Dennis Prager: Cartoons, Cowardice, and Dishonesty

frontpagemag.com ^ | February 14, 2006 | Dennis Prager

[SaltyJoe]

The Consequence of Shouting "Raqa!" Instead of "Jesus Christ is Lord of all!"

Is it wise to not antagonize a sociopath and thus reap the justice of his unreasonable wrath? If you're only armed with a .22 caliber rim-fire pistol, then take this sound advice: don't go grizzly bear hunting.

But how might Jesus examine such provocation? Yeah, you were armed to the teeth and you needled a victim of psychological/spiritual/physical abuse into a trap you set for him. Instead of shouting insults, wouldn't it have been easier to make Christianity the state-sponsored Faith rather than provoke murder from murder-sanctioned extremism? What's next Nostradamus? Paris burns and the French nuke back?

Matthew 5: 22
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.

Footnotes:
17 [22-26] Reconciliation with an offended brother is urged in the admonition of Matthew 5:23-24 and the parable of Matthew 5:25-26 (Luke 12:58-59). The severity of the judge in the parable is a warning of the fate of unrepentant sinners in the coming judgment by God.

18 [22] Anger is the motive behind murder, as the insulting epithets are steps that may lead to it. They, as well as the deed, are all forbidden. Raqa: an Aramaic word reqa' or reqa probably meaning "imbecile," "blockhead," a term of abuse. The ascending order of punishment, judgment (by a local council?), trial before the Sanhedrin, condemnation to Gehenna, points to a higher degree of seriousness in each of the offenses. Sanhedrin: the highest judicial body of Judaism. Gehenna: in Hebrew ge-hinnom, "Valley of Hinnom," or ge ben-hinnom, "Valley of the son of Hinnom," southwest of Jerusalem, the center of an idolatrous cult during the monarchy in which children were offered in sacrifice (see 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31). In Joshua 18:16 (Septuagint, Codex Vaticanus) the Hebrew is transliterated into Greek as gaienna, which appears in the New Testament as geenna. The concept of punishment of sinners by fire either after death or after the final judgment is found in Jewish apocalyptic literature (e.g., Enoch 90:26) but the name geenna is first given to the place of punishment in the New Testament.

---

Is it too difficult a vision to see that an anti-Jesus monotheistic extremism will be at war with an anti-Jesus secular atheism no different than what Afghanistan saw against Soviets? The focus must be Jesus, or there will be a lot of blood shed...which has already included a Priest who has had nothing to do with the cartoon/free speech argument. In fact, that's the aim of this very cataclysmic event--that innocence suffers from the seething rage of anti-christs. That such violence spills over onto the uninvolved is exactly how Satan manipulates hatred.

[TAdams8591]

The cartoon printed in the paper was intended to insult. It wasn't just a benign depiction of Muhammed, he was depicted with a bomb in his turban.

Had they drawn and printed and ordinary picture of Mohammed and put it in a children's book, my opinion would be entirely different. I still recall a drawing of Mohammed in my gradeschool history book, he was on a horse, it was a side rear angle, he had a sword in his hand and was leading men in battle. However, that was not the case.

There are COUNTLESS more important disagreements the west has with Muslims. This was not one of them.

[Victoria Delsoul]

American newspapers "insult" every group whenever they feel like it, but no one riots, burns and kills because of it.

Through history, there have been countless caricatures depicting Mohammad and Islam and as far as I know, there were no riots, killings, threat of beheadings, bombings, property-burnings and massive violence like the one we are witnessing right now.

Here are some examples:

“Medieval and Renaissance Christian and secular artists had no religious restrictions regarding depictions of Mohammed, and were free to show his face and body in their entirety.”

“This picture is of an early Renaissance fresco in Bologna's Church of San Petronio, created by Giovanni da Modena and depicting Mohammed being tortured in Hell.”

By the way, in 2002, Muslims tried to destroy this painting by plotting to blow up the Church. To view more of these cartoons, click on this link.

As a matter of fact, the Danish cartoonists who created these cartoons are in hiding for fear of getting killed by the Muslims. Theo van Gogh, the Dutch filmmaker whose 10 minute film about Muslim women's life -Submission- was shown on TV in September 2004, was stabbed to death by an angry Muslim who thrust a note with Koranic verses into his body.

It's laughable to hear Liberals saying how much they “respect” Islam, thus the reason for not publishing these innocuous cartoons. How much respect could the Left have for a religion that is radically opposed to the heart of the liberal philosophy, that is: feminism, gays, and abortion? They also seem to disregard the laws governing individual rights as guaranteed by the Constitution and replace it with Sharia law when it comes to these cartoons – freedom of speech being one of them.

As a free nation, we have the right to express our views, and if someone is offended by them, they also have the right to express theirs. They can protest, advertise, write letters, organize politically, and even boycott that which offends them. They are not, however, permitted to kill, bomb, rape, and destroy property to express their anger. In other words, civilized societies disagree and express their point of view peacefully.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Good post.

[Alberta's Child]

As a free nation, we have the right to express our views, and if someone is offended by them, they also have the right to express theirs. They can protest, advertise, write letters, organize politically, and even boycott that which offends them. They are not, however, permitted to kill, bomb, rape, and destroy property to express their anger. In other words, civilized societies disagree and express their point of view peacefully.

Very well said, Victoria.

[Alouette]

no Muslim outrage

Well, of course there most certainly was "Muslim outrage" following the events you listed: Muslims were outraged that they were the subject of "profiling" and the victims of "backlash."

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks.

[Tribune7]

I know. Thanks :-)

[SeaBiscuit]

Nailed to the wall! Excellent!

[danamco]

Can you really expect anything else from the LSM, and extended arm of DNC when klintoon, carter and alGore goes around in the arab countries and circles licking the the feet of the arabs and other muslims!

President Abraham Lincoln said these words: "Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and under-mind the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged"!!
Many other dumbocRATS should be included as aspirants for a firing squad!!!

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking the keyword or topic Israel.

---------------------------

[Barney59]

A brilliant and much needed response.

A+ for Prager.

[Convert from ECUSA]

[Sam Gamgee]

Indeed, this crisis illustrates how completely irrelevant the MSM has become. Anyone with a mouse could have seen this pictures long ago. They are all over the place on the net. I agree this ongoing, everlasting story has more to say about the American media than about the Islamic world.

[Sam Gamgee]

Not to mention that Mohammed is ONLY a prophet in the Islamic belief. Islam rejects the triune God belief of the Christians. Allah is the only holy and omnipotent one. Mohammed and Jesus are simply prophets. So worked up over a prophet?

[Sam Gamgee]

The worst cartoons were made by a Moslem cleric (Mohammed humping a dog) and that cleric tried to pass it off as one of the Danish cartoons. So clearly some Moslems think so little of Mohammed to use his image profanely. He is only a prophet after all. What is more offensive is the death of the film maker of Submission. That insult actually hurt someone.

[kstewskis]

Excellent post Victoria, and great points you made!

[TAdams8591]

Mohammed was depicted with a bomb in his head. It was INTENDED to insult. Had the Danes just posted the benigh picture in the children's book, I would agree with your take on this. That was NOT the case.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks Karen.

[Victoria Delsoul]

The worst cartoons were made by a Moslem cleric (Mohammed humping a dog) and that cleric tried to pass it off as one of the Danish cartoons.

I didn't know it was made by a Muslim cleric. Thanks for the info.