Brownworth, in his book, Lost to the West, tells the story of the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
Some say that "war is not the answer." The Europeans believed this and did nothing, but war continues to be waged upon Christians to this day without ceasing. There are those who see a mountain and refuse to recognize it. This is what most Christians are doing today when it comes to their Muslim opponents.
2. At the end of World War I, the European allies, which included Britain, France, Italy, and Greece defeated the Ottoman Turks and Germany. After 500 years, the Europeans had a chance to reverse all the Muslim advances of territory conquered by the Muslims. When the victorious allies of WW I sat down to decide what to do with the defeated Ottoman Turks, they squabbled and could not come up with a cogent decision. Finally, they acted - they decided to let Greece occupy Smyrna, a coastal city in Turkey - called Izmir today. The Greeks, desiring to re-occupy their Byzantine land lost in 1453, moved out and occupied a large portion of Turkey. They blundered militarily very badly and were crushed by the Turks, who took horrific revenge on anyone not of Turkish descent; committing unspeakable atrocities, including the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians. No one knows of the atrocities committed by the Turks after the end of WW I. We've heard of the Armenian genocide but not anything else. I will review the book Paradise Lost, Smyrna 1922 in a later post. This book details the Turkish atrocities in Turkey after they defeated the Greeks.
3. Today, we still face a hostile Muslim foe. The difference today is that it is not one country against another, but a fanatical part of Islam, in the name of Al Qaeda, Jihad and many others who still fight against the infidel, non-Muslims. This war exploded on 9/11/2001 when Muslim terrorists attacked and murdered 3,000 Americans who were busy working at their desk in New York City. Whereas before armies would attack and overrun territories, today the Muslim terrorists attack innocent people wherever they are. and murder them at will. Muslim terrorists also attack other Muslims they disagree with such and they do in Pakistan and Iraq.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Historical Amnesia
According to the politically correct worldview, anyone who opposes the building of the World Trade Center Mosque, is intolerant, a bigot, or a racist; perhaps all of these. When Bill O'Reilly appeared on the "View," a daytime soap opera of a TV talk show, two of the very liberal hosts, Joy Behar and Whoopie Goldberg, were so incensed when Bill suggested that building a Mosque next to the World Trade Center was an abomination that they stormed out of the set. I'm sure they thought that Bill was all of the above.
I'm afraid that most people, including Bill O'Reilly, are for the most part, ignorant of history. I find that most people I talk to are about the third grade level when it comes to history. This is devastating to our worldview and our culture. You cannot have a proper world view without knowing basic history. Let's review here quickly why a Mosque near the World Trade Center in not appropriate.
1. Since the beginning of the Muslim religion, around 632 AD, the Muslims have made it their goal to conquer, convert, destroy and obliterate all vestiges of Christianity and replace it with Islam. Why were we attacked on 9/11, for instance? Whom had the United States attacked? What was the reason for Pearl Harbor type of an attack on the United Sates? When the Muslims conquer an area or a people, the will destroy all vestiges of the conquered people's religion, including churches. They will take a Christian church and turn it into a Mosque. Historically, Muslims will erect a Mosque on the spot where there used to be a church, such as, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Cordoba in Spain. Why did they call the Ground Zero project, "The Cordoba House"?
Let's take some examples of this destruction of conquered people's religion. In the Sudan, there has been a war on Christians for over 30 years. The goal of the Muslims in the Sudan is total elimination of Christians in Sudan. Does Darfur mean anything to you? A genocide against Christians is going on right now.
In 1974, Turkey, a Muslim country, forcibly conquered the island of Cyprus. They've occupied half of the island ever since. The other half is semi-independent. The entire island, with a small Turkish minority had been Christian majority. The Turks have demolished most, if not all of the Christian churches in their occupied half of the island.
Smyrna, a coastal city in Asia Minor, part of Turkey, was majority Christian until 1922. After the Ottoman Turks lost WW I they blamed the Christians of Smyrna for their troubles and accused them of undermining them. They systematically killed all of them and burned the city to the ground. This story is told in the new book "Paradise Lost" by Giles Milton, published in 2008. This book is a compelling story that cannot be put down. Superbly researched and written. Milton recounts how the Christians were forcibly removed from their homes and marched through the desert until they died from exhaustion or were summarily murdered in cold blood. Reading the story of Smyrna is a human tragedy and a Holocaust of epic proportions, yet no one knows anything about it. After the destruction of Smyrna, one of the seven cities of the seven churches of the New Testament, they re-named the city Izmir. The Turks also renamed their capital of Constantinople - a thousand year old city, to Istanbul at the same time. Could there have been an anti-Christian reason for it? Constantinople had been the capital of Christendom until it was conquered and destroyed by the Turks in 1453. Smyrna, as noted earlier, was one of the original seven churches of the New Testament. The entire country of Turkey was conquered from the Christian Byzantine Empire and made into an Islamic country.
2. Amnesia, is a condition where one cannot remember even one's own name. The ignorance of history, especially the history of the persecution of Christians by Muslims is another amnesia. This amnesia will do grave damage to our country. Does anyone care?
3. We can agree that not all Muslims are terrorists nor do they share the hatred of the United States. However, the Muslims of the world, in general, and the the Muslims of the United States in particular have failed to condemn the Muslim terrorists. On the contrary, after 9/11, the Muslims of the Middle East celebrated the murder of US citizens. The developer of the Ground Zero Mosque, Faisal Abdul Rauf, stated in an interview by"60 Minutes" stated that the United States shares responsibility for 9/11. Click here to watch what he said. He also refused to say if Hamas was a terrorist organization. Additionally, he refuses to discuss where the finances come from for the Mosque.
I'm afraid that most people, including Bill O'Reilly, are for the most part, ignorant of history. I find that most people I talk to are about the third grade level when it comes to history. This is devastating to our worldview and our culture. You cannot have a proper world view without knowing basic history. Let's review here quickly why a Mosque near the World Trade Center in not appropriate.
1. Since the beginning of the Muslim religion, around 632 AD, the Muslims have made it their goal to conquer, convert, destroy and obliterate all vestiges of Christianity and replace it with Islam. Why were we attacked on 9/11, for instance? Whom had the United States attacked? What was the reason for Pearl Harbor type of an attack on the United Sates? When the Muslims conquer an area or a people, the will destroy all vestiges of the conquered people's religion, including churches. They will take a Christian church and turn it into a Mosque. Historically, Muslims will erect a Mosque on the spot where there used to be a church, such as, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Cordoba in Spain. Why did they call the Ground Zero project, "The Cordoba House"?
Let's take some examples of this destruction of conquered people's religion. In the Sudan, there has been a war on Christians for over 30 years. The goal of the Muslims in the Sudan is total elimination of Christians in Sudan. Does Darfur mean anything to you? A genocide against Christians is going on right now.
In 1974, Turkey, a Muslim country, forcibly conquered the island of Cyprus. They've occupied half of the island ever since. The other half is semi-independent. The entire island, with a small Turkish minority had been Christian majority. The Turks have demolished most, if not all of the Christian churches in their occupied half of the island.
Smyrna, a coastal city in Asia Minor, part of Turkey, was majority Christian until 1922. After the Ottoman Turks lost WW I they blamed the Christians of Smyrna for their troubles and accused them of undermining them. They systematically killed all of them and burned the city to the ground. This story is told in the new book "Paradise Lost" by Giles Milton, published in 2008. This book is a compelling story that cannot be put down. Superbly researched and written. Milton recounts how the Christians were forcibly removed from their homes and marched through the desert until they died from exhaustion or were summarily murdered in cold blood. Reading the story of Smyrna is a human tragedy and a Holocaust of epic proportions, yet no one knows anything about it. After the destruction of Smyrna, one of the seven cities of the seven churches of the New Testament, they re-named the city Izmir. The Turks also renamed their capital of Constantinople - a thousand year old city, to Istanbul at the same time. Could there have been an anti-Christian reason for it? Constantinople had been the capital of Christendom until it was conquered and destroyed by the Turks in 1453. Smyrna, as noted earlier, was one of the original seven churches of the New Testament. The entire country of Turkey was conquered from the Christian Byzantine Empire and made into an Islamic country.
2. Amnesia, is a condition where one cannot remember even one's own name. The ignorance of history, especially the history of the persecution of Christians by Muslims is another amnesia. This amnesia will do grave damage to our country. Does anyone care?
3. We can agree that not all Muslims are terrorists nor do they share the hatred of the United States. However, the Muslims of the world, in general, and the the Muslims of the United States in particular have failed to condemn the Muslim terrorists. On the contrary, after 9/11, the Muslims of the Middle East celebrated the murder of US citizens. The developer of the Ground Zero Mosque, Faisal Abdul Rauf, stated in an interview by"60 Minutes" stated that the United States shares responsibility for 9/11. Click here to watch what he said. He also refused to say if Hamas was a terrorist organization. Additionally, he refuses to discuss where the finances come from for the Mosque.
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