Rant, Meme, and Playlist
As I mentioned in my last entry, I'm going to begin documenting offensive church bulletins that get sent to me. This first one is a lovely bunch of Islamaphobia. I'm putting it under a cut for those who don't want to have their blood pressure raised. This is an exact transcript, and all grammatical mistakes, misused words, and offensive statements are of the author and NOT me. Names have been redacted, but the lack of sources for quotes and stats is all him. Apparently, he felt entitled to say dumb, inflammatory shit without backing it up with even a Free Republic post.
"What is Islam?" by [REDACTED]
Will Durant in "The Age of Faith" says that the religion of Islam is "Christianity's greatest threat (pg 155). After the September 11th attacks, many people began to ask questions about the Islamic religion. Having a Western orientation, many are unfamiliar with the teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means submission to the will of Allah.
It is a mobile, militant, and missionary religion. Islam has made inroads into the United States and Europe. "Muslims have targeted the United States with an aggressive missionary program. Saudi Arabia has given millions of dollars to Harvard and the University of Arkansas to fund Islamic Study Centers."
The founder of the Islamic religion was Mohammed Mohammed was born in Saudi Arabia in the city of Mecca in AD 570. When Mohammed was forty years old, he allegedly had a vision from the angel Gabriel. In the vision, he was told to institute a monotheistic religion along with a new morality.
Many years later, Muhammed married a wealthy widow named Khadija. She was one of the first converts to Islam, and she provided him with a daughter named Fatima.
Muhammed was a staunch monotheist, attacking polytheism and animism in the tribal region of Mecca. These attacks gained Muhammed notoriety, but they also resulted in a severe persecution for him and his followers.
Muhammed escaped to Medina in 622 AD. In Medina, he established the community of Islam or Umma. During this period, he formed an army, built the first mosque, and served as a prophet, ruler, judge, commander-in-chief, and prayer leader.
After organizing his army, Muhammed killed thousands of people in his conqust of the Arabian Peninsula. "In a battle with the last Jewish tribe around Medina, 700 to 800 men were slaughtered and their wives and children taken as booty." As he conquered various Jewish and pagan people, he collected the spoils of war, including many concubines. Along with the concubines, he gained many wives, but his favorite was a girl named Aisha who he consummated marriage with at only nine years of age.
In 630 AD, Muhammed subdued Mecca and purged the area from all of the idols that the people were formerly worshipping. After this, he reestablished Mecca as a place of pilgrimag to worship Allah. Muhammed died in 630 AD and left behind no official heir to his kingdom. However, his religion did not die with him.
After this period, the Islamic religion began to grow rapidly. It is widely believed that Islam enjoyed such a growth because it unified Arab peoples. During this time of expansion, the followers of Mohammed began a religious war that overtook most of Europe. Finally, in 732 A, they were stopped by Charles "the Hammer" Martel at the Battle of Tours in France. If the Moslems had not been stopped in France, all of Europe would have most likely been Islamic.
Islam has begun to enjoy more rapid growth over the last few years, with most of the expansion occurring in Africa. Today Islam is practiced by one-fifth of the world's population and that number is growing quickly. "There are already more Muslims than Episcopalians in America, and within ten years, Islam may be the second-largest religion in the United States." "Between 1989 and 1998 the Islamic population in this country has grew by 25%, there are now estimated to be between 4 and 7 million Muslims in the US." "There are more than a billion Muslims on the planet, the UN projects that by 2055 at least half of the global birthrate will be Islamic."
Moslems follow after the teachings of the Koran, which was supposedly revealed by Gabriel. From the time of this revelation up until several years later, Mohammed continued to receive various pronouncements from God. These revelations were later codified into the Qur'an, or a perfect book from God. The Koran has been translated into fifty languages which attests to the appeal that Islam is having on a worldwide basis.
Islam has five fundamental practices that Moslems are required to follow. The five pillars of Islam are as follows:
1. The confession or Shahadah: "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet."
2. Prayer or Salah. Five times a day--at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and two hours after sunset--while facing Mecca.
3. Fasting or Sawm. From dawn to sunset everyday during the holy month of Ramadan.
4. Offerings to the poor or Zahat setting aside 2.5% of income to benefit the Muslim community. Moslems are required to give alms to the poor.
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca or Haji. At least once, during a Muslim's lifetime, he must make a pilgrimage to Mecca. This is done during the 12th lunar month of the year. It is estimated tht over 1 million Moslems go to Mecca for this event.
Even though our government and certain followers of Islam want people to believe that Islam is a religion of peace, it is not. While adherents to Islam might seek peaceful coexistence, the Qur'an contains many verses that speak otherwise:
>Surah 47.4 "Now, when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks...
>Surah 2.190-194 ""Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you...slay them whenever you find them....
>Surah 2.216-217 "Warfare is ordained for you..."
Other passages of the Qur'an could be cited, but suffice it to say the the writings of Mohammed are far from pacifist in nature.
Islam teaches that Jesus was just a prophet and not the Son of God. Moslems accept the Koran, Torah, Psalms, and the Gospels as being inspired. However, they do not accept all the tenets of Christianity.
For a moment let us consider some of Islam's claims against Christianity. Moslems claim that the Bible of the Christian is corrupt, unreliable, and inferior to the Qur'an and Christianity follows untruthful doctrines. The doctrine of the Trinity is especially disdainful to Muslims. God is too high and exalted to have a son, thus Christ is not the divine son of God. They also claim that Jesus was not crucified and was not resurrected; that he is not the Savior or Mediator and did not atone for the sins of mankind.
It is important that we have the proper respect for our fellow man, but we should never endorse a religious belief that teaches error about the nature of Christ. Instead we should be converting Moslems to Christianity. The gospel is for every creature under the sun. Mark 16: 15 "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." However, converting a person from Islam to Christianity can be a dangerous thing. Conquered peoples may convert to Islam, but any person guilty of converting a Muslim to Christianity can be put to death. This writer knew of a gentle-hearted man, [REDACTED], who had converted several Muslims to Christ. As a result, he had several death threats against his life.
Hopefully, children of God will always stand courageously in the face of opposition. The gospel needs to be carried to all people regardless of creed or ethnicity.
Here begins my rant, internets. I shall try to keep it as coherent and logical as possible without flying into a blind rage of capslock.
Point number one: Funding Islamic Study Centers is not dangerous or militant, anymore than Christian schools or spiritual centers are. Funding them is not aggressive or militant either. Considering what I know you guys are spending on the building renovations for a new building I could, according to your logic, declare you and the congregation to be "militant and aggressive".
Point number two: Yes there were religious wars in which Muslim people participated in slaughter over religious viewpoints. However, if you crack open your Bible to pretty much the entire Old Testament, you'll see that the Hebrew people did as well, and it doesn't take a history major to see the effects of the Church converting--often violently--conquered people to Christianity.
Point number three: Not really relevant to the general Islamaphobia of this bulletin but FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PICK A SPELLING AND STICK WITH IT. Also, learn sentence structure, comma placement, and source citing. You are not Wikipedia.
Point four: The Muslims did not start the Crusades. They conquered Jerusalem. While I'm not in support of just going about conquering people because one can, it was Christendom that decided to begin the series of Crusades, sometimes for no more reason than wanting to ransack wealthy Islamic cities for spoils.
Point five: There are a lot of rligious denominations bigger than the Episcopalians. And second largest religion in the US still is that. Second. Not first.
Point six: This isn't visible to anyone but me, but the line justification on this bulletin is so bad that the sentences are overlapping. It just bugs me, okay.
Point seven: Taken both out and in context, many passages in the Bible say the same thing as the quoted passages of the Koran.
Point eight: While I agree in the divinity of Jesus Christ as God's Son, I realize that other people are going to people other things. Learn to accept this please.
Point nine: So it's wrong, horrid, militant and aggressive for Muslims to convert Christians, but a-okay for us to convert them to Christianity?
Point ten: PEOPLE ARE NOT BORN MUSLIM DAMMIT. I WASN'T BORN CHRISTIAN. BEING BORN BROWN DOES NOT EQUAL BEING BORN MUSLIM.
Point eleven: I'm sorry your friend was harrased for his work, but you're the one who always says that good Christians are persecuted. Be glad your friend is alive and such a good Christian.
Feel free to point out any other fails that I'm missing or correct me if you believe I'm wrong on something. I'm not heavily educated on Islam, but I know enough to know that all his prejudiced ranting is bullshit.
Now that I have that out of my system, I don't as of yet have a downloadable playlist for the next character. I do however, have song titles and links to lyrics, and as soon as the playlist uploads to megaupload.com, I will edit this post with the link. Keep your eye out if there are any songs in it you want! And unlike the previous list, which was largely haphazrd, this one has a very specific order.
The next character is Jetta, 39, female.
1. Runs in the Family - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/runs_in_the_family_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
2. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: http://www.lyricsmania.com/bad_reputation_lyrics_joan_jett_and_the_blackhearts.html
3. Killer Queen - Queen: http://www.lyricsmania.com/killer_queen_lyrics_queen.html
4. Ampersand - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/ampersand_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
5. Somebody to Love - Queen: http://www.lyricsmania.com/somebody_to_love_lyrics_queen.html
6. What's the Use of Wondrin'? - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/whats_the_use_of_wondrin_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
7. Blake Says - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/blake_says_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
8. I Don't Know How to Love Him - Jesus Christ Superstar: http://www.lyricsmania.com/i_dont_know_how_to_love_him_lyrics_jesus_christ_superstar.html
9. The Point of It All - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/the_point_of_it_all_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
10. Bury My Heart - Spinnerette: http://www.lyricsmania.com/bury_my_heart_lyrics_spinnerette.html
11. Have to Drive - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/have_to_drive_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
12. Diamond Dogs - Beck: http://www.absolutelyrics.com/lyrics/view/beck/diamond_dogs/
13. Topeka - Ludo: http://www.lyricsmania.com/topeka_lyrics_ludo.html
14. Play with Fire - Cobra Verde: http://www.songlyrics.com/cobra-verde/play-with-fire-lyrics/
And meme: a picture that maks you angry or sad.
Anything from Haitin in the past week :(
"What is Islam?" by [REDACTED]
Will Durant in "The Age of Faith" says that the religion of Islam is "Christianity's greatest threat (pg 155). After the September 11th attacks, many people began to ask questions about the Islamic religion. Having a Western orientation, many are unfamiliar with the teachings of Islam. The word "Islam" means submission to the will of Allah.
It is a mobile, militant, and missionary religion. Islam has made inroads into the United States and Europe. "Muslims have targeted the United States with an aggressive missionary program. Saudi Arabia has given millions of dollars to Harvard and the University of Arkansas to fund Islamic Study Centers."
The founder of the Islamic religion was Mohammed Mohammed was born in Saudi Arabia in the city of Mecca in AD 570. When Mohammed was forty years old, he allegedly had a vision from the angel Gabriel. In the vision, he was told to institute a monotheistic religion along with a new morality.
Many years later, Muhammed married a wealthy widow named Khadija. She was one of the first converts to Islam, and she provided him with a daughter named Fatima.
Muhammed was a staunch monotheist, attacking polytheism and animism in the tribal region of Mecca. These attacks gained Muhammed notoriety, but they also resulted in a severe persecution for him and his followers.
Muhammed escaped to Medina in 622 AD. In Medina, he established the community of Islam or Umma. During this period, he formed an army, built the first mosque, and served as a prophet, ruler, judge, commander-in-chief, and prayer leader.
After organizing his army, Muhammed killed thousands of people in his conqust of the Arabian Peninsula. "In a battle with the last Jewish tribe around Medina, 700 to 800 men were slaughtered and their wives and children taken as booty." As he conquered various Jewish and pagan people, he collected the spoils of war, including many concubines. Along with the concubines, he gained many wives, but his favorite was a girl named Aisha who he consummated marriage with at only nine years of age.
In 630 AD, Muhammed subdued Mecca and purged the area from all of the idols that the people were formerly worshipping. After this, he reestablished Mecca as a place of pilgrimag to worship Allah. Muhammed died in 630 AD and left behind no official heir to his kingdom. However, his religion did not die with him.
After this period, the Islamic religion began to grow rapidly. It is widely believed that Islam enjoyed such a growth because it unified Arab peoples. During this time of expansion, the followers of Mohammed began a religious war that overtook most of Europe. Finally, in 732 A, they were stopped by Charles "the Hammer" Martel at the Battle of Tours in France. If the Moslems had not been stopped in France, all of Europe would have most likely been Islamic.
Islam has begun to enjoy more rapid growth over the last few years, with most of the expansion occurring in Africa. Today Islam is practiced by one-fifth of the world's population and that number is growing quickly. "There are already more Muslims than Episcopalians in America, and within ten years, Islam may be the second-largest religion in the United States." "Between 1989 and 1998 the Islamic population in this country has grew by 25%, there are now estimated to be between 4 and 7 million Muslims in the US." "There are more than a billion Muslims on the planet, the UN projects that by 2055 at least half of the global birthrate will be Islamic."
Moslems follow after the teachings of the Koran, which was supposedly revealed by Gabriel. From the time of this revelation up until several years later, Mohammed continued to receive various pronouncements from God. These revelations were later codified into the Qur'an, or a perfect book from God. The Koran has been translated into fifty languages which attests to the appeal that Islam is having on a worldwide basis.
Islam has five fundamental practices that Moslems are required to follow. The five pillars of Islam are as follows:
1. The confession or Shahadah: "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet."
2. Prayer or Salah. Five times a day--at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and two hours after sunset--while facing Mecca.
3. Fasting or Sawm. From dawn to sunset everyday during the holy month of Ramadan.
4. Offerings to the poor or Zahat setting aside 2.5% of income to benefit the Muslim community. Moslems are required to give alms to the poor.
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca or Haji. At least once, during a Muslim's lifetime, he must make a pilgrimage to Mecca. This is done during the 12th lunar month of the year. It is estimated tht over 1 million Moslems go to Mecca for this event.
Even though our government and certain followers of Islam want people to believe that Islam is a religion of peace, it is not. While adherents to Islam might seek peaceful coexistence, the Qur'an contains many verses that speak otherwise:
>Surah 47.4 "Now, when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks...
>Surah 2.190-194 ""Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you...slay them whenever you find them....
>Surah 2.216-217 "Warfare is ordained for you..."
Other passages of the Qur'an could be cited, but suffice it to say the the writings of Mohammed are far from pacifist in nature.
Islam teaches that Jesus was just a prophet and not the Son of God. Moslems accept the Koran, Torah, Psalms, and the Gospels as being inspired. However, they do not accept all the tenets of Christianity.
For a moment let us consider some of Islam's claims against Christianity. Moslems claim that the Bible of the Christian is corrupt, unreliable, and inferior to the Qur'an and Christianity follows untruthful doctrines. The doctrine of the Trinity is especially disdainful to Muslims. God is too high and exalted to have a son, thus Christ is not the divine son of God. They also claim that Jesus was not crucified and was not resurrected; that he is not the Savior or Mediator and did not atone for the sins of mankind.
It is important that we have the proper respect for our fellow man, but we should never endorse a religious belief that teaches error about the nature of Christ. Instead we should be converting Moslems to Christianity. The gospel is for every creature under the sun. Mark 16: 15 "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." However, converting a person from Islam to Christianity can be a dangerous thing. Conquered peoples may convert to Islam, but any person guilty of converting a Muslim to Christianity can be put to death. This writer knew of a gentle-hearted man, [REDACTED], who had converted several Muslims to Christ. As a result, he had several death threats against his life.
Hopefully, children of God will always stand courageously in the face of opposition. The gospel needs to be carried to all people regardless of creed or ethnicity.
Here begins my rant, internets. I shall try to keep it as coherent and logical as possible without flying into a blind rage of capslock.
Point number one: Funding Islamic Study Centers is not dangerous or militant, anymore than Christian schools or spiritual centers are. Funding them is not aggressive or militant either. Considering what I know you guys are spending on the building renovations for a new building I could, according to your logic, declare you and the congregation to be "militant and aggressive".
Point number two: Yes there were religious wars in which Muslim people participated in slaughter over religious viewpoints. However, if you crack open your Bible to pretty much the entire Old Testament, you'll see that the Hebrew people did as well, and it doesn't take a history major to see the effects of the Church converting--often violently--conquered people to Christianity.
Point number three: Not really relevant to the general Islamaphobia of this bulletin but FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PICK A SPELLING AND STICK WITH IT. Also, learn sentence structure, comma placement, and source citing. You are not Wikipedia.
Point four: The Muslims did not start the Crusades. They conquered Jerusalem. While I'm not in support of just going about conquering people because one can, it was Christendom that decided to begin the series of Crusades, sometimes for no more reason than wanting to ransack wealthy Islamic cities for spoils.
Point five: There are a lot of rligious denominations bigger than the Episcopalians. And second largest religion in the US still is that. Second. Not first.
Point six: This isn't visible to anyone but me, but the line justification on this bulletin is so bad that the sentences are overlapping. It just bugs me, okay.
Point seven: Taken both out and in context, many passages in the Bible say the same thing as the quoted passages of the Koran.
Point eight: While I agree in the divinity of Jesus Christ as God's Son, I realize that other people are going to people other things. Learn to accept this please.
Point nine: So it's wrong, horrid, militant and aggressive for Muslims to convert Christians, but a-okay for us to convert them to Christianity?
Point ten: PEOPLE ARE NOT BORN MUSLIM DAMMIT. I WASN'T BORN CHRISTIAN. BEING BORN BROWN DOES NOT EQUAL BEING BORN MUSLIM.
Point eleven: I'm sorry your friend was harrased for his work, but you're the one who always says that good Christians are persecuted. Be glad your friend is alive and such a good Christian.
Feel free to point out any other fails that I'm missing or correct me if you believe I'm wrong on something. I'm not heavily educated on Islam, but I know enough to know that all his prejudiced ranting is bullshit.
Now that I have that out of my system, I don't as of yet have a downloadable playlist for the next character. I do however, have song titles and links to lyrics, and as soon as the playlist uploads to megaupload.com, I will edit this post with the link. Keep your eye out if there are any songs in it you want! And unlike the previous list, which was largely haphazrd, this one has a very specific order.
The next character is Jetta, 39, female.
1. Runs in the Family - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/runs_in_the_family_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
2. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: http://www.lyricsmania.com/bad_reputation_lyrics_joan_jett_and_the_blackhearts.html
3. Killer Queen - Queen: http://www.lyricsmania.com/killer_queen_lyrics_queen.html
4. Ampersand - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/ampersand_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
5. Somebody to Love - Queen: http://www.lyricsmania.com/somebody_to_love_lyrics_queen.html
6. What's the Use of Wondrin'? - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/whats_the_use_of_wondrin_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
7. Blake Says - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/blake_says_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
8. I Don't Know How to Love Him - Jesus Christ Superstar: http://www.lyricsmania.com/i_dont_know_how_to_love_him_lyrics_jesus_christ_superstar.html
9. The Point of It All - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/the_point_of_it_all_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
10. Bury My Heart - Spinnerette: http://www.lyricsmania.com/bury_my_heart_lyrics_spinnerette.html
11. Have to Drive - Amanda Palmer: http://www.lyricsmania.com/have_to_drive_lyrics_amanda_palmer.html
12. Diamond Dogs - Beck: http://www.absolutelyrics.com/lyrics/view/beck/diamond_dogs/
13. Topeka - Ludo: http://www.lyricsmania.com/topeka_lyrics_ludo.html
14. Play with Fire - Cobra Verde: http://www.songlyrics.com/cobra-verde/play-with-fire-lyrics/
And meme: a picture that maks you angry or sad.
Anything from Haitin in the past week :(