Posted on 09/16/2006 3:56:54 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
September 16, 2006 - 06:46
In a surreal clash of the sacred and the profane, the New York Times - that citadel of secularism - has declared in its editorial of this morning that Pope Benedict "needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology," for having quoted a 14th century Christian emperor who said:
Show me just what Muhammad 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 Times is only being fair and balanced, I suppose. After all, hardly a week goes by that you can't pick up the paper and read an editorial condemning this or that mullah, imam or ayatollah for the latest fatwa ordering the death of such-and-such infidel or the destruction of entire countries found to be an annoyance. Or not.
But the Times suddenly gets religion, if they'll excuse the expresssion, when it comes to the Pope. Oh well. At least there's one hopeful sign in all this. It was of course Stalin who dismissively asked how many divisions the Pope had. By its editorial according great weight to the words of the Pontiff, the Times would appear to be breaking with Uncle Joe. Might this be the start of a hopeful trend?
I can think of no where that I would live in the ME if I were a Jew, with the radicals in charge.
Keep in mind, the real war started long before the US arrived in the ME. It's a war between the moderates and the radicals.
Did you catch this at Malkin, or perhaps it was posted here?
http://hotair.com/archives/2006/09/15/turkish-bestseller-who-will-kill-the-pope-in-istanbul/
Read this piece at Sticky Notes. Most important, is the link to Asia News where there is the best overview on what the Pope really said and the context.
It goes on to tell how the MEDIA just picked sound bites out of context. And the uproar is from those who have no idea what was really said.
And neither does the MSM.
???
Did the Pope say anything that was not accurate?
Here is the right one on the Pope's message at Sticky Notes.
One of the benefits of being Pope is:: you don't have to apologize to anyone.
I find it funny that Khatami justified the execution of homosexuals at Harvard last week and all the idiot libs could do was sit in silence. I sincerely hope the Pope does not retract his statement. I am sick of the crazies going crazy and everyone standing down to them.
When the time is right, the libs will throw most of their current interest groups to the wolves to reap all those Muslim voters. The Jews, Gays, and Feminists are all expendable. The other components is violence. Libs know that they can mock Christians with near impunity. However, if you insult Islam, you will be watching your back forever.
One could say he always has been. Satan hates the Catholic church. Always has - always will.
And Satan is running rampant over the earth these days.
There will be no Reformation (note the capital "R") in Islam for the simple fact that,well, what have the upper crust to gain from it? The answer, of course, is nothing.
The German/Christian Reformation was nourished, sponsored, protected, and encouraged by German nobles and princelings tired of seeing rivulets of gold and silver flowing away from their realms -- and pockets -- towards Rome. They had a LOT of gain from a break with Rome, namely $$$$.
There isn't that set-up in Middle East/Islam. The nobles and princlings are doing just fine, thank you. In fact, the way things are set up, a Reformation is the last thing the upper crust wants.
And thanks to you for passing it on. This is a tremendous opus by Papa Benedict!
..And plenty of lasix and beer to piss freely and frequently on their collective graves,
Did the Pope "take ownership" of the quote as if he believed in it, or was this a random quote in a speech taken out of context? I could quote Usama bin Laden in a speech to punctuate a point, but not espouse the quote. What was the Pope's context or reason for including this quote in the speech? BTW, I don't disagree with the premise of the Byzentine emperor's quote!
ROP?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.