Islamic Militancy – Seed for the Next Dark Ages
By Michael Bresciani (08/02/06)
People who have their wits usually try to learn from their past mistakes.
Whole nations work to avoid the pitfalls of yore. But will the entire
globe learn from its past dark history. Sadly, it doesn’t look that way.
We teach our collegians well about the period known as the dark ages but
do we thoroughly explain what brought on this horrible period across the
globe? With little fanfare the answer to that question is an unequivocal
no.
Let’s do the math here. The marriage of civil and ecclesiastical power is
without dispute the singular cause of the horrors of the dark ages. When
the authority of the state and the church are wed, people suffer. The
equation goes like this. If I am a Muslim, Christian, Catholic or Jew I
may practice my religion without fear of persecution, reprisal or
rejection. I still must obey civil law but the judicial body won’t besiege
me with charges for the beliefs I hold about God and faith.
When any particular religion becomes the state sanctioned religion then I
can be prosecuted for my lack of compliance. Once Catholicism was the
state sanctioned religion and for one thousand years the Pope ruled across
the globe, with an iron hand. Some say the reformation ended that and some
like to call it the recovery, that is, the recovering of the simple gospel
message and the abandoning of the burgeoning religious rules and mandates
of the church. Is Islam bringing this kind of terror into civilization
again?
In America the idea of the separation of church and state is all that
stands between us and that kind of tyranny. Of course the separation of
church and state is mostly a perception and not actually a law. The law in
America simply states that the congress will not make any laws governing
religion. This is a law we can live with in the most literal sense of the
word. In Islamically ruled nations not believing in the state sponsored
religion can and does cost lives.
News agencies have reported that an Iranian man, Mr. Issa Motamdi has been
arrested and charged with apostasy. His crime was giving his son a
Christian name. Even before his trial which is not likely to be any more
than a travesty there is talk of execution.
In the Central Sulawesi area of Indonesia it is reported by the BBC News
that three girls were attacked on their way to school. The three who
traversed through a cocoa plantation on their way to a Christian school
were beheaded. Dozens of Christians have been brutally murdered in this
region since 2001 as militant Muslims seek to set up another Islamic state
there.
Most people in what still might be referred to as a civilized world take
exception to this kind of brutality in the name of any religion. With all
her faults, excesses and problems America could be counted upon to deal
seriously with this kind of brutality especially toward children. No
religious preference would keep the perpetrators of such crimes from being
prosecuted and most likely jailed for life or executed.
To the Christian it is sad thing when someone turns to another religion or
another God and misses the salvation that comes only from the Saviour of
the world. Yet, no where in scripture are they called upon to execute any
form of summary judgment against those who choose not to believe. Jesus
Christ may have been many things but he is never any less than civilized,
perhaps we could say he is a gentleman.
The constitution of the United States could also be said to be a gentleman
if it had human attributes. It provides the security to believe the
dictates of our conscience without fear of tyranny.
Most of the presidents in our history have been protestant and in the last
twenty five years Protestants have met and surpassed the number of
practicing Catholics in America. It would be hard to imagine the absurdity
of making Protestantism America’s state religion. We would then be very
busy prosecuting Catholics and those in other religions. We can only thank
God that something this absurd has never been found appealing to even the
most confused factions of our body politic.
(Printer friendly version) Email: Michael Bresciani
