Originally posted by TheDudeDVant
Ok man.. was just making sure we were not attacked because they are jealous of us and our freedoms.. Although I have not heard a single thing about how the terrorist will convert us or we must die.. Never knew that was part of the equation..
My best solution is to put a halt to the US military following the interest of corporate america. It has been happening for decades and probably pushing close to a century.. Corporate america in most cases is the reason we as americans are in their lands.
I'm certain there is no cutNdried answer as the problem has grown dramatically and is still increasing in scope.. But my solution I feel is a start..
What I don't get is how you can call yourself a paster/preacher/man of god and be able to condone military actions such as invading Iran and the killing of thousands of your brethern?
When jesus spoke of love your brother, what qualifiers did he put with that statement?
What does violence get you?
What does hate get you?
How can one like yourself claim the love of jesus but then turn your head and say violence should be the answer? How does that work exactly? Strangly, I would bet you could quote roughly 90% of jesus's teachings verbatem...
I wish I knew how to reply to all this without writing so much DudeDVant, and please know that I am saying this with gentleness and respect.
Trying to fit everything that happens in Geopolitics into a unified field theory isn't going to work, especially when it comes to issues like the Middle East and the most critical factor in understanding the Middle East: Islam. I understand that you have problems with Captialism, Conservatism, and America but while they are all involved in the Middle East, they aren't the cause of Islamic terrorism or Jihad and simply retreating or taking the Spanish option and attempting to surrender outright will not make Islamic Terrorism go away. If my time reading Arabic History in University taught me anything, it was that nothing save a fundamental change in the religious and political (because in Islam they are integerally connected) make-up of that region will end the Jihad.
I'd strongly encourage you to read some Islamic source materials, including what these groups themselves proclaim to be their philosophical underpinnings and trace the connections they themselves acknowledge. I'd also encourage you to read some scholarly analyses like
Faith and Power, Islam Unveiled, and Fregosi's excellent work,
Jihad. If you do, I think you'll find the following:
The Islamic world is still smarting to this day at their inability to overcome the Western nations militarily and their inability to subdue what they regard to be "Christendom" (I know Westerners would laugh today at the idea, but they still regard Europe and America to be "Christian nations"). From 611 AD to the almost the middle of the 16th Century, the armies of Islam were an almost unstoppable force, they conquered and subdued the Middle East, Africa, and portions of Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim and were well on their way to achieving the Quranic vision of a world-wide "Dar-El-Islam" when they were stopped first in France, and then gradually rolled back in Europe (keep in mind though, that they almost took Vienna in 1683)
Since that time they have been rolled back, the Caliphate (a necessary component of Islam) has been eliminated, and the West has been dominant even in their own lands. This has produced a deep seated resentment against secularism and the West that was fired into action with the end of Colonialism and the rise of Islamic brotherhoods committed to finishing the work given to the faithful by the prophet. They see accomodationist regimes in the middle east as standing in the way of the fulfillment of that vision, hence the number of assassinations targeting "secular" Arabic leaders.
One quick way of showing that America isn't the root problem is by examining Holland. Film Maker Theo Van Gogh, a liberal was killed by a Morroccan immigrant associated with an Islamic terrorist group because he made a documentary exposing the plight of women under Islam. Van Gogh was a liberal and hardly a supporter of the USA or Israel. Various other Dutch Lawmakers have received death threats, synagogues have been bombed, etc. and none of these problems is on account of the American presence in Iraq nor will they be solved by an American withdrawal.
Now, if you want what the bible teaches about violence,
sixth commandment , and how the Christ of the Bible is not the all tolerant pacifistic hippy sage of liberal Christianity (Check out John 2:15-17, Matt. 25:31-46, Rev. 19 for instance) I'm happy to discuss them, but please keep in mind I'm not advocating any mindless campaign of violence. Politically, I am in favor of Democratizing the Middle East, but ultimately I feel the only solution lies in evangelizing the population, which can only happen if Sharia laws which condemn apostates to death and make all missionary activity illegal are replaced by democratic laws protecting religious liberty. You may find the idea hideous, but even the most ardent secularist must admit that if the population of Islamic countries becomes Christian, then the recruiting pool for Islamic terrorist organizations dissappears and the call to Jihad with it.
- SEAGOON
