Let The fight Begin

"There are none so blind as those who will not see". - Thomas Chalkley, 1713

'Pledge' Battle Is Assault on 'First Liberty,' Author Says

By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
September 06, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - Attempts to remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance are part of an effort to undermine the religious freedom established in the United States by its founders, the author of a new book on the controversy told an audience in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

"Religious freedom was important to the founders, because they did indeed believe it was the first liberty, and without it, no freedom, no liberty could exist at all," said William J. Murray, president of the Religious Freedom Coalition and author of "The Pledge: One Nation Under God." He gave a speech at conservative Heritage Foundation.

"In 1955, when we put 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance, it was with the understanding of what we faced in the Cold War," said Murray.

"Godless nations, officially atheist nations, in the 20th century murdered more of their own citizens than people who died in all the wars in all the history of mankind."

As a result, the U.S. "chose to say that 'we are not like them, we are not godless, we hold to a higher standard, and we will obey God,'" he said.

"We have religious freedom in our country because of our Christianity, not in spite of it."

During the past 230 years, the enemies of America have been those nations devoid of religious freedom, he said, adding that this country's "first two wars were fought against England, where religious dissent was repressed."

America then fought Islamic pirates in the Barbary Coast. Nazi Germany did not have religious freedom, said Murray, and Japan "was a near-theocracy."

"In Vietnam and Korea, we fought those who killed Christians for sport, and during the Cold War, we faced nuclear annihilation at the hands of a godless dictatorship in the Soviet Union whose goal was to eradicate all religion," Murray said.

Today, atheist leaders in China and North Korea have nuclear weapons, "and the mullahs who rule Iran are no less fascists than Hitler's Nazis," said Murray.

"The resistance to freedom in Iran and the willingness of men to die as suicide bombers from Baghdad to London illustrates the desperation of those who oppose religious freedom," the author continued.

"If religious freedom is successfully planted in Afghanistan and Iraq, the fascist mullahs of Iran, the corrupt dictator of Syria, and the perverted monarchs of Saudi Arabia will join Hitler, Stalin and Mao in the dustbin of history," he said.

'Supposed new rights'

Murray also spoke of an "internal threat to our religious freedom" in which "the religious symbols of our heritage are being stripped from public view, and the courts have tried to suppress our freedom of religious speech."

He then asked: "How can we send good men and women to die in Afghanistan and Iraq in an attempt to establish something that our courts in the United States are so willing to remove?"

The courts are creating new rights, such as "the right" of a person not to be offended by another person, and that is the basis of the current debate over the Pledge of Allegiance, Murray said.

Atheist activist Michael Newdow said that his daughter was "offended by the use of the words 'under God,' so the core of the argument was that she was offended, and the separation of church and state would stop her from being further offended," Murray explained before dismissing atheism as "a big-selling fad."

However, Ellen Johnson, president of the group American Atheists, told Cybercast News Service on Wednesday that Murray's views are "the typical opinion of a Christian believer. There's nothing new under the sun here."

As for religious freedom being the Founders' "first liberty," Johnson said she did her master's thesis on the religious philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, and "I've never heard of that before."

Regarding the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge, Johnson said that "even if a billion people were slaughtered in the name of atheism, it wouldn't justify turning our national motto into a Christian one."

"Nothing can justify that," she said, because "our government isn't supposed to make a statement one way or the other on beliefs in the supernatural."

Nevertheless, Murray stressed that "the historical record is clear: From the beginning of this nation, civil leaders and pastors alike believed America was founded 'under God' and that our nation had a special calling from God to fulfill history."

"If we do surrender and accept that government is the new god and that the legislators and judges are the new high priests, it is not just America that will lose that first and most precious right of freedom of religion, it will be all of humanity," Murray added.

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

In an unusual twist of fate, William J. Murray, the former president of American Atheists and the son of atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair, has done a 180 degree turn on the subject.

Murray was used by his mother as the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case which removed prayer from the public schools of the United States.

In 1963, the Supreme Court banned prayer from the public school because of a lawsuit brought by Murray's mother, Madalyn Murray O'Hair. In 1980, Murray renounced his atheist and Marxist background and announced he had become a Christian.

-More, a lot more on that here.

Meanwhile, in Texas...

The Harold Democrat Online

Federal court upholds ‘One state under God’ in Texas

DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today prevailed in federal court, where a North Texas couple tried to prevent schoolchildren from reciting the Texas Pledge of Allegiance. A federal district judge ruled against David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, who sought a preliminary injunction because the Texas Legislature recently added the words “one state under God” to the state Pledge. Solicitor General Ted Cruz argued on the state’s behalf.

“With today’s ruling, a federal judge denied the plaintiffs’ attempt to prevent Texas schoolchildren from pledging their allegiance to ‘one state under God’ - just as they pledge to ‘one nation under God,’” Attorney General Abbott said. “The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held patriotic acknowledgments of the Almighty such as these are completely consistent with the U.S. Constitution. Texans can rest assured that we will continue vigorously defending their children’s ability to recite the state Pledge of Allegiance each morning.”

The plaintiffs, both professed atheists, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Their children are students in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.

The voluntary, teacher-led recitation of the Texas Pledge typically follows the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms across the state. According to the state’s brief, the Legislature added the words “one state under God” to acknowledge the tradition and religious heritage inherent in America’s founding.

The state contends the Texas Pledge is an acknowledgment of patriotism and citizenship. It is a practice that mirrors the Declaration of Independence’s self-evident truths that citizens are “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The Attorney General’s brief argues that, instead of conflicting with the First Amendment, the Pledge reflects the constitutionally protected freedom of religion.

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

I guess in Texas nobody told them that: "our government isn't supposed to make a statement one way or the other on beliefs in the supernatural."

Guess nobody told the Father of our Country, George Washington, either: "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

Let's see...who are we to believe? George Washington, and our founding fathers on the one hand, or a woman who "did her master's thesis on Thomas Jefferson"?

You decide for yourself. I know where I stand.

Lawyers Want Hazelton To Pay

This little town in Pennsylvania has become the lightning rod for many of the ills infecting America. An unlikely hero in this legal battle, Mayor Lou Barletta, grandson of an Italian immigrant himself, has never faltered in standing up for what is good and fair for the citizens of Hazelton, Pa.

The forces of evil, in a crass disregard for our Constitutional laws, are focusing on Mayor Barletta's stand for what is good in America, because if he ultimately wins this legal battle of illegal immigration, it will set the stage for a nation-wide rejection of this government-sanctioned flood of illegal immigrants. And the ACLU knows it.


Barletta will continue to fight the take-over of his town, and this case will eventually be fought on the grand stage of the US Supreme court. The outcome is uncertain, but could prove to be a landmark case of state vs federal jurisdiction.

Mayor Barletta says:

“When you have violent crimes committed, it takes away and chews at our quality of life. I don’t need numbers. These people,” he said, motioning to the opposing attorney, who have criticized his lack of statistics, “need numbers. The people in my city don’t need numbers.”

Meanwhile, the ACLU and other assorted shameless lawyers and riff-raff organizations want the citizens of Hazelton to foot the bill for all legal expenses incurred in this war against illegal immigration.

Standard Speaker
They want Hazletonians to pay

Thursday, 06 September 2007

When a group of lawyers filed a petition last week to recover the legal costs fighting Hazleton’s illegal immigration law, they may have stripped their work of any nobility it might have once had.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund and other organizations that successfully fought the Hazleton’s ordinance want a federal judge to force the city to pay their legal fees and costs.

The tab is $2.4 million. A total of 37 lawyers and paralegals from seven different law firms and organizations submitted bills showing 5,409 hours of work. If you divide the amount sought by the number of hours, you get an average fee of $444 per hour. That’s a heavy price from folks who tried to portray themselves as Good Samaritans rushing to the defense of immigrants victimized by a ruthless mayor’s witch hunt.

The biggest bill — $1,067,931 for services by 22 lawyers — comes from Cozen O’Connor, a Philadelphia firm that touts its commitment to free services for the needy. Cozen O’Connor points out on its Web site that “in 2005, the firm ranked 28 out of 200 law firms nationally and first in Philadelphia for pro bono service logging almost 20,000 pro bono hours.”

Those who fought the city may have viewed their cause as humanitarian, but their effort to recover the legal costs at the expense of Hazleton taxpayers is anything but.

The challenge smacks of vindictiveness. Some of groups’ spokespeople have made it clear they don’t like Barletta and now they see a chance to make him pay. The trouble is, if they succeed, it will be regular Hazletonians who will pay.

“Barletta is playing games with taxpayer money,” the ACLU’s Witold Walczak said last week. “Somebody needs to ask the question if Barletta is promoting his political ambitions on the backs of taxpayers.”

Has Barletta benefited politically from the publicity generated by his anti-immigration campaign? Of course. Republican Party strategists have mentioned him repeatedly as a strong candidate to unseat Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski.

And, the mayor has taken steps to expand his visibility outside the 11th Congressional District. In addition to making numerous appearances on national news programs for more than a year, he’s been traveling throughout Pennsylvania in recent weeks. He has made appearances as far away as Lancaster, Gettysburg and Westmoreland County.

However, whatever political benefits the mayor receives from the hoopla is entirely beside the point to this central question: Is it fair to make city taxpayers pay for what is essentially a political battle between two extremes in the immigration debate?

The answer is no. It would be nice if those seeking retribution showed as much concern for Hazleton’s taxpayers as they did for the anonymous plaintiffs in the federal court case.

Lou Barleta will stand up for what is right, and against what is wrong in America. If the courts shoot him down, as they are likely to do, what does that say about justice in America?

trackbacked: Freedom Folks, DeMediacratic Nation

Mayor Barletta Scores Big

Hazelton's Mayor Lou Barletta has been tireless in his effort to rid his city of trash. Wednesday was garbage collection day. Big time.

Operation Boomerang

Drug raids round up 15 to 20

More arrests expected in local, county, state crackdown in the Hazleton area. At least two arraigned are illegal immigrants, official says.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Louis ‘Jose’ Gonzalez leaves his arraignment Wednesday at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard armory in Hazleton. (Steve Mocarsky/The Times Leader)

* Hazleton Drug Bust


Operation Boomerang – a six-month investigation into a major cocaine ring in the Hazleton area – culminated Wednesday with about 100 law enforcement officers converging on homes throughout the city and surrounding municipalities in a series of drug raids.

Frank Noonan, regional director of the state Attorney General’s Office in Wilkes-Barre, said some significant, high-level dealers are among the 15 to 20 suspects arrested as of Wednesday afternoon. He said more arrests were expected today.


Hazleton city police conducted the raids in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, with assistance from the Luzerne County Sheriff’s Office, state police in Hazleton and police from several surrounding municipalities.

District Judges Joseph Zola of Hazleton and Daniel O’Donnell of Sugarloaf Township began arraigning suspects around noon at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Armory on Samuels Avenue in Hazleton. The armory was used because of the large number of suspects arrested.

Some of the streets mentioned during arraignments in connection with the raids include Church, Green, Birch, Carson and Garfield streets in Hazleton and West Green Street and Ridge Avenue in West Hazleton.

One significant arrest was that of Jorge Rivera, of Ridge Avenue in West Hazleton. Some of the charges filed against him include corrupt organizations, conspiracy to deliver cocaine and criminal use of a communication facility.

While Zola and O’Donnell were setting bail amounts ranging between $50,000 and $100,000, Deputy Attorney General Bob O’Hara asked Zola to set Rivera’s bail higher.

O’Hara said that by using wire taps, investigators learned that Rivera had “hundreds if not thousands of drug-related conversations” and had access to “large amounts of cash.”

Zola increased Rivera’s bail from $100,000 to $500,000.

He also increased the bail amount of Louis “Jose” Gonzalez at O’Hara’s request.

Gonzalez was arrested at 308 W. Green St. early Wednesday morning.

O’Hara said Gonzalez had significantly more felony charges against him than any of the other suspects, including 15 counts of delivery of a controlled substance. He said Gonzalez has also used several aliases and has an FBI file dating back to 1984 with arrests in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on auto theft charges, and in New York City on marijuana sale charges.

The judges set the suspects’ preliminary hearings for Sept. 11 and Sept. 13. A Spanish interpreter translated for many of the suspects.

Zola said at least two of the people he arraigned were illegal immigrants. Arraignments ended at the armory at about 4 p.m.

Noonan said that because officers were sill looking for additional suspects Wednesday afternoon, he wasn’t prepared to release the names of those arrested thus far.

He said the Attorney General’s Office will have a press conference at 3 p.m. today at Hazleton City Hall to provide further details on the investigation and those arrested.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta called Operation Boomerang “a major bust that will have a significant effect on the city and the area.”

“I am so proud of this (police) department and their commitment and dedication to cleaning up this city, and also the Attorney General’s Office, the county (district attorney) and all the other departments that assisted in this major operation,” Barletta said.

“I’ve learned in my seven and a half years as mayor that some days are better than others. Today was a good day.”

“This was a very detailed organization that was supplying the demand here in the Hazleton area. Today, this organization is out of business and the steady supply of cocaine coming into Hazleton has been shut off,” Corbett said.

Corbett thanked the Hazleton and Butler Township police departments and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force for their assistance in the investigation.

Mayor Lou Barletta thanked Corbett for providing the manpower and money to conduct the investigation, and all the officers involved, especially the city’s Narcotics Division detectives.

“Today is your reward. You may never know the lives that you have saved by taking very dangerous people off the street,” Barletta said.

“To our citizens, our streets are safer today than they were yesterday, but know that our work is not done,” he said.

“And to any drug dealers, drug users, illegal aliens or gang members who were lucky enough not to get caught this time, you need to ask yourself a question: Who’s next? Maybe it’s you,” Barletta said.

Of All Tyrannies

Here are two quotes by two men at opposite ends of the world. Make of it what you will.

Of course the people don't want war... That is understood. But... it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. — Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials, 1946 from Nuremberg Diary, by G. M. Gilbert.

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. — C.S. Lewis

Oh, well - yeah, there is one other quote:

If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier. Just so long as I'm the dictator. - George W. Bush, President of the United States

Lest I short-change the tyrants, here's what is knocking America out of the box...



So many tyrannies in a Godless world.

UPDATE: My dsl service went down in a storm last night - didn't get a chance to finish this post. Dsl reliability has proved to be disappointing out here. Probably the lines are old. The phone man has been working hard to find the bridges and routers causing the trouble. Anyway,

What prompted me to post the above was a story in Nealz Nuze (Sept 5):

SWISS ARMY KNIFE IN THE CAR = A FELONY?

More from Cobb County, Georgia. It seems that a Cobb County student, Will Chandler, was found with a Swiss Army knife in the center console of his car. I can tell you that I have a Swiss Army knife in the console of my car right now. The difference is, this kid is actually going to be charged with a felony! That's right, folks ... a felony! Bad kid? Nope .. he has no record of disciplinary problems at his school.

Do you have any idea what a felony conviction does to your life? This will dog him forever. Most employers run criminal background checks now ... how many are willing to hire someone with a felony record? How about getting into college? How many colleges readily accept an applicant with a felony record?

The Cobb County schools say they are sticking with their decision to bring felony charges. That's because they're government schools, run by government hacks who couldn't make it in the private sector.

Amazing. Just amazing. Cobb County school have a record of this nonsense. Several years ago they kicked little Ashley Smith out of school because she came to school with a little Tweetie Bird on a key chain. I guess it can be said that people who send their children to these Cobb County government schools pretty much get what they deserve.

Links? Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have some more. How about the email addresses for the Cobb County School Board? Then there's this page with email addresses for the Superintendent of Cobb County Schools and his staff. Now I'm not telling you to email these people ... I'm just providing these emails as a public service. Yeah ... that's it. A public service.

I would only add that in a larger sense, sure we all get what we deserve. But the Cobb County, Georgia parents sending their kids to public schools may not have the luxury of finding alternate educational opportunities. Looking over the Cobb County website, it is obvious that all the power rests in the hands of the globalists. Everything so neat and tidy-sounding - so global in its orientation. Looking into the federally funded schools systems, it doesn't take you long to see the overwhelming pattern of socialist-dominated thinking behind the international goals.

There is no way this train is going to be stopped. But how do the parents get their children off the train? Besides, with all the funding, and all the governmental administration behind the huge socialist personality factories, called the public school system, parents are seduced or intimidated into thinking it is the best opportunity for their children to get ahead in this world.

As for the pending felony charges against the student, Will Chandler, there a link to email addresses on Neal Bortz's website. I wrote to the superintendent of Cobb County public schools, Fred Sanderson, asking him to reconsider the road they are about to make this student walk down. Anyone can email Mr. Sanderson at this address: fred.sanderson@cobbk12.org Felony charges for a very popular Swiss knife in the console of his car yet. The noose tightens. How much longer are we going to stand for it?

Sustainable Development Goals - The Three E's

I've presented information in the past about the "sustainable memes" being the harbinger of loss of freedom, private property, and family values in America. But until tonight, I had not seen Michael Shaw's latest contribution. His analysis is cogent and spot on.



Transforming America: Understanding the Trans-Texas Corridor in the Context of Sustainable Development

by Michael Shaw August 3, 2007

"Michael Shaw, President of Freedom Advocates made localized editions of the following presentation to audiences in central Wisconsin, Austin Texas, and at the Freedom 21 Conference in Dallas Texas during July 2007. Shaw’s presentation provides a focused assessment of globalist Sustainable policy and strategy that the author asserts are designed to destroy American values and lifestyle."

Go to: Freedom Advocates and read his analysis of what we, as Americans, are going to have to deal with, whether we like it or not.

He also offers his optimism about what we, as American citizens can, and must do to counter the global elite's goals.

Please go to his site and read what he has to say. It is very important that we develop a broad base of understanding of the nature of the beast which threatens to engulf us all.

Articulating the Popular Rage

Remember the movie, "Network"? 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore.'? No, many of you don't remember it, as it happened back in 1976. Peter Finch was brilliant. Here's a very short clip of the movie, followed by a wake-up call to Americans regarding the impending and imminent integration of America, Canada, and Mexico.

It's called the North American Union. It's not a myth, it's not the confused predictions of conspiracy nut-jobs. It's a fact. It is being put into place, under the radar of American oversight, through public-private partnerships (PPP's), trade agreements with the countries to the north and south of the US. In order to lay the financial and physical superstructures (the massive highways and ports projects) the plan includes insidiously dangling before state governments large amounts of cash from foreign investors. Dance to the music, pay the fiddler is all I can say.

One of the projects is to widen highway 287 here in Colorado, and indeed, driving in from Kansas, I turned south on 287, and hit many delays due to the widening of highway 287. It will become part of a Superhighway network, connecting Mexico, the United States And Canada. Many have shrugged off concerns, but the under-lying (double entendre) framework has already been worked out. The federal government disavows any NAU plan, with President Bush deriding any notion of such as recently as the summit held in Canada a few days ago. All public officials who have anything to do with the NAU are lying their asses off. They figure if they can stall long enough, America will go bankrupt, and the globalists can roll out the Amero to "save us". There's gonna be hell to pay, never mind the fiddler.

I reject the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state.

Jerome Corsi, who has been a tireless and relentless watchdog has more.

Sunday morning update:

**And be sure to check out the blueprint for the North American Union, called appropriately enough, "Building a North American Community" - drawn up by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The goal: 2010 - The United States merges with Canada and México. While the document itself isn't treasonous, it has become the plan embraced by treasonous government officials, who are attempting to put this plan into action without Congressional oversight, or even discussing the plan in public forums.

The CFR's view of Mexico is seemingly clueless as to the actual corrupt nature of it's people and it's government. The whole country is corrupt from top to bottom. They want to throw money from the North American Development Bank in the form of grants and "soft loans" at Mexico.

Yeah, they'll love the "soft loans" part. Throwing money at Mexican officials would be idiotic, at best.

I've read the (pdf) document, and it is shockingly naive in it's approach to Mexican economic development, and Mexico's ability to create fair and responsible government policies.

Here is a verbatim sample:

WHAT WE SHOULD DO NOW

• Intensify Mexican efforts to accelerate its economic development. To achieve this objective, Mexico must reorient its economic policies to encourage more investment and to distribute the benefits of economic growth more equitably and efficiently across the country. Progress needs to be made, in particular, in the following areas:

(1) dramatically expanding investment and productivity in the energy sector;
(2) continuing efforts to enhance governmental transparency, build regulatory capacity, and deepen judicial reform;
(3) improving public access to high-quality education;
(4) promoting the development of basic infrastructure projects by state and municipal governments;
(5) helping small and medium-sized producers take advantage of economic integration; (6) increasing the federal tax base as a percentage of gross domestic product; and (7) establishing clear and measurable objectives for public spending. Of course, it will be up to Mexicans to develop the policy conditions for these changes to take place.(emphasis added)
------------------------------------------
That anyone in government could think for a moment that Mexico could or would clean up it's deeply endemic corrupt way of life leaves me speechless (fig. of speech -LOL).

Ron Paul, who is like the voice crying in the wilderness, refuses to back down on anything. I like that in a man. I don't think anyone can be trusted 100% with the power of the American Presidency, but Ron Paul seems like a WYSIWYG candidate.

Fred Thompson, on the other hand bears watching very, very closely. Something ain't right about that man. Has anyone noticed that he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations?

What about it Fred Thompson? Are you a globalist? I believe he is, and that would not be good for America.

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Who Is Allah?

I once took a Middle East archeology course, back when "Muslims" were "Moslems". The professor was a scholar of Egyptology, had directed several digs in North Africa. She was an inspiring lecturer, and somewhere in the middle of the course, she invited her students to do a comparison of the Koran with the Old Testament. I took her up on it, because I wanted a A in the course, but mainly because even a cursory comparison had me laughing out loud. Seems old war-mongering Mohammed lifted, almost verbatum, passages and certainly ideas and tales from the Bible, and old pagan ideas as well. For an "inspired" vision, it was decidedly cheesy.

After awhile (I had no interest in the Koran) I gave it up because the Koran was so transparently riding on the coat-tails of the Bible for any authority. In fact the spiritual well-being of the world hangs on the question of authority: to what or to whom do we give our allegiance? There are, and will be, consequences - both now and after our so-called "death". I know the body dies, but I am not the body. As C.S. Lewis so succinctly put it: "You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

I do not believe I will die, and if so then why am I here on earth, except to remember who I am? Indeed, my one question of any importance is: Who am I? Jesus gave us some clues, and I believe in Jesus's spiritual authority, which was in no way diminished by his "death".

Now, granted, it's been a long time since my amateurish investigation, but now along comes Soeren Kern, who further debunks the Koran, and it's claim on "the one true God" - Allah.

Does it matter? Oh, it matters a great deal. Maybe not to the weak-kneed, kow-towing, European Islam apologists. But it matters to me. It may not matter to God what we call Him, but it is of supreme importance that I get it right. What you do is your affair.

American Thinker
August 23, 2007

Who Is Allah?
By Soeren Kern

Europeans love to mock the salience of religion in American society, but they won't be laughing for very long. The de-Christianization of Europe in the name of "tolerance" is rapidly driving the spiritually shiftless continent into the arms of Islam. And now, amidst the postmodern theological confusion that defines contemporary Europe, even Catholic clergy are jumping on the Islamomania bandwagon.

The latest post-Christian theological spectacle comes to us from the Netherlands (of Ayaan Hirsi Ali fame), where the Roman Catholic Bishop of Breda, Tiny Muskens, says he wants Christians to start calling God "Allah" because he believes such a gesture would promote "rapprochement between Christianity and Islam". Appearing on Dutch television, the 71-year-old cleric said: "Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him?"

Inquiring minds want to know: If the bishop really thinks the names "God" and "Allah" are interchangeable, why doesn't he ask Muslims to start calling Allah "Yahweh", the biblical name for God? But he won't, because he knows they won't.

Indeed, just because Christianity, Judaism and Islam are called "monotheistic" faiths, it does not follow that Christians, Jews and Muslims pray to the same God. So for those pre-postmoderns who believe that words still mean something, a quick survey of archaeology, history and theology-accompanied by a dose of common sense-can answer the question of whether the Allah of Islam is really the God of the Bible.

What Archaeology Says about Allah

Muslims claim that in pre-Islamic times, "Allah" was the biblical God of the Patriarchs, prophets and apostles. Indeed, the credibility of Islam as a religion stands or falls on its core claim of historical continuity with Judaism and Christianity. No wonder, then, that many Muslims get uppity when the claims of Islam are subjected to the hard science of archaeology.

Because archaeology provides irrefutable evidence that Allah, far from being the biblical God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was actually the pre-Islamic pagan moon-god. Indeed, it is an established archaeological fact that worship of the moon-god was the main religion of the ancient Middle East.

But what about the Arabian Peninsula, where Mohammed (570-632) launched Islam? During the last two centuries, prominent archaeologists have unearthed thousands of inscriptions which prove beyond any doubt that the dominant religion of Arabia during Mohammed's day was the cult of the moon-god.

In fact, for generations before Mohammed was born, the Arabs worshipped some 360 pagan gods housed at a stone temple in Mecca called the Kabah. According to archaeologists, the chief deity of Mecca was the moon-god called al-ilah (meaning the god or the idol), which was shortened to Allah in pre-Islamic times. Pagan Arabs even used Allah in the names they gave themselves: Mohammed's father (Abdallah), for example, had Allah as part of his name.

What History Says about Allah

Historians say that pre-Islamic Arabs worshipped the moon-god by bowing in prayer toward Mecca several times a day. They would also make a pilgrimage to Mecca, run around the Kabah seven times and throw stones at the devil. And they fasted for one month, which began with the appearance of the crescent moon and ended when the crescent moon reappeared.

These same rites form the core of Islam today: Muslims bow in prayer toward Mecca; they make a pilgrimage to Mecca and run around the Kabah seven times; and they still throw stones at the devil. They also observe the fast of Ramadan, which begins and ends with the crescent moon.

Moreover, the ancient symbol of the pagan moon-god, the crescent moon, is the official symbol of Islam; it appears on the flags of Muslim countries, as well as on the tops of mosques and minarets everywhere.

Historians say that Mohammed, who as a traveling trader was exposed to Judaism and Christianity during his visits to different parts of the Middle East, tried to mimic those monotheistic faiths by taking Allah, the main deity within the Arabian pantheon, and making it the only god. Indeed, the basic confession of Islam is not that "Allah is Great" but that "Allah is Greater". Greater than all the other idols, that is.

But Islam also draws from other pagan traditions. For example, the tale of Mohammed's night journey into heaven parallels the Zoroastrian story of Arta Viraf. Zoroastrianism also inspired the Islamic belief that dark-eyed virgins await every man who enters heaven. And the Islamic ritual of praying five times a day? That, historians say, originates with the Sabeans, Syrian pagans who practiced an ecumenical mixture of Babylonian and Hellenic religion.

No surprise, then, that some scholars refer to Islam as monotheistic heathenism.

What Theology Says about Allah

Muslims claim that Islam is Judaism and Christianity reformed. They say the Koran confirms the truth of the Torah and the Gospels. But since those texts did not jibe with Mohammad's beliefs, they accuse Jews and Christians of changing and distorting the original versions. Muslims therefore assert that the Koran "clarifies" the Bible.

Even if that were the case, the Koran and the Bible present ideas about God (especially about His character) that are so diametrically opposed that any reasonable observer would conclude that each book refers to a distinct deity.

The Koran, for example, states unequivocally that Allah is an unknowable and non-personal deity. By contrast, the God of the Bible allows Himself to be known and desires fellowship with human beings on a personal basis. Indeed, the Bible says that Abraham (the same Abraham whom Muslims say they venerate) was the "friend of God."

The Koran also portrays Allah as a vindictive deity who hates sinners and desires to afflict them. But the Bible says God is love.Moreover, the New Testament teaches that God loved humanity so much that He came to earth to pay the debt for man's sin, and that that act of grace is available for free to anyone who believes Jesus Christ is their personal Savior. But Islam denies that Christ was God or that He died in order to save humanity. Indeed, Allah does not provide any way for man to be reconciled to God.

And the theological differences go on and on, so much so that the God of the Bible cannot possibly be the Allah worshipped in Islam. Unless, of course, a Dutch bishop says so.

Allah and Eurabia

Mohammed thought the Jews and Christians of his day would receive him as a prophet. But the Bible says that any new revelation must agree with what is already established in Scripture (Isaiah 8:20). So they rejected his Allah as a false god. And Mohammed replied by setting his Islam on a permanent warpath against Judaism and Christianity that continues to this day.

The Dutch bishop and other Muslim fellow travelers think they can buy a fake peace with Islam by playing relativistic word games as a part of an "inter-faith" dialogue. But Muslims understand much better than do post-modern Europeans that ecumenical appeasement is a symptom of a Judeo-Christian civilization that is weak and dying.

The irony is that the real danger from Islam stems not so much from ordinary Muslims as it does from sickly Europeans who have subverted their Judeo-Christian heritage in search of secular hedonism. Because they live only for the moment, they are willing submit to anything, including Islam, as long as it doesn't interfere with the pursuit of pleasure today.

It has been more than 50 years since the late Christian apologist C.S. Lewis first warned about Western Civilization's disastrous lurch into post-Christianity. But even he would be surprised to see how quickly Islam is filling the religious and cultural vacuum that is post-Christian Europe.

It's not that Europeans haven't been forewarned. It's that they couldn't care less.
------------------------------------
P.S. I got a B in the course. I was looking for meaning, the prof was looking for scholarship. Ah, well. So. Allah is a moon-god? Ho-hum...

Trackbacked to: Woman Honor Thyself, Right Truth, Plank's Constant

Life on the High Plains

I'm back. Re-built the computer, starting over. All research, notes, etc - gone. But maybe Bernie is right: starting over can be a blessing. My memory holds what is good and true about America, and who our enemies are.

I'm living in a trailer on the high plains of Colorado - on the Comanche National Grasslands, near the Arkansas River - a dream of mine for a long time. This is my back yard. This is my next-door neighbor...a horse, who's not impressed with me. Beautiful.
Actually, it's in a trailer park, and I do have other neighbors. When the owner showed me this trailer, with the views (there's more - much more), I almost started hyperventilating. It's on a gravel road, and it's perfect.

It will take me some time to adjust - I'm still working with the phone company, trying to get a reliable dsl connection, but when I have all my news sources in place, I'll be back on the firing line.

My thanks to those who commiserated with me. See you soon.

Hackers

This is a note to say that I was hacked while checking out car insurance quotes, and my hard drive was re-written with zeros. And the bios was flashed as well, meaning I have some work to do to get back to normal. But since I am moving to Colorado in a couple of weeks, I decided to postpone tackling that job. I will post whenever I can. I am currently in a library in Jersey City, having found a lull in the swarm of kids who frequent this place. But all my bookmarks, and much of my base for research are gone. C'est la vie. Gotta go.

Germany Encourages Incest

"When men cease to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing anything." - G.K. Chesterton

Source - World Net Daily

According to the Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita, this booklet is an obligatory read in nine German regions. It is used for training nursery, kindergarten and elementary school teachers.

from Life Site News.com
Monday July 30, 2007
By John-Henry Westen

German Government Publication Promotes Incestuous Pedophilia as Healthy Sex Ed - Michael O'Brien, author on crisis of culture in West, says "this German state intervention in family life is a new level of auto-destruction"

BERLIN, July 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Booklets from a subsidiary of the German government's Ministry for Family Affairs encourage parents to sexually massage their children as young as 1 to 3 years of age.

Two 40-page booklets entitled, "Love, Body and Playing Doctor" by the German Federal Health Education Center (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung - BZgA) are aimed at parents - the first addressing children from 1-3 and the other children from 4-6 years of age.

"Fathers do not devote enough attention to the clitoris and vagina of their daughters. Their caresses too seldom pertain to these regions, while this is the only way the girls can develop a sense of pride in their sex," reads the booklet regarding 1-3 year olds. The authors rationalize, "The child touches all parts of their father's body, sometimes arousing him. The father should do the same."

Canadian author and public speaker Michael O'Brien who has written and spoken extensively about the crisis of culture in the West spoke to LifeSiteNews.com about the shocking and extremely disturbing phenomenon.

It is, he said, "State-encouraged incest, which in most civilized societies is a crime." The development is, he suggests, a natural outcome of the rejection of the Judeo-Christian moral order.

"The imposed social revolution that has swept the western world is moving to a new stage as it works out the logical consequences of its view of man's value," said O'Brien. "It is merely obeying its strictly materialist philosophy of man. If man is no more than a creature created for pleasure or power. If he is no more than a cell in the social organism, then no moral standards, no psychological truths, no spiritual truths can refute the 'will to power' and the 'will to pleasure'."

The pamphlet advises parents to permit young children "unlimited masturbation" except where physical injury becomes apparent. It advises: "Children should learn that there is no such thing as shameful parts of the body. The body is a home, which you should be proud of." For ages 4-6, the booklet recommends teaching children the movements of copulation.

Another product of the BZgA is a song book aimed at children of four and slightly older which includes several songs espousing masturbation. The song-book entitled "Nose, belly and bum" includes one song with the following lyrics: "When I touch my body, I discover what I have. I have a vagina, because I am a girl. Vagina is not only for peeing. When I touch it, I feel a pleasant tingle."

"The wiser and deeper position of most civilizations recognized that children need a period of innocence," commented O'Brien. "Now the state, the German state, is encouraging destruction of this state of innocence," he added. "This is consistent with the materialist philosophy that sees all moral norms and all truths about human nature as repressive. Pleasure and their distorted concept of freedom are their only guiding principles." read the rest...

I hesitated, only for a moment, to post this. Where does it all stop? The relative humanist view is already in full swing here in America.
On July 2nd, I wrote:

The man who considers himself Godless is in a precarious position, because there is no such thing. Every act which you perform is offered as a sacrifice to something, be it an idea, a person, a thing, or a power in the mind or heart. Everyone worships something. The question is, what?

The booklet's assertion is not only wrong - it sets the stage for a complete betrayal of a child's love for her father. This is madness.

This kind of thinking reflects the impasse of the new age morality. If the human race doesn't wake up soon, there will be no stopping the slide into abject moral depravity, and the social fabric of our lives will be ripped beyond all reasonable repair. The ACLU must be quite pleased with this development.

The Cafeteria Is Closed has more here, and here. Yeah, it gets worse...

trackbacked to: Dr. Sanity, Perri Nelson, Woman Honor Thyself