Posted on 09/15/2006 7:40:18 AM PDT by Froufrou
Religious scholars and clerics across the Middle East are raging about Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam, which he made during a speech in Germany this week. Some are demanding that the pope apologize to the world's Muslims.
This is the latest of a series of rows over non-Muslims' views on Islam, although previous arguments have involved less prominent individuals than the head of the Roman Catholic Church, whom Catholics see as the direct spiritual descendant of the Apostle Peter - and whom some regard as God's representative on earth.
From the Egyptian Brotherhood in Egypt to Islamist clerics in the Gulf, from shari'a judges in Lebanon to top religious figures in Turkey, senior Muslims have criticized the pope's speech at the University of Regensburg in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Some have called on Muslim governments to sever ties with the Holy See and to expel Vatican representatives from their countries. A scheduled papal tour to Turkey in November also is drawing flak.
It's not clear whether critics who have slammed the pope have read the full transcript of his 3,700-word address, but what they have seen or heard is enough.
Specifically, Pope Benedict cited a 14th century discussion on Islam and Christianity between a learned Persian and the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus.
He quoted the emperor as saying to the Persian, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The pope told his academic audience that Emperor Manuel II had then explained why spreading faith through violence was unreasonable, that "violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul."
He also quoted the emperor as saying, "Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats ... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death ..."
In his scholarly discourse, the pope said Manuel II had argued that it was "unreasonable" to spread faith through violence.
Benedict spoke at some length about God being "reasonable." Quoting the verse from John's gospel in which John writes "In the beginning was the Word," he noted that the Greek word for "Word" - logos - also means "reason."
"John thus spoke the final word on the biblical concept of God," the pope said.
He concluded by saying that Christians invited "our partners in the dialogue of cultures" to reason.
The translation of the full text of the speech, as prepared for delivery, has been made available by the Vatican.
A Vatican spokesman said Thursday the pope wanted to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward other religions and cultures - obviously toward Islam too"
"What is at the pope's heart is a clear and radical refusal of the religious motivation of violence," said spokesman Federico Lombardi.
Among those condemning the pope's words about violence and Islam were the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization based in numerous Arab countries which gave birth to the Hamas terrorist group in the Palestinian territories.
The pope also was criticized by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born scholar based in Qatar and regarded as the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi has come under fire for praising Palestinian suicide bombers and for calling on Muslims to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq.
Qaradawi was quoted as telling al-Jazeera television that the pope should "apologize to the Muslim nation for insulting its religion, its prophet and its beliefs."
The Bible was written and orginally published by men under the guidance of God through the Holy Spirit.
Those individuals who translated, and wrote the original Gospels were under God's "supervision", they were Blessed and as individuals we owe them much.
But God gave clear direction in the Bible to change it not one jot or tittle.
But the Catholic clergy DO change the Bible with their own interpretations. They claim that their interpretations are Divine and that church members must adhere to their authority.
That is blasphemy (as is the idol worship which is so prevalent in the Catholic church).
A man, or group of men, who claim spiritual authority over men is practically the definition of a charismatic cult.
IIIIIII'MMM OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZZZZZZ.
OK, you are right. Now go shake a snake or something.
Muslims enraged by ___________. (fill in the blank)
That better?
Bet those suits of armor are lined with Kevlar.
So we have to change the lyrics to 'HE wore a pearl necklace'? Yuck.
The halberd was developed specifically to take out a knight in shining armor.
"We're not violent! we will slay the infidels who call us violent! we will chop the heads off those who call us bloodthirsty"
If they harm the him, we can expect that our secular leadership would do nothing. But let's pray that if such a thing happens, God will perform a miracle and give the rest of the Western world some stones so we can get to work eradicating the muslim menace once and for all.
No.
The Bible asks us to submit to authority but the Lord is still our Shepherd, Christ is and always will be, and His teachings cannot be perverted by Church leaders.
We have the freedom to disavow church leadership when it betrays the teachings of Christ, which is why we are commanded by Christ to read for ourselves the Bible and understand when the leadership goes astray.
Let read more of the Hebrews and Ephesians passages that you have referred to;
" 7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about[c] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. " -- Hebrews 13"1 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." -- Ephesians
Each of us individually must be mature and not submit to blind obedience, for God has given us eyes to see by His Words.
Both leaders got it EXACTLY right (600 years ago, and 60 years ago), why can't today's world leaders?
Dear Islam: Put a sock in it!
We'll show we're not violent by burning this here effigy of the pope.
Muslim students burn an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI at a protest rally in Allahabad, India, Friday, Sept. 15, 2006. A growing chorus of Muslim leaders has called on the Pope to apologize for the alleged derogatory comments made by him about Islam. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
"I'll have the roast duck with mango salsa."
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