Posted by
William D. Dannenmaier on Monday, May 26, 2008 6:37:15 PM
The Most Feared Religion
By
William D. Dannenmaier
A few murderers commandeer airplanes and fly them into buildings killing thousands and disrupting, forever, the lives of tens of thousands. It was a highlight, but not the end, of spasmodic acts of murder around the world by fools acting, they believe, in the name of Islam and financed by wealthy men living in luxury and safety.
Mobs of Hindus storm and burn a Christian church and kill those inside; men, women and children who are praying for peace and listening to words of love and charity.
Buddhists storm and burn a Christian church and kill those inside; the men, women and children praying for peace and listening to words of love and charity. These are “followers” of Buddha, who, as I understand it, preached peace, love and charity.
Christian missionaries are not permitted to evangelize in Israel. I suppose their message might be dangerous.
Of all of these actions, particularly those by Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims, the most widespread and vicious have been done in the name of the Islamic faith. It appears to be reasonable and proper to kill children, women and men, regardless of their religious beliefs, as Richard the Lion Hearted of England did in the Holy Land a thousand years ago in the name of Christianity, if you murder in the name of Islam.
There is no question that these acts of terror have been effective. People in many countries fear the acts of Muslims. Americans now look askance at women or children wearing the clothing of the Near East: those burkas could hide bombs and guns and, as has been demonstrated in more than one other nation, the leaders of these killers, supposedly Muslim, do not hesitate to send women and children to do the jobs they don’t want to do.
All of this leads to the question, what is the most feared religion?
Since most of the murders in recent years, internationally, have been by Muslims acting in the name of religion, I have begun reading the Qur’an (first translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali 1934, this, 18th edition released 2006) to attempt to find the reasoning and justification for killing innocent adults and children. First, I scanned the text and found nothing. Now, reading carefully, I’m up to Surah (chapter) 4 and have still found no advice to murder. Instead, I find numerous quotations from the Old Testament of the Bible recommending charity and mercy. For example, verse 83, Surah 2, says, “… treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to people, be steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity.” This hardly would seem to justify planting bombs on children and women and sending them into market places to kill innocent, devout Muslims as well as innocents of other religions.
I have even found a text affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ (Surah 3, 42 - 49).
Somewhere I read that Mohammed revolted against the corruption of the Christian church. After the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, “Christian” leaders became politically powerful – and corrupt. Mohammed studied the Bible and, to the extent I have as yet read, quoted extensively from it in, I believe, a reaction to the corruption of the church leaders of the politicized Christian church.
C. S. Lewis spoke of “nominal Christians,” persons who claimed Christianity because it permitted them to continue gain prestige, wealth and power in nations composed primarily of Christians through practices which were, at best, non-Christian and, at worst, anti the teachings of Jesus. When evangelic Christians attempted to change this, the politically powerful of the Middle Ages, themselves nominally Christian, did not hesitate to kill them in the most barbaric fashion possible to continue themselves in power. Does this sound a bit like contemporary Islam?
Has this same corruption gained control of the church of Islam, the teachings of Mohammed? I believe it has. Muslim leaders of Muslim nations are devout at home and require adherence to rules they establish in the name of Islam: rules which enshrine them as leaders. But those same leaders shed their gowns and enjoy the same “sins” as non-Muslims when visiting Switzerland, Florida and other resort areas.
I believe Christians are the most feared of all religious peoples, not the nominal Christians, but the true Christians, as described by Jonathan Swift in his essay, “The Abolishing of Christianity in England” (written in 1708).
The leaders of contemporary “mainstream” churches are not exempt from membership in the nominal group. Too many of them appear to worship and seek the wealth and beauty of their churches and their own power and wealth more than adherence to the teachings of Jesus. Preaching diversity, attending the World Council of Churches in the name of equality of religions, saying that all religions are comparable, is simply not true. They aren’t.
On the other hand, Evangelical Christians are feared and rightly so. They live and practice the simple faith of proposed by Jesus of love and charity to all and of equality of people. In nations founded or which have evolved according to Christian beliefs and principles, all are considered equal before the law as well as before God. This is why Evangelical Christianity is the most feared of all religions. The wealthy, privileged, leaders of Muslim nations have a great deal to fear if the impoverished and oppressed over whom they rule learn the teachings of a religion of love and equality before God, leading to equality of opportunity for all. That is why they fight or prohibit Christianity in their Muslim fiefdoms.
It is my belief Mohammed began his preaching in reaction to the corruption arising from the political dominance of pseudo-Christian leaders, whose primary goals were wealth and power. I suspect that if he lived today, he would be a crusader against the political power and corruption of so many contemporary Muslim leaders.