Religion and our future

What part religion will play in the future of this world, only God himself knows.  But I think it's obvious to everyone that religion is playing a huge part in world events today.  Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is running on Islamic prophetic fuel, seeing himself as the prophet who will issue in armagheddon, the return of the 12th Imam, the return of the worldwide Islamic caliphate, the return of the land Israel calls home to the Palestinians.   

Persident George W. Bush is also religious, but accepting of others right to chose their own faith. "Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening'" from SlantRight has some interesting thoughts:

President Bush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as "a confrontation between good and evil."

Bush told a group of conservative journalists that he notices more open expressions of faith among people he meets during his travels, and he suggested that might signal a broader revival similar to other religious movements in history. Bush noted that some of Abraham Lincoln's strongest supporters were religious people "who saw life in terms of good and evil" and who believed that slavery was evil. Many of his own supporters, he said, see the current conflict in similar terms.

"A lot of people in America see this as a confrontation between good and evil, including me," Bush said during a 1 1/2 -hour Oval Office conversation on cultural changes and a battle with terrorists that he sees ... (more)

A new study by Baylor University shows that while American church attendance may be down, those who claim a faith in God and who worship/pray is much larger than expected:

The study, called “American Piety in the 21st Century,” is the most extensive of its kind. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation and developed with help from the Gallup Organization, it involved data from more than 1,700 people who responded to a mailed survey. The questionnaire contained 350 queries, dealing with everything from prayer habits and religious labels to Christian consumer spending and belief in the paranormal.

The study, found here, revealed: the unaffiliated are currently at 10.8% of the population, as opposed to the 14% percent claimed by other surveys. This means people who consider themselves affiliated with a faith or denomination has increased by almost 4%. This also means that 89.2% of Americans ARE affiliated with a faith.

- Barely one in ten Americans (10.8%) is NOT affiliated with a congregation, denomination, or other religious group (see Figure 1).

- Fewer than five percent of the U.S. population claim a faith outside of the Judeo-Christian mainstream (see Figure 1).

- Fully a third of Americans (33.6%), roughly 100 million people, are Evangelical Protestant by affiliation (see Figure 1).

For Jews as well as Christians, accountability for our actions is key. We have freedom of choice and with that freedom comes responsibility for our actions.

The basis for Judaism and its value system can be summed up in one word — accountability. The gift of freedom of choice and action that G-d granted to humans comes, as do most gifts, with a price. And that price is that all of us are completely accountable for our actions and behavior.

...repentance — requires this simultaneous look both backwards and forwards regarding our life's actions and our mission and hopes. source

Jews and Christians respect the rights of others not to convert to those religions if they choose not to, apparently unlike Islam. Take the Mohammed cartoon fiasco and more recently the Pope's comments about jihad and violence, which some Muslims responded to with ... jihad and violence.

Indeed, it appears that Islam does not lend itself much to the kind of introspective examination that led Martin Luther to nail his 95 theses to the door of a church. And if you asked a Muslim participating in that “Day of Rage” just what he was going to do on Saturday, we may not want to know the answer. --Rick Moran

In Islam there is apparently no freedom of choice, only forced acceptance of that religion. From Done With Mirrors:

The Associated Press, for instance, completely missed the obvious reference to the sacrament in the al Qaida response to Pope Benedict's speech:

Al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross," saying "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose the 'jizya' tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (being killed by) the sword."

Islam forbids drinking alcohol and requires non-Muslims to pay the "jizya" tax, though those who convert are exempt.

And:

 

Ahmadinejad insisted Iran's nuclear activities are "transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eye" of United Nations inspectors...

"The question needs to be asked: if the governments of the United States or the United Kingdom, who are permanent members of the Security Council, commit aggression, occupation and violation of international law, which of the U.N. organs can take them into account?," he asked.  source

Bush, in his speech yesterday, singled out Iran as a sponsor of terrorism, but continued  "the two peoples "can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace."'

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaking at the United Nations today, called President Bush the devil, saying "'the devil came to the U.N. yesterday -- it smells of sulphur still today".

Chavez uses the word "inshallah"--arabic for "god willing"--when predicting that "U.S. imperialism" will end soon, which makes you wonder whether his terror-sponsoring buddy Ahmadinejad let him in on a little secret. --The Political Pit Bull

Religion, whether we want it to be or not, is playing a KEY roll in our world, specifically in terror aimed at the United States, in general at the West, more specifically at people who worship a faith OTHER THAN ISLAM. For some in Islam there is no freedom, no accountability for one's actions, no remorse, no repentance, -- no choice.

From Red Sky Brothers:

Read the quote from Emporer Manuel II Paleogus, which the pope utilized, and tell me how burning churches and murdering old ladies is a justified response:

”God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably (”syn logo”) is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats…. To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death….”

"Gimme That Ol’ Time Religion" from Islamanazi is a good read, here's a taste:

“Fox Studios is putting faith in America’s vast and apparently growing Christian audience, as 20th Century Fox unveiled a new division, FoxFaith, that will release up to a dozen religious-oriented films each year.Fox Home Video, the home entertainment division of Rupert Murdoch’s movie studio, plans to produce or distribute as many as a dozen films a year under a new banner called FoxFaith.” [snip]

We, on the other hand, are the ones being attacked by the fanatics. Instead of hate, we gain anger. From anger comes the resolve to put an end to the problems that confront us. With our country, our families, our way of life and our religions all being threatened at once, our resolve can be terrible. I think the true test of our resolve is yet to come.

_______________________________________________________________ Linked with Blue Crab Boulevard who has a great photo of Chavez, go see. The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, "Links That Don't Stink"

Comments

[LaSandra]

Bush isn't very bright. Everyone who comes in contact with Bush is praying for "his" sins! Look who's running our country? We should all be praying more!!!! When Christ comes for the Earths'
"Second Cleansing," we are all going to be in for a rude awakening.

[Debbie]

I didn't hear Bush with Blitzer. I thik he knows this is about religion, he just doesn't want to come out and say it. We all know it though.

[Rastaman]

About Chavez. This is not a highly intelligent man. For those grizzly enough to remember World War II, he reminds me very much of Benito Mussolini, who became dictator of Italy.

Chavez suffers from an excess of testosterone. In other words, he has balls for brains.

Benito ended up being beaten to a pulp by an angry mob and his body swung from a lamp post, for the harm he brought to Italy.

Rastaman
www.islamanazi.com

[Rastaman]

I just heard, a few minutes ago, George Bush telling Wolf Blitzer on his news show that this is not a battle of religion against religion. He stumbled and stuttered and fell all over himself before he was able to formulate and say those words with a big grin on his face, and it was plenty apparent that he didn't believe what he was saying. I understand that he thinks being PC is best but he's wrong in my estimation.

I'm glad that he doesn't really think we aren't in a war of religions but I do wish he'd just spit it out and be done with it. Spin doctoring is the province of the Liberal Left. The Center and the Right need honesty. This is a time for valor and the hell with placating and appeasing.

Rastaman
www.islamanazi.com

[Debbie]

I still don't think our government is taking the religious enemy point of view that they should. For the US it isn't abut religion, but that is the mistake. Because for our enemy it is ALL about religion. The Islamic terrorists are fueled by their religion.

Chavez is apparently Catholic. He 'crossed himself' as he called Bush a devil at the UN. I'm not sure how this is going to work with Ahmadinejad, who of course is Muslim. But they seem to be awfully close now.

[Ma r t i n @ b l o g b a t]

The question is whether the Bush White House will have a foreign intelligence awakening and realize it's a matter of our survival to secure the borders, know who is living here, and the allegiance of those working in sensitive areas. All of his talk of Judeo-Christian religious revival is great, but most Americans already hold deep convictions, and it is from those convictions that they are uncluttered about the realities of national security and sovereignty. Maybe a trip to camp kumbaya would be more in order for various people in Washington.

[James Biga]

Take Chavez's comments and add in the recent report on Debkafile of the Non-aligned Intelligence people gathering during the NAM conference and it has to get people thinking. What are these people up to? Are they insane enough to incite the US into an all out war? Do they think that we are too busy elsewhere and that we will respond lightly? Terror groups will continue to get their funding from these people. It is easier to nip at heals than it is face head on. However, these men do appear ignorant enough, especially Chavez, to go too far.