As do people from every single religion.
Every organized use of arms is a political solution. Almost never does one army move without the consent or the approval of their leadership. (Both national and religious leaders) Even when the use of arms springs up from the masses (Like French and Russian Revolutions) it is still politically based.
How can the French, English or Italians “take back” that which they never possessed previously? Jesus does not look for mankind to enforce by force of arms.
John 18:36
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
The Crusades like all wars had atrocities committed on both sides. The Europeans were particularly cruel at times. I do not approve of their actions. See John 18:36 above.
Everyone is responsible for their actions. I doubt the percent of Muslim males in the West is any higher than it is for others who participate in these actives. I was actually speaking about these items as they make their way into THEIR countries. But they do not like it where ever it may be found. Based on your argument does this mean you are for it?
Never did I say I excuse them or anyone for any action. I simply pointed out a few of the reasons they hate Westerners.
I do not defend any of their anti-Semitic actions. Actually Semitic is a misnomer. It means “Son of Shem”. Nearly the entire region is a decedent of Shem. I merely stated that no matter what the problem is, they blame Israel.
When it comes to religious beliefs I am probably more conservative than you are. Women should have long hair and not wear pants. Men should have moderately short hair. Neither should dress provocatively. I do not wear shorts in public. My shirts have sleeves. I do not drink or smoke. I try to not curse (Although this site has pushed me to the limits at times.) or take the Lord’s name in vain. We use to worship 3 times a week. As our congregation grew older we have changed it to twice a week. I think most if not all organized religion is manmade and does not serve the Lord. I do not believe in a Trinity.
See above I do not support their actions. I simply pointed out where their hate comes from.
The West set their colonies free not because they were kind. They did so only when they had to. It became too difficult to maintain any of these empires by force of arms.
My old minister once said something I found profound. Hell was not created for man. It was created for Lucifer and his fallen angels. Only a small number of men will end up in hell. He is our advocate and died for all of our sins. If there is ANY redeemable attribute in ANY person he will find a way to exonerate them. His blood is THAT precious.
I have no guilt in any of my statements. Then or now. I went back and corrected how I posted Wade’s comments. My last comment was that it is not wrong for people to be more observant than they were in the past. It doesn’t matter what the color of the skin of the people around them.
Originally Posted by: wpr
First Point, yeah there are bad acts committed by members of every religion, nation, etc. BUT, this thread started as being about Quantitative Analysis, and quantitatively as well as qualitatively, no other group is even close to Muslims when it comes to acts of mass murder and support for the actual doers.
Point Two, OK, if you define political that broadly. I wouldn't, but whatever. Perhaps I should have said the JUDEO-Christian world taking back the Holy Land. Regardless, it was a matter of religion v. religion and a matter of good v. evil - despite the fact that the forces of good resorted to some of the same barbarous tactics as the evil doers. It was the Middle Ages, after all hahahaha. Part of the point is that Muslims are still in that mindset and behavior. Yeah yeah yeah, I'm sure you can cite examples where Christians or other westerners are that way too, but not on nearly the same magnitude. It is really irksome that the infestation of political correctness in our schools, etc. these days has transformed/brainwashed a lot of fairly normal people - not really hard core leftists (I'm talking about you, for one, Pack93) to the point where they can no longer identify evil as evil in a historical context like the Crusades, not to mention right down to the news each day. Speaking of which (I guess this is how threads get off topic, but I just can't help commenting on what I see as wrongheaded), you would put the Soviet takeover of Russia in the category of revolutions "springing up from the masses"? Maybe if you see the end of it as that very very short-lived interim government, but the ultimate result was exactly as Lenin scripted it - pure evil taking over.
Religion: I am very intrigued by a lot of your comments. First, on the negative side, the Bible verse you cite several times is way out of context and not at all pertinent to the events you use it to criticize. Jesus was merely telling His disciples to let it happen without a fight - His being taken by Roman soldiers, also that His mission the first time around was not world domination at that time. I'm not saying King Richard and the other European royals who marched into the middle east were commanded by God to do so (I'm also not saying they were not hahaha). I'm just saying the verse you cite has nothing to do with that situation or for that matter, anything in modern warfare. Good v. Evil can be a religious thing, but not automatically. Some evil and evildoers are just self-evidently evil. Your own code of morality and religious practice as well as citing of "semitic" meaning descendants of Shem, and including Arabs, Turks, etc. leads me to wonder exactly what group you are a part of. Could it be the Worldwide Church of God which I have never actually joined but am in great agreement with?
Back to politics, yeah, the colonial powers didn't exactly set the colonies free out of altruism. Finding them hard to maintain? yeah I suppose, although only a small bit of aid and encouragement in that direction by America would have kept the western world firmly in charge, and arguably, the populations of those colonial regions would have been MUCH better off over the last half century or so, not to mention possibly a much more peaceful world. Of course, all of that was in the context of the Cold War, and it would have taken some serious propagandizing for good to prevent those colonial populations from being dragged into Communism - but I think it could have been done. Oh well, water over the dam.
Perhaps the most significant point: You SAY you don't support or defend or make excuses for the actions and mass mindset of the damn Muslims, but ........ there is a very fine line between citing "reasons" why they hate us that smack of moral equivalence and excuses. I say again, I would have expected that from leftists and this sadly brainwashed younger generation of PCers, but you are generally older and wiser - and politically more conservative in most contexts. Good Normal Americans simply know in their heart and mind that modern day Muslims are the enemy of all that is good in the world/are purveyors and supporters of evil, terror, and mass murder against innocents as well as against their own kind. Some are afraid to express that obvious concept because of political correctness and the pressure brought on them by its adherents, but you? I would have expected better.
Expressing the Good Normal Views of Good Normal Americans.
If Anything I Say Smacks of Extremism, Please Tell Me EXACTLY What.