Nigeria: Pastor killed in front of his church, other churches targeted in arson rampage

"If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia."

K. Vonnegut.

I'll add the whole quotation here, having forgotten it first time round.

"There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia."

Christians might not like to think themselves as being as bad the mafia, but if they're dead, and if they allow their families and friends and neighbours and communties to die, what's the real point of being noble? Well, they might go to Heaven. I wouldn't let 'em in, but that's just me. I think it Christians want to protect the good, they should protect the good in spite of being as bad as the mafia. Going to Hell for it? Oh well. Life is tough.

We will never get anywhere until we start blaming the murderer rather than the victim, especially when the murderer is a Muslim and his victim an infidel. And this is where we are in the enfeebled, politically-correct, common-sense-challenged West today. No doubt, because the victim is a black Christian, he is seen as a honorable white by stupid and pathetic self-loathing Westerners.

There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil.

For as long as political correctness and self-loathing lasts, good will never triumph over evil because good and evil are concepts that no longer exist. Likewise right and wrong. Today, oafish Westerners divide the world into rich and poor and strong and weak, and the poor and weak are seen as the good guys - and Muslim savages are classed as poor and weak, whilst the infidel is classed as rich and strong, and the Nigerian pastor being a Christian is seen as rich and strong, when we, who have common sense - a rare quality these days, know he is neither.

http://newstime.co.nz/austrian-mp-ewald-stadler-adresses-turkish-ambassador.html
Video: Austrian MP Ewald Stadler adresses Turkish Ambassador

In Germany on the 23 Dec a protestant church
has celebrated Chrismas with a Muslims and an Imam
who also said about Jesus "son of Mary" (not son of God),
and sung a nasheed in a church.

unbelievale dhimmi (9:29) pastor & "church"

I'm not seeing this as Christian martyrdom. I'm seeing this more as, maybe because of the season, turkeys.

No decent middle-class person wants to think of himself or have others see him as a mafioso. I think most of us would die of shame if such a thing were true. But, we don't live in a full-blown war zone yet. We have the luxury of being sentimental. We can call it something else if we must. We can say we are law-abiding citizens committed to improving the world's situation incrementally by acts of charity or something. We can get indignant and claim that if we act like they do, then we are no better than they are. I say, "gobble, gobble." No, I mean, I say, "We can't be as bad as they are: we have to be worse than they are." If our opponents are street thugs, then we must act like the Mafia. That is the right thing to do in that circumstance. But, as we read above, right and wrong don't mean much any more to most people. Too bad, because right and wrong are kind of important in a man's life.

The BBC report on this was much blander, and it quoted sources as saying that these conflicts had nothing to do with religion.

Living in fear of the Religion of Peace...The Movie...Now playing in Nigeria...
Everywhere this movie plays there is conflict, mayhem, murder, rape, panic and fear...It's playing in Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan and numerous other places... so far it's not playing in Peoria, but it is scheduled to open there soon...

Unfortunately, the BBC is a reflection of much of what is wrong with Western society today - political correctness and moral equivalence by the bucketload. They are a prime example of the rejection of good and evil and right and wrong as moral absolutes. That is why they side with those terrorists who seek to destroy Israel, and why they tell us that religion is nothing to do with the murder of Nigerian Christian pastors, Thai Buddhist rubber tappers and Christian worshippers in Pakistan and Iraq by Muslim terrorists and often their Muslim neighbours who acquire sudden Jihad syndrome - that is, when they bother to mention them.

I must apologize in advance to Robert and to the other Catholic and Christian members of (contributors to) this site but this needs saying:

Quoting Fox News this morning:

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has denounced Christmas attacks on the faithful in the Philippines and Nigeria and called for the PEACEFUL RESOLUTION (emphasis mine) of conflicts.......

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/12/26/pope-denounces-christmas-attacks-calls-peaceful-resolution/

If this is Christianity, it is bankrupt! This insanity of "peaceful resolution(s)" to conflicts between civilization and savagery will result in millions, if not billions dead.

Let us revisit a little history since I know Robert has written about this pope.

From "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer, on the eve of Hitler's next act of gratuitous aggression: Poland):

"The Pope (Pius XII) took to the air on August 24 (1939) to make a broadcast appeal for peace, beseeching 'by the blood of Christ....the strong [to] hear us that they may not become weak through injustice....

On the afternoon of August 31 the Pope sent identical notes to Germany, Poland, Italy and two Western Powers "beseeching in the name of God....to avoid any incident," begging the British, French and Italian governments to support his appeal and adding: "The Pope is unwilling to abandon hope that pending negotiations my lead to a pacific solution...."

(On August 24, President Roosevelt sent urgent messages to Hitler and the President of Poland pressing them to settle their differences.)

Shirer: "Noble (?) in form and intent as all these appeals were, there is something unreal and pathetic about them when reread today. It was as if the President of the United States, the Pope (etc.) lived on a different planet from that of the Third Reich and had no more understanding of what was going on in Berlin than of what might be transpiring on Mars." (page 561)

The very same thing can be said for this U.S. president, the previous one and Pope Benedict XVI about Islam. Benedict has learned NOTHING from history. Nothing. It is as if this Pope lives on a different planet from the one I am living on.

Again I must ask. Is this Christianity?

Thanks for your response. Israel's prophet Moses divided prophets into two categories; true prophets and false prophets. That is generally how I look at men of the cloth, theologians, etc.

Moses spoke of the prophet who says, "Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them..."

That is essentially what Pope Benedict is telling the Christian world when he calls for a "peaceful resolution" of this conflict.

It is bad enough when a US president like George W. Bush (whom I voted for in 2000) and Obama (who I did not vote for) mislead the public on this conflict. It is outrageous when a man of God misleads his millions of faithful followers.

People often asked me (paraphrasing), "What do you expect from Bush? He is a politician" or "he is the president of the United States....?" I would then say this. If he cannot tell the truth, then maintain a dignified silence. Don't feed the people dangerous lies. The same holds true for the pope or for any other religious (or political) leader. We are living in very dangerous times and we seem to not have a Churchill anywhere in sight.

We do not need lies from our leaders.

Christians must forget this "turn the other cheek" excuse for cowardice. When it comes to protecting innocent lives, Christians must do what they have to do...and I mean: get organized and FIGHT back!

During the late 1800s and early 1900s in Europe there had developed among the intellectuals a mentality, an ideology, of which a main part was a deep distrust of democratic forms of government. The mentality was such that the intellectuals were advocating solutions to perceived social and political problems along the lines of vigilanteism and lynch mobs to sidestep normal procedures of lawful government -- because normal government was seen as weak and helpless. This line of thought was joined with a few other ideas and was the proto-fascist ideology of those decades in Europe.

In regard to Pope Benedict: I try to keep an open mind in regard to him. Among Catholics he is known as a Pope who represents a school of thought in the RC Church quite different than those who have held the Papacy previously. But it's a custom, of longstanding, in the RC Church never to allow it to seem like anything is radically different than what went before. They have always designed their public persona to give the appearance of a smooth unbroken continuance of ancient thought and practice, even when occasionally that's not the case. The RC Church's policy on "Ecumenicism" began a good number of years ago, back in the 1960s (as I recall), long before Pope Benedict came on the scene. He's saddled with it, stuck with it. But precisely what is going on in his mind? I couldn't tell you, and I really don"t know.

I hope we realise that this New Global Jihad is not going to be settled in a peaceful manner- time for that is long past.

A war is coming -all it requires is one major incident and a leader of the calibre of Margaret Thatcher or Churchill in the US or the UK.

So far as I can see - one has to read very carefully between the lines - there are those in the Nigerian Christian community who *do* want to - and try to - defend themselves.

They are, after all, a very lively and growing church with a young rather than an ageing membership; their demographic mirrors a third-world demographic, not a first-world demographic.

Read this report, and read between the lines.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/27/3102019.htm?section=justin

Nigeria sees fresh clashes after Christmas attacks

'Further clashes have broken out in central Nigeria between armed Christian and Muslim groups near the city of Jos, with one person confirmed dead

'"There were some skirmishes between the two groups and it's under control now," state police commissioner Abdulrahman Akano said.' (Note the Muslim name of the police commissioner - how fair a deal do you think he'll give to any Christians who take up arms to defend their homes and churches against Muslim marauders? Will he arrest the Muslim attackers or the Christian defenders?).

The way I read this, there seem to be at least some Christians either responding to the initial attacks - the church bombings, etc - or else there have been Muslim assaults on Christians who have then used - or tried to use - force to defend themselves.

Bear in mind that as and when they do, the Muslims will pull all kinds of tricks to make it look like they are the victims and the Christians the aggressors (the same kind of tricks we see every day in the Arab Muslim war against Israel); and our media will report it that way, placing all the blame for the violence on the Christian defenders and responders, not on the Muslim aggressors.

Just look at the first sentence of the report I just quoted - 'clashes have broken out in central Nigeria between armed Christian and Muslim groups".

Note that 'armed Christian' is placed first. Think of what happens if we turn it around, 'clashes have broken out in central Nigeria between armed Muslim groups and Christians', or if we write, 'some Christians in central Nigeria have begun trying to defend themselves against attacks by armed Muslims'.

One of the most succinct expositions of the doctrine and practice of jihad in Islam was written by an American lawyer (I assume he was a lawyer), one Patrick L. Moore, in 1994.

It is an article called "From Cold War to Guerra Fria".

Hugh Fitzgerald stumbled across it first and put it up at New English Review, with some brief introductory remarks:

http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/26087

Monday, 22 February 2010
From The Annals Of Serendip: Patrick L. Moore

but it can also be read here:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/GUERRA.HTM
FROM "COLD WAR" TO GUERRA FRIA?
Patrick L. Moore

If I had Nigerian or Sudanese Anglophone Christian friends, I would print it off and give it to them.

The final paragraph is interesting:

'Few chroniclers of recent history have noted that Spanish Christians had a distinctive name for the continuing low-intensity warfare separating the periods of active, full-scale operations which punctuated the eight hundred year Reconquista, or reconquest of the Iberian peninsula.

"They called their continuing struggle to push back Islam the Guerra Fria—or as we would say it, the "Cold War."'

If the non-Muslim tribes and countries of southern Africa, and parts of east Africa (including Ethiopia in their mountain fortress) and west Africa (e.g. Ghana) are to hold their own against the Jihad, or even push it back, they will need a lot more help and encouragement from the rest of the non-Muslim world, and mental clarity to realize that they are going to have to fight as the Spanish and Portuguese Christians fought in Iberia, in the 'guerra fria' - continuing low-intensity warfare separating periods of active, full-scale operations.

More, from Patrick L Moore in 1994.

Another noteworthy passage from the same article:

"...under the orthodox Islamic doctrine of jihad, relations between the House of Islam (Islamic territory) and the House of War (territories of unsubjugated unbelievers) can never ameliorate past the level of low- intensity conflict or Islamic "insurgency" against the infidels" (38)

Note 38, a quotation from a scholar named Adda B. Bozeman, throws light on the situation between the Muslims and the Christians virtually everywhere.

"Consequently, **one may view a Muslim's entire life as 'a continuous process of warfare, psychological and political, if not strictly military,'** [quoting Majid Khadduri]

"and conclude that Islamic precepts advance ** a doctrine of permanent war

"regardless of whether or not believers are actually engaged in military activities** {my emphasis - dda}.

"And, in fact, as the power of the Arabized and Islamized states declined, this doctrine became largely dormant, leaving Muslims in a condition roughly comparable to what is known in international law as a "state of insurgency [emphasis added]."

Adda B. Bozeman, "War and the Clash of Ideas," in CONFLICT, CULTURE, AND HISTORY: REGIONAL DIMENSIONS (Air University Press, Maxwell Air Force Base, Al., 1993) pp. XLIV-XLV.

Those who are accusing the Nigerian Christians of being milksop cowards have to take into account the fact that the Christian faith does NOT inculcate the same hair-trigger pre-emptive suspicion and aggressiveness that Islam does.

Our 'default' setting is not 'war!!'; it is not "I'll GET you now just in case you try to get me later". As St James the brother of our Lord says in his pastoral letter, we are to be 'quick to listen, slow to speak, **slow to anger**" (and the phrase 'slow to anger' is worth reflecting on, because it is a phrase frequently used to describe God- YHWH - himself). Violence, force, is not our first but our *last* resort.

Here, from the Bible Society's World Report, 1st February 2006, is the story of a former Muslim, of Kurdish background and Turkish citizenship, who converted to Christianity as a result of his involvement with the Kurdish translation of the New Testament; his ' take' on the difference between Muslim and Christian culture supports Bozeman''s remarks as cited by Moore.

"As he became immersed in reading and translating the New Testament, he found that he was being deeply affected by it.

"He discovered that Christianity’s culture was quite different from that of Islam.

"Certain Bible teachings highlighted the differences strikingly.

** “It totally changed me to deal with how you are taught to forgive people, to love people and live with them in peace. The Bible says ‘Love your enemies and your neighbours’ and ‘Treat your neighbour as you would like to be treated.’ This affected me.”** { my emphasis - dda}.

'From then on, while still a Kurdish intellectual, “In my heart,” he says, “I believed in Jesus.”

“When I recognised the Bible, I learned to be flexible… to listen to people… to forgive them… and to be more patient.

'For example, **if you are among Muslims, you would always fight** {my emphasis - dda}.

'I don’t want to fight; I always wanted to convince people, to argue with them. … to understand them.” END QUOTE.

See that? - "If you are among Muslims, you would always fight".

Christians are not cowards or weak; it is just that 'fight!' is not their default position. They are far less inclined to take the law in their own hands, than Muslims are. They will put up with a LOT - some might say, too much - before they decide as individuals or as a group that a forceful response is just and necessary.

It took *four hundred years* of relentless Muslim aggression before some parts of Christendom launched a significant self-defensive strike.

The Christians of Africa, in the Sudan and in Nigeria, are not gutless cowards (and they have plenty of young men of military age); but they do not have the 'hate! fight! kill!' vicious, swarming, hive mentality of the Muslims. In the case of the Nigerians it is taking time for the Christians to realize that the overarching state authority is on the side of the Muslims and will not protect them (that was a lot clearer for the Sudanese Christians, who have been fighting very bravely with minimal resources, for years).