Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete F.
What i am suggesting is that just as the Inquisition, the Crusades, was fomented by the Catholic Church, and other attacks done in the name of God by other religion or sects, that it can happen again and likely will.
The Srebrenica massacre in 1995 was not done in the name of God. The Bosnian war was basically an ethnic war. It was "ethnic cleansing." The Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) were officialy accepted to be an ethnic or national identity by the Yugoslav government. When the Serbian dominated Yugoslavia was broken apart in WWII, the animosities between, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians flared up into violent internecine massacres which was quelled for a while under the Communist reunification under Tito. But the underlying ethnic hate for each other erupted when Yugoslavia was again dissolved into the different national entities. Ethnic Croats who were Christians were also killed by Serbs, and vice versa.
The Crusades were a thousand years ago. And they were not unprovoked Christian wars against Islam. Islam had been the invader of Christian Europe and the brutal massacre or conversion and oppression of Christians in the Middle East. The Crusades were a retaking of and return of land to Christians. They were not intended to eliminate Islam from the earth. When the U.S. fought the Barbary Pirates, it was a retaliatory war, not an attempt to eliminate or conquer Islam. When Bush invaded Iraq, It was not a Christian holy war. There is no indication, nor any inclination, that Christianity wants a war with Islam. Such a war is not mandated nor desired in the tenets of Christianity. But such a war against Christians, Jews, and all non-Muslims is mandated in the sacred scriptures and foundation of Islam.
You can fear Christians if you wish. I wouldn't want to waste time dissuading you. But I think your fears are exaggerated, and probably of the wrong religion.
Men, in looking at religion, their own and others often read things into the writings that they want to see. That doesn't make it correct, except in their own mind.
Among the people there is he whose discourse on the life of the world pleases you, and he calls on God as witness to what is in his heart, yet he is an unyielding and antagonistic adversary. When he turns and leaves, he walks about corrupting the earth, destroying crops and livestock – God loves not corruption (Q2:204–205)
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I don't read anything into the Religion of Islam. I read what the leaders and ruling clerics of Islam say and have said. I've quoted them in previous threads about Islam on this forum. They say, categorically, that Islam is not compatible with democracy, especially Western style democracy. And the scripture they follow commands them to do Jihad against the unbelievers. Jihad of the sword if necessary and possible. It is only a religion of peace when it rules. And all the privileges of peace it speaks about applies to Muslims. Not to unbelievers.
And those good Muslims that want to get along with the rest of the world admit that their religion needs to be reformed. In their mind, there are Muslims who, personally, practice a reformed version. But the official hierarchies of the Religion have no illusions about reform. They recoil at the notion that their perfect religion needs any change. That would be blasphemy against Allah and Mohammad. So, until the high official leaders of the Religion say so, it has not yet been reformed.
As for Christianity, the religion seems to be transforming in many ways to a more secularly oriented social justice ministry. More and more in some cases to a Progressive ministry. That may be even more frightening to those who want to protect Western civilization
Actually, the loss of will to war against enemies that use our own laws against us, is more worrisome than the notion that Christians are now prone to go on some crusade.