RE: The Ease of Islam as a villain
Very interesting and insightful post. Some historical facts might sway perception, while much here should provoke thought and self-evaluation.
One difficulty in looking at the history is the means by which Islam spread. The entire Mediterranean region had been Christianized by the time Islam was born. I say "Christianized" because the Roman Empire took on the trappings of the Christian religion, but also adulterated the true teachings. But much good was accomplished as a result too.
A few centuries later, the Muslim hoard began systematically destroying Christianity throughout the region, reaching into europe. This was not a peaceful proselytizing. It was full-on conquest and assertion of Muslim dominance.
It is also inaccurate to include protestants with Catholics. What were they "protesting"? The Reformation is actually misnamed. It should be the Departure or the Shunning, for it never really became a reformation. Luther's 95 Theses became the dividing point between biblical Christian doctrine and Catholic dogma. Protestants consider the pope to be a type of antichrist.
Part of the reason this breaks down is because the Roman Catholic Church is a political entity, to its very core. It was formed from political pursuits since the first Pope, Gregory, assumed the name in 695. And the papacy has been battled over through political means, murders, intrigue, etc., like any other throne throughout the centuries since.
Having said that, I do think you are correct in your assessment that the US (though not alone) has made this mess. If not, then US policy and war mongering has certainly exacerbated it. This is not based on any trappings of Christianity though, but rather an abused presentation of virtue that is actually founded and funded by corporate interests. As you said:
Hiding behind the veil of Christianity is no adult way to deal with Financially driven Agendas.
And this gets to the heart of the matter.
Many thanks for your comments @anotherjoe, you are obviously a keen historian!
This post was a lot longer and included a lot of the history but I chopped it down - few people like to read too much! I explained a lot about the spread of Islam through N Africa to Spain which they dominated from 711 till 1492. Crete and Sicily were Muslim. The retreat came through the European push-back and coincide with the death of Islamic scholarship due to Al-Ghazali's book "The Incoherence of the Philosophers" in which he claimed that universal natural laws put a form of restriction on the omnipotence of Allah and so were contrary to Islam. The final 'cleansing' as it was termed was through the Spanish Inquisition - convert or die!
Re. Protestants, they are Christians, as are Catholics. The Borgias were the driving force behind the Papacy. They developed religion into the control mechanism. They were aided and abetted by some of the inventors of currencies who became phenomenally wealthy! The early Fed, if you like but in Italy.
Thank you again - maybe I should have posted the longer version!!
The Crusades always stir up emotion - my point here was that the vilification of Islam has some flaws which should be understood.
Islam has some flaws too which should be understood.
Thanks @ebryans,
There are some flaws in your understanding of Christianity. That's my playground. Many would call Catholicism a Christian religion, but it doesn't stand biblical scrutiny. It is another religion altogether, with the trappings of Christianity. Having said that, it is clearly true that some Catholics are indeed Christians. We can discuss it anytime, but I won't hammer it further here other than to point out that Protestants often found themselves targeted by the inquisitions and there were probably more Christians killed by the Catholic church than any other single group.
Yes, the Crusades are highly misunderstood. And the vilification of Islam is very difficult. It is both deserved and not deserved, depending on time, context, etc. Interestingly, the USA's founding fathers had a lot to say about Islam, none of it favorable.
Your article probably deserves a series to do it justice. :)
I appreciate what you are saying very much and we could have a very fine discussion, semantics aside! Where I believe Catholicism has stumbled is in its overt imposition of non-Biblical 'truths' and its reality as a custom or ritual rather than a faith.
The founding Fathers were a very far-seeing group, as you said, and their envoys to the Middle East were met with a hostile reception. Christopher Hitchens's writings about Jefferson et al are amazing. I am sure that you are familiar with his work. He would be fascinating to hear about the current scenario, especially as he was a supporter of the first invasion of Iraq.
Thank you again. Maybe you should take up the challenge which I started by interplaying two posts: Interplay between two posts
Actually, I'm not familiar with Hitchens. You described the RCC well. Though, for a theologian and/or biblical scholar, semantics are pivotal. :) And, yeah, both invasions on Iraq were corporate invasions. It's a detestable time in US history.
Thanks ebryans!
I studied exegesis and hermeneutics for a while and so I have a grasp but for the sake of convenience in the post, to differentiate between sects of Christians and Muslims was not going to further the cause of my point.
Hitchens died a few years ago now - he was a Brit but spent most of his life in the US. He was a Contributing Editor for Vanity Fair, The Nation and was an ever-present commentator on TV shows. He wrote books such as The Trial of Henry Kissinger and The Clintons and exposed Mother Theresa for what she was. The Youtube documentary about the Albanian misanthrope is fascinating.