An Excerpt from Benedict's Lecture

The emperor [Manuel Ii Paleologus] goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul.
God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably 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....
The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: "For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality." Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practice idolatry.

Those last few sentences are of chief interest. Sure, God's transcendence should be guarded, and He is not bound to reveal himself--especially through any material means. But He does. That's central to the Gospel. God uses the familiar to reveal the unfamiliar--particularly, Himself i nthe form of a man. This is scandalous to anyone with a dualistic worldview.

Rushdie, Hirsi Ali, the Pope -- Who's Next? and Benedict's Lecture

Here's an interesting article from the German Der Spiegel online. It recounts some of the history of Islamist threats towards those who offer any criticism of their policies of history.

An excerpt:

There are -- few -- critical voices that should be taken seriously when it comes to the pope's comments. Shouldn't Benedict XVI have known that the quote he included in his speech -- a passage he himself described as "brusque" -- might be misunderstood? Couldn't he have made his meaning a bit clearer? Even if he had, it should be welcomed by all, including leftist atheists and agnostics, that we now have a pope who can pose challenging academic questions. In any case, a close reading of his speech reveals not a single insult directed at a single Muslim.

Also, here's a link to Benedict's speech. There is nothing inflammatory in it.

The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus

There's a man in Florida who claims to be Jesus Christ. Seriously. He preaches no sin, no restrictions--just puredee indulgence. No, that's not indulgences--as in the medieval church practice that allowed one or a loved one a little less time in Purgatory--that's indulgence--as in indulge your senses. He's beyond heretical. He's delusional and cultic. Read more here.

Read more about Jesus Redux here.

Contemporary McCarthyism

The Path to Hysteria
My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism.
BY CYRUS NOWRASTEH

...In the era of McCarthyism, the merest hint of a connection to communism sufficed to inspire dark accusations, the certainty that the accused was part of a malign conspiracy. Today, apparently, you can get something of that effect by charging a connection with a Christian mission.

Read more here.

The Pope must die, says Muslim

A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.
Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment" [...]. Choudary's appeal for the death of Pope Benedict was the second time he has been linked with apparent incitement to murder within a year.
The 39-year-old lawyer organised
demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in February in Denmark. Protesters carried placards declaring "Behead Those Who Insult Islam".

Read the rest here.

Nun gunned down in Somalia

I have found the response to Pope Benedict's remarks by the Muslim community a bit ironic. I do believe that we must seek to understand their position and love those who are our sworn enemies, but the plausibility of this story makes it a bit difficult.

Muslim fury grows at Pope's speech

Take a look at this article. Also, be sure to note the comments at the bottom of the page. I tend to agree with their sentiments.

Thomas Kinkade: Angel of Light Part 2

This is a bit of old news about Kinkade. It's from the LA Times, Aug. 29 2006:

The FBI is investigating allegations that self-styled "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade and some of his top executives fraudulently induced investors to open galleries and then ruined them financially, former dealers contacted by federal agents said. Investigators are focusing on issues raised in civil litigation by at least six former Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery owners, people who have been contacted by the FBI said.

The ex-owners allege in arbitration claims that, among other things, the artist known for his dreamily luminous landscapes and street scenes used his Christian faith to persuade them to invest in the independently owned stores, which sell only Kinkade's work."They really knew how to bait the hook," said one former dealer who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case. "They certainly used the Christian hook."Kinkade has denied the allegations in the civil litigation.

Hurt

I pulled out my guitar tonight to strum a little. I was trying to figure out this one chord (I'm still pretty much an amateur after ten years of wielding my axe) in Johnny Cash's cover of Sting's "I Hung My Head". I found a site that provided the chord. I thought I was right: It was the D Minor I kept missing. As I perused the other songs, I found a link to the "Hurt" video--the one in which Cash covers the Nine Inch Nails song. I had never seen the video before; I had only heard about it. I was moved to tears...the juxtaposed footage of the young, confident Cash with the old, ailing Cash; his "House of Cash" museum--his "empire of dirt"--sitting vacant.

I think what moves me so much in Cash's music is his insistence upon the fact that one cannot escape the consequences of his actions (this is especially important in a culture where celebrity ethics are dominant--you know: you can cheat, steal, and sleep around, but you always have an out with the creation of a new image). It's apparent in "Hurt" and also in a song like "Delia's Gone." The tone of "Delia" is lighter than its content. The song is about the narrator's paying a visit to his lover in Memphis who's "low down and trifling/ And [...] cold and mean." After binding her to a chair, he shoots her in cold blood. The mood that the tune creates laid along side of the mood created by the words is chilling. Nevertheless, the murder isn't glorified in any sense. In his jail cell, the narrator sings, "But jailer, oh, jailer/ Jailer, I can't sleep/ 'Cause all around my bedside/ I hear the patter of Delia's feet." The song ends with this lesson: "So if you woman's devilish/ You can let her run/ Or you can bring her down/ and do her Like Delia got done/ Delia's gone, one more round/ Delia's gone."

However, this "lesson" has lost much of its effect in light of the narrator's inability to shake off the memory of his murdered lover. The dead are present in "Delia" and death is imminent in the "Hurt" video. This is the second reason I admire Cash's music. In his music, death is real but not glorified. From what I remember reading, the viewing of the "Hurt" video caused a hush to fall upon the crowd at the MTV music video awards in 2003, where Cash won for "Hurt." There is not much that can cause a hush in our culture anymore. As Christians, we are called to die to ourselves everyday. I think God knew that death would always hush the maddening crowds screaming for their rights and insistent upon their happiness above all else. Perhaps that's why he made it the means to life and perhaps that's why he calls his followers to it daily. You can click here to view Hurt.

Exodus Ministry Applauds Anglican Head's 'Stand for the Truth'

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, [Rowan] Williams said, "Ethics is not a matter of a set of abstract rules, it is a matter of living the mind of Christ. That applies to sexual ethics."I don't believe inclusion is a value in itself. Welcome is. We don't say 'Come in and we ask no questions'. I do believe conversion means conversion of habits, behaviors, ideas, emotions."

You can read the rest of this article here. You can also read about Exodus.