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."
Just so you know, radical Muslims will cut off the heads of Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians just the same.
Of course.
lol....."I don't have much of an apetite right now."
"seriously, if we'd known you guys were still around, we'd never have..."
"well, perhaps you'll do more research next time."
If you're honestly telling me Protestants don't interpret the Bible, I've got a bridge I can sell you. Really cheap, too.
You denied that you would give any human any obedience. That is unScriptural, and is as "cultish" as anything you accuse us of doing. It's the cult called "me, myself, and I are the final authority for all of us".
That isn't what the Bible teaches. Not even close.
See what I mean? Your New Testament was written by a bunch of leaders of a "charismatic cult," because they were absolutely a group of men who claimed spiritual authority over men.
Your teaching contradicts Scripture, it contradicts itself (because you are interpreting Scripture for us while simultaneously denying that anyone has the right to do that for someone else), and it is false.
"Lighten up, Muhammad."
Muslims prevailed over the vatican at one point and exacted a tribute that the vatican regularly paid - gladly paid in lieu of fighting.
The catholic church is no bulwark of anti-islamic sentiment.
Islam is like bacteria - it grows in sick bodes that are already weak from interal strife.
It seems they just can't help themselves. They have provided a exclamation point to the pope's statement.
I like Krauthammer. I did a search before I posted, but I did that earlier about the E. coli spinach and it was already here, too. Hey, I tried not to duplicate. :o(
Sometimes you can't win!
Another well worn lie... They conquered India and took mathemtaics from the indians..... They took the "zero" &algrebra etc from India.
Every textbook in the USA states the well worn lie - just ask the Indians - they can prove all this is true.
Arabs stole and asimilated information - they never invented anything themselves.
Continual war against families, friends, neighbors and more means no time for cultural development. Islam is a cowbird - dropping its eggs in everyone elses nests. Just after hatching, the cowbird chick is programmed to roll out any other eggs to smash to the ground. The cowbird chick gets all the goodies while the other chicks get to die..
No more free anything for islamics....
And don't let Muslims in Denial get away with "we are a religion of peace"
Political Correctness. Liberals. Peace Weenies.
Finally, five years after 9/11, we have the beginning of a discussion of the major issues that separate Christianity from Islam.
I can't wait until we get to the divinity of Christ and the mere prophethood of the merchant, military commander Mohammed, or the Trinity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as opposed to the Oriental despotism of Allah.
So does your comments really have nothing to do with Switzerland, and instead have something to do with the ICRC?
So then your saying that the ICRC is Masonic organization, that is somehow related to the Templars, which you believe is a Masonic organization?
Or are you asserting that the entire nation of Switzerland is somehow a construct of the Masonic orders because of their somehow related to the Templars, which you believe to be a Masonic organization?
Or are you asserting that the Swiss Guards are a construct of the Masons, because the Red Cross is a Masonic organization, or that Switzerland is a Masonic construct, because of the Templars, which you believe to be a Masonic organization?
Oh by the way, do the little jeeps the Shriners ride around in have anything to do with the Templars?
Wow. Are you really an ass, or do you just post like one?
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