Posted on 04/25/2005 12:09:57 PM PDT by CHARLITE
When Pope Benedict XVI was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger he told Europe to recover its Christian roots “if it truly wants to survive.” Amen from an arch-Protestant whose ancestors included refugees who fled Catholic persecution for freedom in Virginia.
The new Pope is a scholar who sees history unfolding into the future. We agree. Europe will be Islamic and subject to Islamist Totalitarianism by 2100, unless Europeans turn to faith and family. If Europe fails to live for faith and family, succumbing further to Socialist Human Secular Totalitarianism, then European culture deserves to die under Islamic culture.
Many Europeans hope that Muslims in Europe will abandon their faith, as so many Europeans left Christianity, to worship themselves in personal hedonism. Some Muslim immigrants become modern, pagan Europeans. Human Secularism is just a new face and form of empty Pagan religion. Meanwhile, Muslim proselytizers convert more Europeans to Islam. Believing in something always beats believing in nothing. Human Secularist worship of self, indeed, is believing in nothing.
Europeans support socialism to guarantee themselves small incomes, long vacations, and social services from all powerful governments. They can’t afford children and don’t want them when parenthood demands personal sacrifices. So, European population will decrease from 728 million (2000) to 630 million (2050). Muslim immigrants (15.2 million) and a million more every year added to Turkey (68 million) are a population exploding to double as soon as 2015. Demographics are destiny. Muslims will vote themselves into power.
If Europeans become people of profound Christian faith, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox, they will marry more and have larger, happy families. But, faith will do more than foster family size competition with Muslims. Strong faith in greater ideas will challenge and convert lesser claims to Truth. Thus, Europeans must awaken to how vibrant Christian orthodox thinking offers a bright, better future than both Socialist Human Secularist Totalitarianism and Islamist Totalitarianism.
Socialism and Islamic cultures are based on obedience, peasantry, and the unity of theology and state. Then-Cardinal Ratzinger wrote that Europe is “moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest own value one’s own ego and desires.” Christianity is built on love of God and others before self, intellectual inquiry, selfless good works and thrives when divorced from the state – which may be the way to make it rebound in Europe.
All the dead Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christian European churches are supported by the state more or less. The tiny, growing Evangelical (Protestant) populations are not. Maybe Pope Benedict XVI can take his great Church away from governments and give it back to The People. Consider how alive Roman Catholicism is in America, Africa and Asia where the state doesn’t support it. Meanwhile, the Protestant Reformation is sweeping Latin America where millions seek personal relationship and responsibility in faith. Christian ideas compete well where there is real competition. Offered in lovingkindness from an Evangelical Christian who lived in Europe 10 years and loves it.
First, Europeans must challenge their Socialist masters to criticize Human Secularism and Islam and promote Christianity honestly. Even if Christians dare call homosexuality a sin – without the Thought Police charging them for Hate Speech Crimes – as they do throughout Europe today. Free Europeans’ speech to have truly free religious speech or stay suppressed by Socialists and then, someday, oppressed by the Mullahs. If Europe continues to criminalize Biblical Christian speech, then the culture that produces such intolerance deserves to die.
When Europeans choose to follow Jesus Christ over Voltaire, Hegel, Marx, Nietzche, Darwin, Freud, Lenin, Hitler, and their statist EU cousins, they can confront the Muslims – again. Muslims repeatedly invaded Europe with ravaging Armies for a thousand years. Don’t blame the Crusades’ counter-attacks. The first invasion was stopped by Charles Martel (732). Later, a courageous Pope led the coalition which defeated another invasion at the Battle of Lepanto (1571). The Muslims came to conquer, kill, rape and rule until finally defeated at Vienna (1683). Now, after 400 plus years of declining civilization the Muslims bring their population bomb to Europe.
Europeans can enforce restricted immigration to keep from being overwhelmed. Christian believers can love the resident Muslims to Christ – just like the Muslim convert, Dr. Ergun Caner, new Dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, said it happened to him in America.
Pope Benedict XVI would be bold to end European church-state supports. Europeans should stand with the Pope, however bravely he chooses, for the eternal truths of Christianity or watch European culture die.
Comments: JAtticus@aol.com
I was a supporter of Steve Forbes in the GOP primary race, and even then I'm sure that a President Forbes wouldn't have been able to do as much as we want done when it comes to government policy. I live in Los Angeles, and trust me, I am glad to have president Bush as Commander in Chief instead of someone that the many beasts around me support. President Bush pissed me off with his support of Arlen Specter (backed by George Soros) against a Conservative Republican Pat Toomey, who had really mobilized a big grassroots effort that came close to making an upset win. It was a mere 2% difference! I actually spent time and some money trying to get Pennsylvanians to support Toomey in the GOP Senate primary, but the other guy had the stamp of approval of the President of the U.S. I believe that the President drew away support from Toomey with his endorsement of Specter. So I know how it feels when something that we are doing is undercut by the president. I believe that on the borders issue the president just has bad judgement. And if it were better than it is now, then he would have bigger headaches over it and I don't know how much more he could really do without taking attention away from other policy battles and preparations for them. Since the midterm elections I stopped donating money to the Republican Party, but I'm definitely not going to join the chorus in bashing the guy who is advancing my beliefs in his limited personal capacity. I'de rather work to support what's right than to complain when things go wrong because the alternative is to put yourself in the sidelines or worse by joining those that complain for the wrong reasons. If you find a more intelligent method of insurgency, besides reading Mr. Auster's frustrated opinions, let me know. You know I'm interested.
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