I continue to be amazed at what our local paper doesn't cover in it's international news. The President of the US visited the Pope at the Vatican recently, amid speculation that he would convert to Catholicism. Not a peep from the Dom Post. The only event of note that they registered was the Pope meeting the Fijian leader, which warranted a photo and a cartoon. But bigger things are at work in the world. Much as New Zealanders are working to destroy Anglicanism, the following article points out how much that really shoots civilisation in general in the proverbial foot.
For the first time, perhaps, since the time of Mohammed, large parts of the Islamic world are vulnerable to Christian efforts to convert them, for tens of millions of Muslims now dwell as minorities in predominantly Christian countries. The Muslim migration to Europe is a double-edged sword. Eventually this migration may lead to a Muslim Europe, but it also puts large numbers of Muslims within reach of Christian missionaries for the first time in history.I would highly recommend the whole article as what I've put up here is just a small part of it all.
That is the hope of Magdi Allam, the highest-profile Catholic convert from Islam in living memory (see The mustard seed in global strategy Asia Times Online, March 26, 2008).
Related Link: The pope, the president and politics of faith ~ Asia Times Online
Photo : My favourite image from President Bush's visit with the Pope ~ What does the prayer really say
From one delusion to another...
ReplyDeleteWow, christopher hitchens commenting here on this blog.
ReplyDelete"what an honour!" - Zoidberg
Capitalism and religious freedom will eventually transform Islam.
ReplyDeleteNo one is going to get anywhere if they don't try and engage with them and just cower under the bed. So all power to the missionaries.
Nice to see you acknowledge the danger of religion. :-)
ReplyDeleteAssuming Bush converts to catholocism, what does that say for the strength of his faith? That like tony Blair he had to keep it hidden as the spoils of office were more important than his beliefs?
ReplyDeleteGlad i have a belief system where nothing needs to be hidden,.
Fugley, I wouldn't want to comment on Bush's faith. My comment is limited to the speculation on it. And like all of us, we can always have *more* faith, which is something to be earnestly asked for.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you acknowledge the danger of religion. :-)
ReplyDeleteAcknowledging the danger of religion is like acknowledging the danger of politics, or the danger of economics.
Which political ideology or which economic theory do you want to follow Fugley, or do they all have exactly the same result?
And like all of us, we can always have *more* faith, which is something to be earnestly asked for.
ReplyDeleteSo when theists say that it takes more faith to be an atheist, they are complimenting us?
Christopher, no. People confuse "faith" and "belief". Faith is a gift from God. Belief can come from a delusion of the mind where you want to believe something or the other. God would not gift you in faith of his non-existence, though he could quite easily harden your heart as a punishment ie abandon you to your sin.
ReplyDeleteThere is something funny going on. Not long after Tony Blair converted to Catholicism he founded the faith foundation, which promotes encouragement of religious cooperation and pace, and Bono said something about Blair wanting to prove wrong the theory of the clash of civilisations.
ReplyDeleteI like your point here, Lucyna, that Moslems are more exposed now than ever to the Christian faith. I beleive that even if they gain an ascendancy in Europe and extend power beyond the 10-40 window the inevitable result will be their conversion to Christianity, whether British Christianity survives or not. But its more important our grandchildren are praying to Jesus in Arabic than that they don't get to exist due to us destroying the Earth in a nuclear war...