Militant atheists are fond of reminding us that there have been people who committed acts of violence "in the name of religion." And of course this is true. But the Church always condemned such abuses in her teaching.
But what Barack Obama doesn't mention (and this should come as no surprise, counterfeit Christian that he is), is that far more violence has been committed under the banner of atheism. See here. As historian Paul Johnson put it, "Certainly, mankind without Christianity conjures up a dismal prospect. The record of mankind with Christianity is daunting enough....The dynamism it has unleashed has brought masacre and torture, intolerance and destructive pride on a huge scale, for there is a cruel and pitiless nature in man which is sometimes impervious to Christian restraints and encouragements. But without these restraints, bereft of these encouragements, how much more horrific the history of these last 2,000 years must have been!....In the last generation, with public Christianity in headlong retreat, we have caught our first, distant view of a de-Christianized world, and it is not encouraging." (A History of Christianity, p. 517).
Yes, there have been men who were "impervious to Christian restraints." But the Church may not be held responsible for this. Christianity is not the failure here. Rather those who failed to live up to the demands of the Gospel are to blame. But to the extent that such men committed acts of violence "in the name of religion," may we not justly conclude that such men were really atheists?
Atheism can be either speculative or practical. The practical atheist is one whose words and actions suggest that he does not really believe in God or following His holy will.
But nothing can match the barbaric record of violence under atheistic humanism. Which is what Mr. Johnson means when he writes, "In the last generation, with public Christianity in headlong retreat, we have caught our first, distant view of a de-Christianized world, and it is not encouraging.."
It is critical to remember (even if mental midgets such as Barack Obama would have us believe otherwise) that the Church remains spotless even when Her members sin. There is absolutely no doubt that the human history of the Church, like all of human history, has its dark pages. But if anyone cares to take an objective look at this history, one must quickly acknowledge that the doctrine of the Church has always implicitly condemned abuses introduced by Her members.
In the words of Dr. Dietrich Von Hildebrand, "There were sinners in the Church yesterday and there are sinners in the Church today. But the Church Herself, in her divine teaching, emerges gloriously unspotted in a history stained by human weaknesses, errors, imperfections, and sins." In the words of the great Cardinal Journet:
"All contradictions are eliminated as soon as we understand that the members of the Church do indeed sin, but they do so by their betraying the Church. The Church is thus not without sinners, but She is without sin. The Church as person is responsible for penance. She is not responsible for sins....The members of the Church themselves - laity, clerics, priests, Bishops, and Popes - who disobey the Church are responsible for their sins, but the Church as person is not responsible...It is forgotten that the Church as person is the Bride of Christ, 'Whom He has purchased with His own blood.'" (Acts 20:28).
Related reading here.
9 comments:
"But if anyone cares to take an objective look at this history, one must quickly acknowledge that the doctrine of the Church has always implicitly condemned abuses introduced by Her members."
Let us know when the Church apologizes for the Albigensian crusade, and the Popes that prosecuted it.
United Religions believes that proselytism is tantamount to violence. When talking about radical Islam most people seem to mean following those precisely it's teachings. The fact that many Muslims are not violent is because they don't adhere to Islam's teachings. By claiming that all religions have their extremists and fundamentalists and not distinguishing between Islam and other faiths only means that those who aren't lukewarm or apostates can be persecuted in the name of world peace. Want to openly denounce gay marriage? You're an extremist. Against abortion? You're also an extremist. Simply disagreeing with the majority of people makes you an extremist. Not following an unjust law? You're an extremist.
We must consider that this president may very well be demon possessed.
Anonymous, you're obviously not a student of history. The Albigensian Crusade was not an act of aggression. It was a defensive action against the Cathars.
http://www.ewtn.com/series/shows/miltOrders/miltOrdersEpisode.htm
Lying (TAQIYYA and KITMAN)
Are Muslims permitted to lie?
Read about "TAQIYYA and KITMAN"
Muslim scholars teach that Muslims should generally be truthful to each other, unless the purpose of lying is to "smooth over differences."
There are two forms of lying to non-believers that are permitted under certain circumstances, taqiyya and kitman. These circumstances are typically those that advance the cause Islam - in some cases by gaining the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them.
Read about it and you'll know why nobama sometimes says that he is a christian. lol
Riki
Sure, we all know that Obama finds Christians to be backward. He already insulted us saying that our beliefs about homosexuality, taken from God's Word, are "backward."
The Man is evil.
This man has the audacity to compare 'Christian violence' to radical Islam including Isis? Ludicrous. He fails to point out that all the Muslims killed in the Crusades doesn't even equal one average organized attack by Isis. Oh, and that would not include chopping off heads, burning people alive or cutting children in half. Either he himself is ignorant of this fact, or he's counting on the rest of us being ignorant. Yes, Christianity has had a violent past but cannot even BEGIN to hold a candle to radical Islam or atheism. Yes, Christians have killed in the name of Christ but it's not even a spit in the Ocean comparatively speaking. And he can take THAT to the BANK.
Oh yes, and I loved the comment that Christians should 'get off their high horse'. LOL That's like the pot calling the kettle black!
Um.. if it wasn't for Catholic Crusaders, you all would be Moslem right now. But you can't expect public government school attendees to ever have studied Charles Martel, the Seige of Vienna, the Polish King, John Sobieski, the Naval Battle of Lepanto under Don John of Austria, etc. The besieged Byzantines asked for Latin Europe's military help against... you guessed it... Islamic Jihadists! With Holy Roman Emperor Charles V tied up defending Europe against the Turks, Protestant Europe princes were as useless as tits on a bull, no help, refusing to fight the Turks while at the same time slaughtering Catholics in England and Germany and the Netherlands.
Oh and by the way, if you were accused by Inquisition, you got a lawyer to defend you, and the right to question witnesses and see evidence against you, unlike Protestant European princes and certainly unlike the sultan's courts.
To Anonymous 10:12 AM
You are not really interested in an apology , are you? You just want to slam the Catholic Church and hide behind an anonymous post like the coward you are. Try reading a bit more....
March 2000 The Guardian reports:
Saving one of his most audacious initiatives for the twilight of his papacy, John Paul II yesterday attempted to purify the soul of the Roman Catholic church by making a sweeping apology for 2,000 years of violence, persecution and blunders.
From the altar of St Peter's Basilica in Rome he led Catholicism into unchartered territory by seeking forgiveness for sins committed against Jews, heretics, women, Gypsies and native peoples.
Fighting through trembles and slurrings caused by Parkinson's disease, the Pope electrified ranks of cardinals and bishops by pleading for a future that would not repeat the mistakes. "Never again," he said.
Centuries of hate and rivalry could not recur in the third millennium. "We forgive and we ask forgiveness. We are asking pardon for the divisions among Christians, for the use of violence that some have committed in the service of truth, and for attitudes of mistrust and hostility assumed towards followers of other religions."
Plea for brotherhood
Defying warnings from some theologians that the unprecedented apology would undermine the church's authority, the 79-year-old pontiff asked God to forgive the persecution of the Jews. "We are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood."
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