• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

What can the Catholic Church do?

Feb 15, 2016 7:47 pm By Robert Spencer

Anthony Borwah

This afternoon I taped a segment via Skype for Michael Voris’ The Church Militant, about the jihad threat to Christians in West Africa. On with me was Bishop Anthony Borwah of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gbarnga in Liberia.

It was a perfectly fine segment except for one thing: because of time constraints I didn’t get a chance to respond to numerous important statements that Bishop Borwah made. And since the question of what the Catholic Church’s response to the jihad threat should be is one that has been discussed many times at Jihad Watch, I thought I would set out here how I would have responded to Bishop Borwah had I had the chance.

The segment went like this: first Michael Voris sketched out the plight of Christians in West Africa, particularly with the jihad terror group Boko Haram destroying churches and murdering Christians, and asked the Bishop what the Church’s response should be. The Bishop then explained that what was needed was more dialogue with Muslims. Voris then came to me and asked me what I thought of the Bishop’s answer. I said that it was all very well to conduct dialogue with peaceful Muslims, but that they would not stop Boko Haram. I also explained that the President of Nigeria had boasted that he would destroy Boko Haram by December 2015, but didn’t: the group is more powerful than people realize. I also pointed out that Boko Haram was now part of the Islamic State and had renamed itself the Islamic State’s West African Province, and that the Islamic State also had a presence in Libya, making the situation of Christians in West Africa quite precarious. Then I told them that dialogue was usually a front for dawah, Islamic proselytizing, as evidenced by the very title of the Common Word document that Muslim scholars sent to the Pope and other Christian leaders a few years ago. The Qur’an passage from which the epigraph, “Say, O People of the Book, let us come to a common word between us and you,” is taken actually goes on to say “that we will associate no partners with Allah,” i.e., not worship Jesus as the Son of God. What appears to be a call for mutual understanding is actually just an exercise in proselytizing. What’s more, I added, Boko Haram and other jihad groups will not engage in dialogue; they are acting upon Qur’anic imperatives which they consider to be divinely inspired and do not think are negotiable.

Bishop Borwah then replied that what I had said left no hope, and asked rhetorically, “What are we going to do? Take up arms and fight Boko Haram?” (I’m paraphrasing from memory, but he said something like that). He dismissed fighting as out of the question, asking also, as if the idea were patently absurd, whether we should have a new Crusade. He went on to say that this was not just a military struggle, but a spiritual battle. Catholics needed above all to pray, and to understand that this was indeed a spiritual battle, and not one that could be fought with armies.

That was it. I didn’t get a chance to reply to the Bishop, as he and Voris then went on to another discussion in which I was not included. So here is the response to the Bishop’s question, “What can we do?”

1. The Catholic Church cannot, but nations with military power can and should fight Boko Haram and other jihad groups, much more energetically than they are doing now, and the Catholic Church should endorse this. Is the Just War Theory now something the Church no longer endorses? Does the Church now hold that warfare and fighting are unjustified under any circumstances, even the defense of one’s family and homeland? If that is indeed the position of today’s Catholic Church, the Bishops should be clear about it, declare the idea of Just War a heresy, and make it clear that they now endorse a full and universal pacifism under all circumstances. Unless I misunderstood him, that did seem to be Bishop Borwah’s position.

2. The position I hold is not one in which there is no hope. It is just one that rejects false hope. Wishful thinking never becomes reality no matter how hard one wishes; it is always preferable to assess the situation realistically. The idea that Muslim-Christian dialogue is going to end jihad is sheer wishful thinking. Peaceful Muslims haven’t been able to dissuade their violent coreligionists from mounting even one jihad attack; how are non-Muslims going to succeed where they have failed? The dialogue, moreover, has been going on for years. How many jihad attacks has it stopped? How many Christians has it prevented from being persecuted? How many churches has it prevented from being destroyed? The answer to all these questions is none. How long must the Church (and the world) keep trying remedies that have failed again and again?

3. The Bishop spoke at length about how Catholics should see the conflict with groups such as Boko Haram as a spiritual battle, emphasizing that it cannot be fought with armies. Indeed so. One facet of that spiritual battle is that Muslims are aggressively proselytizing among young Catholics and other Christians. Yet the Catholic Church, perhaps out of respect for the dialogue, has absolutely no response. None. There is no literature available from the U.S. Catholic Bishops or any others giving parents ways to help their children resist and respond to Islamic dawah. At a time when some of the most prominent jihadis have been converts from Christianity to Islam, that is an omission so grave as to be criminal.

Boko Haram and other groups like it can and should be fought with armies, as well as confronted on the theological and ideological fronts. But all that the Catholic Church is recommending instead is prayer and dialogue. The seventh-century Christians of Egypt and Syria and North Africa who were conquered and Islamized had never heard of dialogue, but I am sure they prayed a great deal, and yet were nonetheless conquered, subjugated, oppressed and Islamized. Such has been the fate of the non-Muslims in every place to which Muslims have come, throughout the history of Islam, with this process only ever being rolled back in Spain, Israel, and parts of India.

But maybe it will happen differently this time.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: Boko Haram, Catholic Church, Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) Tagged With: Anthony Borwah, Michael Voris


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Comments

  1. Dan says

    Feb 15, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    I don’t get it.

    As Christians, we are taught to turn the other cheek. It’s the price of our beliefs.

    But we only have two.

    To me that means, we must wait for a second blow, because there may have been some mistake or misunderstanding for why the first occurred.

    If nothing happens, then fine, we can talk, negotiate, or whatever.

    But if a second blow is struck, or even attempted, then that means intent has been confirmed and self defense is justified.

    And a heck of a lot more than two cheeks have been turned for Islam already.

    There is no no more “misunderstanding” of intent.

    • Angemon says

      Feb 15, 2016 at 8:55 pm

      http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2006/12/should_a_state_turn_the_other.html

      • Dan says

        Feb 15, 2016 at 9:08 pm

        A “State” is different than a person.

        If I turn the other cheek for an attack on my person, right or wrong, I’m most likely the only person who pays the consequences.

        Our leader’s decisions though, require everybody else to pay the price, and part of a leader’s job is to ensure the safety of private citizens.

        • Champ says

          Feb 15, 2016 at 9:14 pm

          Dan, you may find this information from “Got Questions” helpful in addressing this issue …

          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Question: “What did Jesus mean when He instructed us to turn the other cheek?”

          Answer: The entire section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which this verse is found can be understood as one where Jesus actually serves to elevate the importance of following Israel’s moral law beyond the letter to the spirit of the law. Much of the material therein complements the nature of His coming characterized by mercy, sacrificial love, and longsuffering toward sinners while at the same time affirming the “last is first” principle upon which the kingdom of God is based. For instance, we are told to go the extra mile for someone who abuses us and to pray for enemies instead of resisting them. All of this can be generally summarized by saying we need to be pure inside and out and should be as accommodating as possible for the sake of a lost world.

          To “turn the other cheek,” does not imply pacifism, nor does it mean we place ourselves or others in mortal danger. Like the principle of the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth in Matthew 5:38, turning the other cheek refers to personal retaliation, not criminal offenses or acts of military aggression. Clearly, Jesus did not mean to negate all God’s laws and injunctions protecting us against violent crime or invading armies. Rather, Jesus is speaking here of the principle of non-retaliation to affronts against our own dignity, as well as lawsuits to gain one’s personal assets (v. 40), infringements on one’s liberty (v. 41), and violations of property rights (v. 42). He was calling for a full surrender of all personal rights.

          Turning the other cheek means not to return insult for insult in retaliation, which is what most people expect and how worldly people act. Responding to hatred with love just might grab someone’s attention and afford us a chance to share the gospel. When we respond in a manner that is unnatural, it displays the supernatural power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus was the perfect example because He was silent before His accusers and did not call down revenge from heaven on those who crucified Him.

          Here: http://www.gotquestions.org/turn-other-cheek.html

        • gravenimage says

          Feb 15, 2016 at 11:56 pm

          Yes–Christianity is not a suicide pact.

          Many devout Christians have fought to protect their lands and loved ones against unprovoked aggression.

        • mortimer says

          Feb 16, 2016 at 2:11 am

          Further to gravenimage’s post: “Christianity is not a suicide pact”

          But…Islam is a suicide pact.

          Nevertheless, most Muslims show they have little faith in Islam by not taking their faith to the level of jihad. Most Muslims pay lip service to Islam…they try to do the minimum without being honor-killed.

    • PRODOS says

      Feb 15, 2016 at 10:44 pm

      “Turn the other cheek” is meant as response to a backhand slap, which is not meant to physically hurt, but rather to humiliate … to signify contempt. The Christian is unmoved and impervious to this.

      In contrast, the fronthand or palm slap is like striking with a fist. It is intended as physical force. It is intended to physically debilitate. “Turn the other cheek” is not meant to apply to this.

      There is no sweeping prohibition in Christianity to retaliating against those who initiate force.

      It could be argued that the use of force — even in defence or in retaliation — is not PART of Christianity itself.

      But Christianity does clearly endorse the legitimacy of the state. i.e. legal or legalised coercion. (eg. “Render unto Caesar ….”)

      I agree wholeheartedly with Robert Spencer, that: “… nations with military power can and should fight Boko Haram and other jihad groups … and the Catholic Church should endorse this …”

      • vicki says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 7:48 am

        Yep PRODOS

        http://dharmagates.org/other_cheek.html

        The key to understanding Wink’s argument is rigorous attention to the social customs of the Jewish homeland in the first century and what these sayings would have meant in that context.

        To illustrate with the saying about turning the other cheek: it specifies that the person has been struck on the right cheek. How can you be struck on the right cheek? As Wink emphasizes, you have to act this out in order to get the point: you can be struck on the right cheek only by an overhand blow with the left hand, or with a backhand blow from the right hand. (Try it).

        But in that world, people did not use the left hand to strike people. It was reserved for “unseemly” uses. Thus, being struck on the right cheek meant that one had been backhanded with the right hand. Given the social customs of the day, a backhand blow was the way a superior hit an inferior, whereas one fought social equals with fists.

        This means the saying presupposes a setting in which a superior is beating a peasant. What should the peasant do? “Turn the other cheek.” What would be the effect? The only way the superior could continue the beating would be with an overhand blow with the fist–which would have meant treating the peasant as an equal.

        Perhaps the beating would not have been stopped by this. But for the superior, it would at the very least have been disconcerting: he could continue the beating only by treating the peasant as a social peer. As Wink puts it, the peasant was in effect saying, “I am your equal. I refuse to be humiliated anymore.” That is not all. The sayings about “going the second mile” and “giving your cloak to one who sues you for your coat” make a similar point: they suggest creative non-violent ways of protesting oppression.

      • Max payne says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 8:39 am

        We must use chemical weapons on those bastards,it’s time we did just that to those demon from the pits of hell;enough is enough.
        They have abused us for far too long,they have slapped us for far too long…it’s pay back time.
        Let us not fight them,let us chemical agents on them,this prospect should scare them silly.

        • Christianblood says

          Feb 16, 2016 at 10:09 am

          “…Christians are also under pressure from many developed countries…” Patriarch Cyril…

          Ed Schultz (interviews) His Holiness, Patriarch Cyril, the Patriarch of Russia. Watch the interview on the link below:

      • Chris says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 11:28 am

        You’re right

    • Mo says

      Feb 15, 2016 at 11:57 pm

      @ Dan

      “I don’t get it.
      As Christians, we are taught to turn the other cheek. It’s the price of our beliefs.”

      Nonsense. Show me where the Bible tells people to turn the other cheek when it comes to self defense, defense of others, or national security.

      • Dan says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 8:07 am

        I guess I really didn’t state my first comment properly.

        In a case of self defense, you KNOW intent.

        I’m still old school, where someone screaming foul language in your face means he just might sucker punch you, and still you try not to hit first. Mainly because our brain dead legal system always SUES the guy who hits first.

        But that doesn’t mean you just stand and play punching bag.

        As a martial arts student, in our style, and many from what I understand, the first move in every combination is a block, followed by submission hold or a throw, and the entire intent is to stop of your opponent via controlled application of pain, because people physically attacking are beyond the talking point. They must be physically subdued, and the philosophy behind martial arts is to show you are capable of, and willing to, defend yourself, while restraining enough to give one last chance to cool off.

        After that the gloves are off, and that was the point of my initial comment; that we’re PAST turning the other cheek.

        We can justifiably strike where ever we want, as hard as we want, and I believe we are even past the point of accepting surrender as they have proven they only use it to lick wounds and regroup.

    • balam says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 9:44 am

      Jesus did tell his followers to turn the other cheek.He never told to keep turning for ever.

      • Shane says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 10:38 am

        It does no good to turn your cheek while a Muslim jihadi is trying to chop your head off with a knife, machete, or a sword. Islam is an existential threat to Christianity and Western Civilization and we need more strong leaders like Franklin Graham who is calling to stop all Muslim immigration into the USA. God bless him.

    • Christianblood says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 9:50 am

      Good point! The Christian doctrine of Turning the other cheek is a principal that is only applicable in a conflict between two persons etc. This principal does not apply when you are faced with an evil and deadly, impersonal ideology that is actively seeking the complete annihilation of your self, your family, your faith and your way of life. Jesus Himself, gave the permission to use the sword and fight back against evil when He said: “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along… and whoever has no SWORD let him sell his coat and buy ONE. (St. Lukos 22:36).

      The Holy Bible also tells us that There is
      a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. The Holy Bible says that: “…There is a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time for WAR and a time for peace, a time to love and a time to HATE, a time to heal and a time to KILL…” (Eccl 3).

      If Christians keep turning the other and refuse to protect themselves and their faith, they WILL BE annihilated not only by evil genocidal muslims but everyone else who hates them.

      • MKG says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 6:40 pm

        Bullseye!

        My sentiments exactly Christianblood.

    • Shane says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 10:31 am

      Let’s face it; the Roman Catholic Church is now run by gutless left wingers who believe that by appeasing Muslims, they can get them to stop slaughtering Christians. Never mind that that strategy has never worked with hostile, aggressive enemies, the Catholic Church chooses the path of dhimmitude hoping the Muslims will not rape and kill all the Christians in the world. I say fight the enemy and slay them. Islam will never be a peaceful religion; Muhammad commanded Muslims to convert, make submit, or kill the infidels and that is what good Muslims do.

      Muslims respect only strength and will respond with violence to any perceived weakness in the infidel enemy. Let us Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists and atheists unite to destroy the Muslim enemy.

    • Pere LaChaise says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 10:41 am

      To turn the other cheek is not to enter dialog but to assert one’s personhood. A first blow from a master upon his slave is backhanded, but a father slaps his son with his palm. To turn the other cheek is 1st Century shorthand for, “I am as close to you as your son.”

      The good bishop’s spiritualized concept of resistance is entirely out of keeping with classic activist Roman teaching, characterized by engagement with the world. Prayer is classically seen as the source of inspiration for action. Stating that faithful Catholics have recourse to prayer and thus may not contemplate self-defense does not speak to the mainstream tradition but implies a passivity alien to the Roman spirit. Is this what they are teaching in the seminaries? I hope not!

      A spiritualized, disembodied Christianity that forbids recourse to action implicitly denies the Incarnation of Godhead in Christ and denies the capacity of our human flesh for doing good in the world. Such can scarcely be called Christianity but smacks of Gnosticism.
      Incarnation, the understanding that our God has condescended to take on all of our humanity, was crucified in the flesh, died and resurrected in it, and ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father ALL DONE IN THE FLESH, not as a disincarnate spook, demands that we do not split Contemplation from Action. My sense is that this bishop’s faith despises human element which Christ Himself did not shun, but rather took upon Himself without hesitation.
      I just hope the upper echelons of Vatican hierarchy are taking note of all this bad theology and working to correct it. It’s absolutely dis functional andnvergingnon heresy.

      • Keys says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 5:41 pm

        @Pere LaChaise
        “A spiritualized, disembodied Christianity that forbids recourse to action implicitly denies the Incarnation of Godhead in Christ and denies the capacity of our human flesh for doing good in the world. Such can scarcely be called Christianity but smacks of Gnosticism.”

        Beautifully stated, Pere!

        As if Jesus thought we could carry out the Beatitudes by prayer alone.
        If that were the case when he went off by himself to pray, we may have never heard from him again.

        And James would have not written that faith without works is dead.

        And Jesus, instead of saying there is no greater love than one lay down his life for his friends, would probably have said that there is no greater love than one kneels down and prays for his friends.

    • Rob Porter says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 9:56 pm

      Frankly, I consider that Bishop Borwah is talking absolute nonsense and based upon wishful thinking and feckless notions about praying – without doing. The Crusaders made huge sacrifices for their beliefs. I truly despair at the naivety and wishful thinking of many Christians. By now it should be evident to them that if they wish to defend their wives, children and themselves they need to fight, not hope that someone else will come along and do the dirty work for them. Dialogue will not go anywhere with militant Islam. They want us to submit and themselves to dominate with all their cruelty. To hell with that! The notion that Christians shouldn’t fight back against violent Islam I regard as gutless nonsense. Members of my family, Christians went off the fight the Nazis for the evil they represented and it is no different with Islam. The alternative is roll over and allow them to take over and us pay jizya. To hell with that! The Crusaders were right to fight Islam. For all their failed moments, it was they who eventually saved Europe from falling under Islam and we should do no less.

      Regarding Boko Haram. former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan after about 6 years of failed Nigerian Army efforts to defeat Boko Haram, hired South African mercenaries to Nigeria. They arrived with, among other things, attack helicopters of a similar kind (but South African built Rooi Valk), that Obama had denied Nigeria on the fraudulent ground of Nigerian human rights abuses – as if anything could compare with Boko Haram’s human rights abuses! In less than four months these mercenaries had Boko Haram thrashed, women, girls and children were rescued, but those mercenaries then left and Boko Haram regrouped. With a decent military – which today because of Obama America does not have – Boko Haram can be beaten.

  2. Adrian says

    Feb 15, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    Our church leaders cannot get past their own deep fear of confronting Islam as a cult, not a personal, meditative religion like Christianity is…

    perhaps they fear the light being shined in their own closets?

    would they hesitate in the same way with the “church” of Scientology?

    • Marie Henrie says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 6:21 am

      Follow the MONEY!
      http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/religious-charities-profit-from-open-borders/

      http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/29/unholy-alliance-christian-charities-profit-1-billion-fed-program-resettle-refugees-40-percent-muslim/

      https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/tag/catholic-charities/

      I am a Catholic. i am disgusted with how my church leaders have handled the victims of clerical abuse Our AIDS infected pastor caused the suicide of five boys after he raped them as children. One boy killed himself after being raped at aged ten.
      I am equally in disgust how Bishops continue to persecute priests who do the right thing and report these pervs .like Frs Gallagher and Haley to name only two who reported fellow priests.
      I expect these Bishops will continue do nothing to protect the people of their own country from radical jihadists if it means they can get money from the Fed. They sold out our Catholic schools now they will sell out our country.

      • Shane says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 10:35 am

        Time to leave the hopeless Roman Catholic church and stop giving your money to these losers. Join a Church that will support efforts to protect Christians and others from Muslim persecution and give your money to these groups.

        Europe’s Last Stand, America’s Final Warning Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeRJ8q2QCa8&feature=youtu.be WHY MUSLIMS IMMIGRATE TO CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ESNukZu7lM

        • Keys says

          Feb 16, 2016 at 5:55 pm

          @Shane
          You advised Marie Henrie: “Join a Church that will support efforts to protect Christians and others from Muslim persecution and give your money to these groups.”

          Do you have a list of options, or do you have one in mind?

    • Christianblood says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 9:51 am

      (…Our church leaders cannot get past their own deep fear of confronting Islam as a cult, not a personal, meditative religion like Christianity is…)

      Very well-said!

  3. Bridget Ames says

    Feb 15, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    Robert I am sure Voris would gladly have you on again, you are a wonderful speaker who is addressing issues no one else has the courage to address. The Bishop is scared like the rest of the west, they do not understand that fighting is the only option we have in order to subdue this great evil. Yes prayer is important but action is as well. You can not dialogue with the devil as the Pope so recently said, though I still respect his office and acknowledge he is pope, he seems to be whatever the occasion calls for, but God can still use him as a prophetic voice. And when it comes to Islam you do not dialogue with it. It is basically like dialogue with the devil. They will always make sure they have the upper had. For many Catholics our eyes are wide open and we see what evil fruit Islam has produced. I hope Voris does have you on again, I would consider getting a subscription to Church Militant if that were the case in the future. More Catholic certainly need to be educated on the creeds of Islam, so they can be prepared to counter attacks as Islamophobic which when accused I take it and agree I am afraid of what Islam is and what it seems to get away with especially in the west. Keep up the good work, and most of all keep the Faith.

    • Bridget Ames says

      Feb 15, 2016 at 8:22 pm

      *hand

      • linnte says

        Feb 15, 2016 at 9:58 pm

        I agree!

    • Jack says

      Feb 15, 2016 at 8:33 pm

      Well stated Bridget and I wholeheartedly agree with all you said and that goes for Robert as well.

      • Keys says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 5:58 pm

        Me too, Jack.

  4. linnte says

    Feb 15, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    I think first the Christians aught to be emigrating! Then the Church needs to SHOUT out in anger that it will not support Islam at ALL until this is over! If the Christians all left and came to Europe or USA, the way would be paved for fighting! I know it’s not going to happen, but SOMETHING needs to be done!

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 12:01 am

      linnte, many of these are Christian or other Infidel lands being taken over by Muslims. This is certainly true of Nigeria.

      I agree that some places are hopeless–I would definitely tell Christians and other non-Muslims to flee places like Pakistan or Syria if they can.

      But we have to make a stand somewhere, lest we cede the whole world to Islam.

      • linnte says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 12:08 am

        True, Graven. It frustrates me to distraction though. Part of me says just Nuke em all! Isn’t that just as bad as what ISIS does? I just read an article on line about Air force guys coming home and they are saying they have been told by Obama “Absolutely NO civilian casualties”! So they can’t fire at 75%, of ISIS holdings.

      • balam says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 9:55 am

        Is it not the time now to split Nigeria into two like Sudan. North of Nigeria for the Muslim tribes and the southren Nigeria for the Christian.

  5. Brian Huggett says

    Feb 15, 2016 at 11:33 pm

    Perhaps the Church universal is not in tune with God. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and men/women can only come to the Father by him (John 14:6) – you will notice Jesus never mentioned the church. Through faith in Christ alone one is born of God’s Spirit, but the prayers of the few will not stem the tide.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 12:03 am

      What–and this is why Muslims are slaughtering Christians?

      I’m sorry–whatever your issues with organized Christianity, the idea that these Christians *deserve to be murdered* by bloody savages is offensive.

      • Brian Huggett says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 1:07 am

        You have read me amiss GI, The issue is turning the tide through effective prayer. My point being that effective prayer requires being in tune with God.

      • Annak says

        Feb 16, 2016 at 5:26 pm

        I agree. Scandalous we do nothing. We have not learned from history and that appeasement never works and in the end causes more suffering. Too much hand-winging and turning of cheeks never helps. We shoukd be gathering all resources and air lifting tens of thousands out, as citizens , many with planes etc. If governments not in agreement, who cares , charity ! We will care for then ourselves and could have made an impact with a show of strength and determination, as we are many.We just never tried me neither, and let it all slide thinking voting was the only thing we needed to do.
        We could scream out the injustice, and if we truly mobilised, spread pamphlets in every town and city about the dire situation forChristians and non-muslims globally and asking for donations, man-power and voices. No gain without pain. We were given the responsibility in freedom to cause a huge fuss and demand we are listened to. Laying our lives down for our friends for a change instead of for our enemies, as we would hope and pray someone would to us in the same situation.
        We have all failed. God, our brethren and ourselves.

    • Keys says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 6:20 pm

      @Brian Huggett
      “Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and men/women can only come to the Father by him (John 14:6) – you will notice Jesus never mentioned the church.”

      I am not sure what your point is that Jesus never mentioned the church. He mentioned it in Mt 16, and he said where ever 2 or 3 of you are gathered in my name, there I am in your midst.

      From New Revised Standard Version: “And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”

      If Islam is not part of the gates of hell, what is?

      • Brian Huggett says

        Feb 23, 2016 at 1:48 am

        Jesus is the way the truth and the life… the Church isn’t.

  6. gravenimage says

    Feb 15, 2016 at 11:53 pm

    What can the Catholic Church do?
    ………………….

    The very first thing is to admit who it is that is threatening Christians–pious Muslims, acting on the tenets of Islam itself.

    Nothing can really be done until this elemental step is taken.

    We will get nowhere lying to ourselves, and pretending reality is other than what it is.

    • Keys says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 6:49 pm

      @gravenimage
      First step – absolutely. The truth, and then the same at all the rest of the steps.
      But how do you “dialogue” with taqiyya? We can not have fools for shepards.
      Let’s televise the “dialogue” between he bishops and the reps from Islam for all to see on al Jazirra (sic) and cspan.

  7. Salah says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 12:11 am

    Jesus and Guns

    http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2013/07/ann-barnhardt-jesus-guns.html

  8. scherado says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 1:29 am

    1. Excellent!

    2. One might be tempted to think that Jesus would be persuasive in such a dialogue; In lieu of Him, “act as if” you were He and see what happens. This may result in one’s death, yes. (Am I suggesting this course? No.)

    3. One might refer to “God’s will”. (The quotes denote many things.)

    I am Agnostic and must always be cognizant of this fact.

  9. mortimer says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 2:07 am

    Spencer quotes: “Say, O People of the Book, let us come to a common word between us and you,” is taken actually goes on to say “that we will associate no partners with Allah,” i.e., not worship Jesus as the Son of God.”

    The quote is actually a supremacist demand by Mohammed that Christians stop being Christians and abandon their historic creeds…this is something the cultural Marxists are also hoping to achieve.

    It is fine for the Church to declare a just war to defend Christians. Under Sharia, such a war is considered ‘unjust’, since it is resistance to Islamization…which is synonymous here with genocide and ethnic cleansing.

    While many churchmen are well-informed, the RCC elites are not using them but instead the hierarchy preposterously promotes themselves as experts on Islam without having done the serious study it takes to understand Islam’s incoherent and offensive doctrines.

    Without such in-depth knowledge of Islam, the RCC hierarchy is outsmarted and outclassed by the taqiyya artists of the Islamic clergy.

    There is no hope to be found in dialogue due to the doctrine of taqiyya.

  10. Stewart Davies says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 4:09 am

    So long as Catholic bishops continue to embrace the patently false notion that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, it is impossible that they can ever properly come to grips with this issue. In order to understand Islam, it is necessary to go back to the very beginning; not just to Mohammed in the 7th. century A.D., but possibly four thousand years to Mesopotamia and the pagan origins of “Allah”. According to the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis, “Allah” was on of a large pagan pantheon, and he was, specifically, a god of violence and revolution. Anyone with even a fundamental knowledge of spiritual warfare will then begin to understand the reason why so many muslims behave in such a depraved and inhuman manner.

  11. Dr. Gonzalo. de Porras says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 5:00 am

    Soy Católico practicante, sin embargo quiero aclarar que : 1) Es indudable que este Obispo, como desgraciadamente otros muchos, no han leído ni conocen el Corán y el resto de tradiciones supuestamente de Muhammad .2)Tampoco este obispo y muchos otros, parecen desconocer la Enciclica de Juan Pablo II “Evangelium Vitae” en cuyo artículo 55 se habla CLARAMENTE DEL DERECHO a la LEGITIMA DEFENSA,, que permite no solo defenderse con armas, sino el ataque y eliminación del enemigo, si con ello se evitan males mayores, como es el caso de las matanzas de cristianos.3) He criticado la opinión de Francisco I cuando dijo la solemne tonteria sobre que el “Islam era una religión de Paz” y desgraciadamente tanpoco parece que el Papa haya leido el Corán

    • mortimer says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 12:40 pm

      Dr GdP wrote: “no han leído ni conocen el Corán y el resto de tradiciones supuestamente de Muhammad ”

      Basically the church elites ‘have not read the Koran nor the rest of the hadiths supposedly of Mohammed’

      Exactly the problem! How can they address the problem without even knowing its ABCs…Islam’s source texts?

      The many RC clergy who HAVE READ AND STUDIED Islam thoroughly are not being consulted…moreover, their in-depth knowledge is being scorned through fashionable political correctness!

      El gran numero de clérigos CR que han leído y estudiado a fondo el Islam no están siendo consultados … Además, su profundo conocimiento está despreciada por la corrección política de moda!

    • Angemon says

      Feb 17, 2016 at 3:15 pm

      Translation for non-spanish speakers (or readers 😀 ):

      I’m a practicing Catholic, however I wish to make it clear that:

      1) Undoubtedly this bishop, like many others, unfortunately, has not read, or knows, the quran and the rest of the traditions supposedly of muhammad.

      2) This bishop, as well as many others, seem not to know John Paul II encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” [The Gospel of Life] where chapter 55 CLEARLY STATES THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE, which allows not only to defend oneself with weapons, but also the attack and elimination of the enemy, if such prevents greater evils, like in the cases of the mass slaughterings of Christians.

      3) I criticized Francis I’s opinion when he said the solemn nonsense about how “islam is a religion of Peace”, and unfortunately it seems the Pope has also not read the quran.

  12. TH says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 5:02 am

    The Chuch cannot renounce the Just War theory. It was artiuclated by its two greatest Theologians, St. Augusitne and St. Thomas Aquinas and endorsed by many Popes, plus practiced in the Cruzades. The Church should also set out to evangelize as many muslims as possible, especially in the West where many of them do have doubts about Islam. It should also imitate Fr. Zaccharias Botros and set up a cable TV newwork to beam programs about Christianity in Arabic and explain to ignorant muslims the real story of Mahommad, based on thier own canonical sources. Fr. Botros is having a lot of success. It shoul not be very difficult to find some Arabic speaking Eastern Rite Catholics from the MIddle East who would have the talent and and knowledge to carry out this task.

  13. Barry says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 5:05 am

    The injunction to turn the other cheek refers to an individuals reaction to personal attack, not to a nation or church refusing to respond to acts of unprovoked agression. If Islam is allowed to continue its depredations it will expand its influence and create tragedy and unhappiness on a widespread scale. Allowing that to happen does not sound like Christian charity to me. Don’t any of our current leaders read history? The history of Islam has always been that of violence and invasion to expand its influence. Islam has never spread its influence peacefully. I also find it interesting that Islam had its origins with a man who had fits, and wonder were they ‘fits’ or something else?
    The real reason for Islam’s resurgance is not its vitality but the decline of Christianity in the post Christian West. Centuries ago the pope at the time strapped on his sword and joined the Crusades; nowadays our spiritual leaders preach dialogue. Give me strength!

    • Keys says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 7:33 pm

      @Barry
      “The real reason for Islam’s resurgance is not its vitality but the decline of Christianity in the post Christian West.”

      Yes, certainly that’s the essence of the imperfect storm from my perspective – the Eclipse of God (Good-Truth-Light-Life-Beauty-Fun-Creativity….), and the unleashing of evil. And the details- Arab oil wealth, Obama’s middle east policy, the rise of progressive ideology, stupidity, etc. ….. I am sure that some Muslims see this as allah’s assistance for the final dominance of Islam, and that they are part of that gory glory, because Allahu Akbar (Allah, the arrogant, is greater than anything).

  14. Xavier says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 6:34 am

    Robert
    Eloquent but let’s be honest we’re not going to get any official statement so it’s up to the laity. You’ve done a great job with your books especially Not peace but a sword and that book you wrotewith Daniel Al8
    So let ask you tbis could you what topics should Catholics be r3ady to dend and refute?

    For me here’s my lidt

    1) God as pure will which contradicts what He revealed about himself
    2) God is love as opposed to Allah as thug
    3) The historical and theologial relability of Jesus as Second Person of the Trinity
    4) the same reliability vis-a-vis the Bible as well as its incorruptibility
    5) refuting the apostasy thst wasn’t sine I’ve always regarded Islsm as Chritian heresy
    6) humans as imago dei and the utter incompatibility of sharia to natural law
    7) God gave us an intellect to know and love him therefore intellectual pursuits and testing things to find the truth isn’t blasphemous but what God expects from us since we participate in his creation.

  15. red rose says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 9:21 am

    Hello All – I wanted to post something about a 3 year old Iraqi Christian girl named, Christine Abada, who has been kidnapped since August 2014. The Iraqi Christian community has been trying to rescue her, but with no luck. I’m helping a friend raise money to get her back. I ask that you please take a look and share with your family and friends. Lord only knows what these savages are doing to her. We must help get her back. https://www.gofundme.com/iraqichristians

    Thank you, and God bless.

  16. DFD says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 9:52 am

    Wrong question: “What can the Catholic Church do?”

    It’s: “What can the Catholic Church do?”

    Answer: Nothing! Maybe the Pope will kiss a few more Qurans, and lift his brain, sorry, arse in mosqu…. yeech.

    Don’t believe me?
    http://www.marcovuyet.com/corano3.jpg
    http://tinyurl.com/hpdvaab
    http://tinyurl.com/z2k8yjh

    Get a barf bag!

    BTW, should you grow tired of an anti jihad news group/website, just change, don’t quit; listen to these guys:
    http://tinyurl.com/zhsznsh

  17. Rich says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 11:51 am

    We’re Catholic. But we have stopped giving ANY money to the Catholic Church in America. The USCCB is utterly corrupt and cannot be trusted. And that is not hyperbole. To inform yourselves, go to http://www.ChurchMilitant.com, the site that Robert mentions here. Michael Voris is very good at reporting on all the scandals and corruption within the Catholic hierarchy and in the USCCB here in this country. We stopped giving to this corrupt church and now give to other (trustworthy) Catholic outfits, such as Church Militant and the Missionaries of Charity and Walid Shoebat’s “Rescue Christians”.

    When I learned that the Catholic Church in America is one of the major contributors to the campaign to bring Muslim immigrants into this country, my blood boiled. Then I found out that the USCCB gets hundreds of millions of dollars each year from the federal government to help “resettle” these Muslim immigrants all over the U.S. And that made me absolutely furious because that means they are actively working to HARM this great nation. Those sons of bitches.

    Anyway, bottom line: I would warmly encourage ALL Catholics to STOP giving ANY money to the Catholic church in the U.S. They are UTTERLY corrupt and support causes which are destroying our country through Islamic immigration. And this is coming from a devout Catholic. The faith itself is strong as ever. But the church has become utterly corrupt and doesn’t deserve a penny of your hard-earned money.

    • red rose says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 11:56 am

      I have to say, I agree with you 100%. When I read and did research about the Catholic churches and organizations helping to resettle Muslims, not helping to rescue Christians from Iraq and Syria, I went nuts. I emailed them asking to please help the Christians of Iraq and Syria, but nothing. When the Bishops of Iraq and Syria tried to meet and discuss what the Muslim savages are doing to the people, they all turned a blind eye to the situation. Its beyond comprehension.

    • Carolyne says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 3:32 pm

      I couldn’t agree more. Some years ago I read that 3/4 of the money which supports the Catholic Church and the Vatican comes from US Catholics. IMO it is unchristian for the Catholic Church to hold vast artistic treasures for themselves to gaze upon while they tell others to spend their hard earned money to support Muslims who wish us dead. At least they stopped carrying the Pope around in a chair on their shoulders like some kind of Roman slaves.

  18. DhimmiNot says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    I agree, but…
    What I fail to understand is why the Roman Catholic laity tolerate the actions and beliefs of the Pope and his entourage?? Where is the sanity in total obeisance to leadership when they are in error?
    At what point do the masses speak truth to power?

    • mortimer says

      Feb 16, 2016 at 12:22 pm

      Wish we still had William F. Buckley to smack them.

  19. DFD says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    Wrong question: “What can the Catholic Church do?”

    It’s: “What will the Catholic Church do?”

    Answer: Nothing! Maybe the Pope will kiss a few more Qurans, and lift his brain, sorry, arse in mosque

    Don’t believe me?
    –http://www.marcovuyet.com/corano3.jpg
    –http://tinyurl.com/hpdvaab
    –http://tinyurl.com/z2k8yjh

    Get a barf bag!

    BTW, should you grow tired of an anti jihad news group/website, just change, don’t quit; listen to these guys:
    –http://tinyurl.com/zhsznsh

  20. Aussie Infidel says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    Robert is right and Bishop Borwah is talking absolute rubbish. No wonder the Christians are being slaughtered by this barbaric murderous cult. Have Christian leaders learned nothing from history? It seems that they have failed in their duty of care to their followers. Islam is not a religion as we in the West understand the term. There is no universal ‘golden rule’ in Islam – Muslims only show mercy to other Muslims (and even then only to the ‘right kind’ of Muslim). It is ironic that as a Catholic, the good bishop does not seem to understand the power of religious indoctrination. Islam is a criminal ideology using religion as a front, whose prime directive is to conquer the world for Allah – by stealth if possible, but by violence if necessary.

    I’m an atheist, but surely Jesus’ advice to ‘turn the other cheek’, was meant simply to ‘not counter insult with further insult or violence’, to prevent escalating personal disputes. If he meant that someone should not retaliate against a mortal threat to himself, his family or his nation, that would be religiously inspired suicide – which is precisely what Islam hopes the reaction of cowered kafirs will be, in the face of its relentless campaign of terror. Anyone who believes that Islam will respond to dialogue, is either ignorant of its tenets, or a dhimmi fool. Dialogue with Muslims is analogous to the ‘lamb lying down with the lion’ – merely an exercise in futility. Borwah should heed Churchill’s words, “Appeasers are like someone who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”

    Instead of engaging in futile ‘dialogue’ with Muslims, Bishop Borwah should study the Quran and understand its prime directive of subjugating all other religions and cultures. He should then act decisively – or not stand in the way of others who will. When faced with potential annihilation, there is such a thing as ‘just war’.

    “And fight them until there is no fitnah (opposition) and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah. And if they cease – then indeed, Allah is Seeing of what they do.” (Quran 8:39).

    “And when the inviolable months have passed, then kill the polytheists (Pagans & Christians) wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 9:5).

  21. Lily says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 7:44 pm

    Mr. Spencer, I’ve seen your past interviews with Mr. Voris on CM, and I’m looking forward to watching this one. I think the Bishop is afraid of offending Muslims, hence the dialog thing. Bishop Barron of LA gave a similar response, when asked about ISIS on his interview on EWTN’s News Nightly program.

  22. UNCLE VLADDI says

    Feb 16, 2016 at 8:26 pm

    Re: “What can the Catholic Church do”?

    Um … Maybe, for starters, for once, START TELLING THE TRUTH!?

  23. Herman says

    Feb 17, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    And what does the pope do?
    Yep – behaving like a dhimmi at least, but surely as a traitor!!!

    http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/news/detail/articolo/papa-pope-el-papa-27115/

    Muslims are “our brothers” and Christians must cultivate “mutual respect” with them. These were the words of Pope Francis yesterday during the Angelus, a message which could signal a turnaround in the relationship between the Catholic Church and Islam. This changing tide can even be seen in the words used in addressing Muslims. This is the first Pope to have referred to Muslims in such direct and explicit terms as “our brothers”. This would have been practically unthinkable even up until the recent past.

    What a fucking idiot!!

    http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2015/12/25/pope-francis-to-followers-koran-and-holy-bible-are-the-same-2/
    a smiling Pope Francis was quoted telling the Vatican’s guests that the Koran, and the spiritual teachings contained therein, are just as valid as the Holy Bible.

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/pope-says-islam-is-religion-of-peace-then-begs-muslims-to-condemn-violence
    religion of peace, one which is compatible with respect for human rights and peaceful coexistence,” says the Pope. Then he calls on Muslims to push a “more authentic image of Islam, as so many of them desire.” Has he ever wondered how this version of Islam that he assumes to be inauthentic has become so widespread and so powerful as to displace millions of Christians from the Middle East?

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/9/vatican-makes-history-pope-allows-islamic-prayers-/
    Vatican makes history: Pope allows Islamic prayers, Koran readings

    http://www.novusordowatch.org/wire/muslim-peace-prayer-infidel.htm
    Muslim Imam at Vatican’s Prayer for Peace Event prayed for “Victory over the Infidels”!

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/01/pope-to-refugees-muslims-can-expel-the-illness-within-our-hearts-with-quran
    “Francis to refugees: Christian or Muslim, the faith your parents instilled in you will help you move on,”

  24. neutragif says

    Feb 27, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    The Bishop then explained that what was needed was more dialogue with Muslims. Voris then came to me and asked me what I thought of the Bishop’s answer. Where such information?

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • iconoclast123 on India: Police make first arrest for ‘love jihad’ under new law
  • gravenimage on Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and UAE conduct joint military exercises amid rising Turkish threat
  • Brando on New study reveals that Muslim religiosity strongly linked to hatred towards the West
  • gravenimage on Audio: Robert Spencer on Muslim Brotherhood influence in a Biden/Harris administration
  • Boycott Turkey on New study reveals that Muslim religiosity strongly linked to hatred towards the West

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.