Last week a young Muslim man attempted to blow up an airplane headed to Detroit. He's ben dubbed the 'underwear bomber' because he had half of a very powerful explosive in his underwear. Seems his attempt to add the other compound of the explosive failed and all he got was a burned crotch. Our government agencies, in an attempt to show how well they do they jobs, declared how well the 'anti-terror systems' worked, when in fact it was the mistake of a 23 yr old would-be terrorist, and the quick response of a British businessman that saved over 200 lives. Prior to this incident, our current administration wasn't able to stomach to words that we are 'at war' with an Islamic organization dedicated in the task of killing as many Americans as they can for the last 30 yrs. The man they all hate understood that on Sept 11th, 2001. At the same time, an interesting story concerning Google emerged about its search engine. Until it changes - hopefully soon, if you believe Google - go to Google.com, and in the search box on the screen, type in "Christianity is". Interesting possible search topics, huh? Now try "Hinduism is". OK, now try "Atheism is". Notice the results you get right in the search box? Now, type in "Islam is". Notice any difference? Right, nothing appears at all. Google calls it a 'bug', I call it par for the course - Islam is a protected religion because they kill people for much less infractions.
Recently, I got a chance to sit down and watch Ben Stein's "Expelled!" documentary. Ben is certainly no Michael Moore, but then he would have had to fabricate half of his information to be in his league. We normally think of "science" as the bastion of truth and objectivity. From "science" we get all of the technologies we love to use; electricity and electronics, mechanical contraptions, construction marvels, and many others. But there are a couple of areas in the field of science where truth and objectivity don't seem to have any place. Why? Because there's money involved. You see, you don't get any grants to disprove some of the absolutes in science, like evolution and global warming - oh! sorry, I mean climate change. Some one really smart once said, "Follow the money!", and it is really true in the world of educational grants. You don't get grants to disprove their sacred cows. As Stein showed in his documentary, 'intelligent design' is a dirty word, one that can get you fired. So much for 'freedom of speech'.
I've also had a chance to think a lot about the Army Psychiatrist who, in the name of Allah, gunned down over 40 people, killing 13 of them. And for days and days no one was asking the real questions about his actions. Everyone wanted to relegate this guy to the fringe as a psycho, but the sad fact of the matter is, he is sane, rational and purposeful in all of his actions. We don't like that because it doesn't fit in to our little Pollyanna world views - Christian, secular or otherwise. And why did this guy go on a rampage? It seems that he was feeling 'picked' on because of his religion. His response? Sadly, it was all too typical for one from his religious views. The "religion of peace" has once again shown itself as anything but tolerant. And as usual, no one seems to be seeing that.
You might be asking what these three examples have in common and if you are, its called tolerance. Some of you may be thinking that I'm being a bit intolerant right now in my statements, but I assure you I am the tolerant one. This website documents Islam's religious tradition of tolerance of others who might disagree with their view of what is acceptable. Its what is happening right now, all around our globe. But I WARN you now, you may not want to go to this website; its information and its images will disturb you. It is not for the faint of heart.
There is also the recent revelations in the global warming community about its tactics to promote their agenda to force the world's economies to limit their CO2 emissions. They have purposely fabricated some data and hidden others, to support their agenda. Anyone that disagrees with them and their agenda - even with good reasoned evidence to the contrary - is a 'denier'. They won't even listen to a reasoned arguments that are different than the agenda they are married to.
Its like the questions I asked the History Channel several years ago when they had done yet another hit piece on Christianity, "Would you ever, even think of doing the same to other religions, say like Islam? Or is Christianity just too easy of a target?" Christians are supposed to 'turn the other cheek', so attacking our belief system is 'ok'. You see, the perception is that Christianity is the only intolerant religion or belief system out there, making their attacks a reasoned way to help us become more 'tolerant'. A fanatic shoots an abortion doctor (who legally commits murder every day, but that's a different discussion for a different day) and all of Christianity is indicted as "intolerant". Meanwhile, Islam all over the world, including the USA, kills people every single day, and they are the "religion of peace", the tolerant faith. The death toll of Muslim incited violence is easily well over a 100 to 1 ratio in incidents as compared to Christianity - which is often cited, yet its only Christians that are intolerant. Honestly, it should make you want to know just what the real definition of "tolerance" is. So let's start there. Tolerance is defined as:
Tolerance has degenerated to the level of a weapon to be welded against anyone that we disagree with. Intolerant is a label to be feared. Not surprisingly, it is usually used by the social and scientific elite, who are usually the most intolerant amongst us. Please understand, I'm not arguing for intolerance to spread, it already has. I am arguing for more tolerance from the one's who consider themselves to be the most 'tolerant'. The secularist has no reason and no motivation to practice it. They have no standard to live by, except for whatever they seem to think is the best standard they can find. Other religious traditions are really not much better, they practice it very unevenly, but some better than others. But it is the Christian that has every reason and all of the motivation to do so, but sadly they are just as uneven in their practice.
Christians are supposed to be people that are to be imitators of Christ. I don't really expect non-Christians, like Muslims, to be tolerant, which they are not. Neither do I expect it from the secularist. But the Christian simply doesn't have a choice. That doesn't mean they are to be blind to the truth and hypocritical reality around them. And it doesn't mean them should be silent either. But it is not our ability to organize against the world, or boycott organizations or TV programs that will affect the world. It will be our ability to imitate Jesus that will affect the world around us. Years ago, there was a 'WWJD?' campaign that asked a simple question - what would Jesus do? It has been copied and mocked, but the question was still a good one that is just as relevant today as it was 2000 yrs ago. Would Jesus turn to politics to solve the world's inequalities? Would he protest? Would he spew hatred towards others? Wouldn't he answer the Pharisee's one way, and the masses another? Do we know who the Pharisees are?
When Jesus talked about 'turning the other cheek', it wasn't about being the door mat for the world. No, it was about showing the world that we were willing to be wronged to show the world what was right. When Christians were killed by the Romans for their faith, what we forget is that they refused to deny Christ as Lord and God. The Romans were intolerant of their religious views, the Christians willingly gave up their lives to show that faith in Jesus was more important than their current life on this earth, more important than the intolerant world around them. It was a statement that spoke much louder than their words could have ever done. Remember, they will know we are Christians by our love.
It is not wrong to point out to the world its lack of tolerance, just don't be intolerant when you do it!
Recently, I got a chance to sit down and watch Ben Stein's "Expelled!" documentary. Ben is certainly no Michael Moore, but then he would have had to fabricate half of his information to be in his league. We normally think of "science" as the bastion of truth and objectivity. From "science" we get all of the technologies we love to use; electricity and electronics, mechanical contraptions, construction marvels, and many others. But there are a couple of areas in the field of science where truth and objectivity don't seem to have any place. Why? Because there's money involved. You see, you don't get any grants to disprove some of the absolutes in science, like evolution and global warming - oh! sorry, I mean climate change. Some one really smart once said, "Follow the money!", and it is really true in the world of educational grants. You don't get grants to disprove their sacred cows. As Stein showed in his documentary, 'intelligent design' is a dirty word, one that can get you fired. So much for 'freedom of speech'.
I've also had a chance to think a lot about the Army Psychiatrist who, in the name of Allah, gunned down over 40 people, killing 13 of them. And for days and days no one was asking the real questions about his actions. Everyone wanted to relegate this guy to the fringe as a psycho, but the sad fact of the matter is, he is sane, rational and purposeful in all of his actions. We don't like that because it doesn't fit in to our little Pollyanna world views - Christian, secular or otherwise. And why did this guy go on a rampage? It seems that he was feeling 'picked' on because of his religion. His response? Sadly, it was all too typical for one from his religious views. The "religion of peace" has once again shown itself as anything but tolerant. And as usual, no one seems to be seeing that.
You might be asking what these three examples have in common and if you are, its called tolerance. Some of you may be thinking that I'm being a bit intolerant right now in my statements, but I assure you I am the tolerant one. This website documents Islam's religious tradition of tolerance of others who might disagree with their view of what is acceptable. Its what is happening right now, all around our globe. But I WARN you now, you may not want to go to this website; its information and its images will disturb you. It is not for the faint of heart.
There is also the recent revelations in the global warming community about its tactics to promote their agenda to force the world's economies to limit their CO2 emissions. They have purposely fabricated some data and hidden others, to support their agenda. Anyone that disagrees with them and their agenda - even with good reasoned evidence to the contrary - is a 'denier'. They won't even listen to a reasoned arguments that are different than the agenda they are married to.
Its like the questions I asked the History Channel several years ago when they had done yet another hit piece on Christianity, "Would you ever, even think of doing the same to other religions, say like Islam? Or is Christianity just too easy of a target?" Christians are supposed to 'turn the other cheek', so attacking our belief system is 'ok'. You see, the perception is that Christianity is the only intolerant religion or belief system out there, making their attacks a reasoned way to help us become more 'tolerant'. A fanatic shoots an abortion doctor (who legally commits murder every day, but that's a different discussion for a different day) and all of Christianity is indicted as "intolerant". Meanwhile, Islam all over the world, including the USA, kills people every single day, and they are the "religion of peace", the tolerant faith. The death toll of Muslim incited violence is easily well over a 100 to 1 ratio in incidents as compared to Christianity - which is often cited, yet its only Christians that are intolerant. Honestly, it should make you want to know just what the real definition of "tolerance" is. So let's start there. Tolerance is defined as:
the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with; the capacity to endure continued subjection to something without adverse reaction.There are of course people all over the world, Christians included, that are intolerant, but it does seem a bit odd that only Christians seem to be saddled with the moniker of intolerant. When a Christian scientist sees proof of intelligent design in the world, there doesn't seem to be a problem of being intolerant of his viewpoint by the so called enlightened secularists. His viewpoint can be ruthlessly refuted and even viciously ridiculed and somehow that's a 'proof' of tolerance. Yet, the secularist can never be questioned when he sees a lack of intelligent design in the world. Any questions to the contrary are ridiculed and the person blackballed from the educational community, making it nearly impossible to find employment. The same seems to be true of all other religious viewpoints with the exception of Christianity. I'm 'narrow-minded and bigoted' to believe that the Bible is God's Word to man and that there is no other way to God except by His Son, Jesus. Yet every other religious tradition believes the exact same thing - that they are right and all others are wrong. To burn the Quran is a sin punishable by death in the Muslim world, so it amazes me that no one in the secular world seems to see this as intolerant. People in the Army are prosecuted for doing something like that. The terrorist detainees routinely destroyed the Quran's we, the taxpayers of the USA, purchased for them in ways you simply would not believe. Yet Army guards are instructed to do anything and everything to protect these books that the detainees destroy and use as weapons.
Tolerance has degenerated to the level of a weapon to be welded against anyone that we disagree with. Intolerant is a label to be feared. Not surprisingly, it is usually used by the social and scientific elite, who are usually the most intolerant amongst us. Please understand, I'm not arguing for intolerance to spread, it already has. I am arguing for more tolerance from the one's who consider themselves to be the most 'tolerant'. The secularist has no reason and no motivation to practice it. They have no standard to live by, except for whatever they seem to think is the best standard they can find. Other religious traditions are really not much better, they practice it very unevenly, but some better than others. But it is the Christian that has every reason and all of the motivation to do so, but sadly they are just as uneven in their practice.
Christians are supposed to be people that are to be imitators of Christ. I don't really expect non-Christians, like Muslims, to be tolerant, which they are not. Neither do I expect it from the secularist. But the Christian simply doesn't have a choice. That doesn't mean they are to be blind to the truth and hypocritical reality around them. And it doesn't mean them should be silent either. But it is not our ability to organize against the world, or boycott organizations or TV programs that will affect the world. It will be our ability to imitate Jesus that will affect the world around us. Years ago, there was a 'WWJD?' campaign that asked a simple question - what would Jesus do? It has been copied and mocked, but the question was still a good one that is just as relevant today as it was 2000 yrs ago. Would Jesus turn to politics to solve the world's inequalities? Would he protest? Would he spew hatred towards others? Wouldn't he answer the Pharisee's one way, and the masses another? Do we know who the Pharisees are?
When Jesus talked about 'turning the other cheek', it wasn't about being the door mat for the world. No, it was about showing the world that we were willing to be wronged to show the world what was right. When Christians were killed by the Romans for their faith, what we forget is that they refused to deny Christ as Lord and God. The Romans were intolerant of their religious views, the Christians willingly gave up their lives to show that faith in Jesus was more important than their current life on this earth, more important than the intolerant world around them. It was a statement that spoke much louder than their words could have ever done. Remember, they will know we are Christians by our love.
It is not wrong to point out to the world its lack of tolerance, just don't be intolerant when you do it!
Comments