Islamo-fascists Turn Up the Heat

Pope Benedict, in an address on my anniversary (!), 9/12, talked a lot about how the West is not able to communicate effectively with the East because the West has become so secularized. Because the West has elevated "reason" above "faith" in all discourse, it's no longer on the same plane of reference when dealing with other countries (often Islamic countries).

In the course of these remarks, the Pope referenced a conversation from the 14th century in which a Byzantine emperor complains to the Ottomans in his company at the time that Mohammed has basically brought nothing new to the table that isn't "evil and inhuman". He goes on to speak specifically about Islam's propensity for "conversion by the sword," wherein people are forced to either convert to Islam or die. Benedict also included the part of the conversation where the emperor correctly asserts that conversion by the sword is incompatible with the nature of God, since it involves violence and God disdains violence. Faith is born in the soul, not in the body, and thus the ONLY legitimate way to convert someone is through an intelligent argument for the faith, that appeals to the person's soul, from which all decisions emanate.

Predictably, Muslims throughout the world have gone completely berserk, calling for the pope's death by beheading, and warning that they will come into the Vatican and burn it down to the ground. Some Islamic leaders have also called for Muslims to kill Christians wherever they find them. And this morning, we are hearing reports that this has already begun. A nun in Somalia was murdered -- shot in the back 4 times -- while walking from one building to the next. She was a schoolteacher and had worked to serve God there for over a quarter-century. Her bodyguard was also gunned down. There are other reports of violence, but this one stands out to me as the most prominent and immediately obvious as a direct link to the Holy Father's comments.

You can see the transcript of the Pope's lecture here, but it's quite long and would take a couple of hours for even smart theologians to digest. Here is a nice breakdown by a priest that explains what the Holy Father said, what he meant, and throws in a number of commentaries about the Muslim reactions. It is a must-read.

The repeated wild Muslim over-reaction to comments about their religion is eventually not going to be taken seriously any more as a real reaction to offensive comments, and instead for what it really is: an excuse to wreak more havoc and violence.

This kind of violence could not come from God. It is theologically impossible. Therefore, one of two possibilities is the actual truth: Either 1) These people are not worshipers of God, they are just pretending to be so they have an excuse that people are supposed to have to respect; or 2) They are sincere when they worship 5 times a day, but they are worshiping Satan, not Our Lord. For, all these acts are of course condoned by Beelzebul.

I would also note that, at this time, I have (as usual) yet to read of a single Muslim sticking up for the Pope or at least condemning the calls for violence from other Muslims. As usual, it has been left to others -- Christians -- to apologize on behalf of Muslims with statements like "these views, of course, are embarrassing to millions of Muslims". To me, this failure among rank-and-file Muslims is almost as big an indictment of that religion as the Jihadis' rantings.

Jihadis around the Islamic world are screaming for a full-blown war with Christianity over these comments, and have already killed an innocent elderly nun over them. If they lay a hand on the Pope, they just may get it. We should all pray for the enlightenment and empowerment of people who can prevent such a war.