On the third day of Hanukkah in the year 5776 (per the Jewish calendar), President Barack Obama hosted the President of Israel Reuven Rivlin and Rabbi Susan Talve, a founder of the Central Reform Congregation from St. Louis, Missouri.
Rabbi Talve gave a sui generis "blessing" in which she weaved in Black Lives Matter, immigration, fluid sexuality, Islamophobia, homophobia, justice for Palestinians with barely an allusion to anything in Jewish scripture. In fact, the only time that Susan Talve mentioned God it was the Islamic Arabic expression "Ins'Allah" (meaning God willing).
As Christians continued to celebrate the miracle of the Resurrection at a Tuesday Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House, President Barack Obama could not resist poking at the Nazarene's faithful. While Mr. Obama's remarks does echo some of the Paschal message, he flippantly questioned some perceived deficiencies in Christian Love (presumably an oblique reference to Indiana's RFRA law controversy).
It seems rather rude for the President to turn a prayer breakfast of the most important holiday into a partisan punch line. Unfortunately, this is not uncharacteristic of the Obama Administration. Last year, President Obama "spontaneously" called on the controversial gay Episcopal Bishop Vichy "Gene" Robinson for a closing prayer.
The Reverend Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam in America, took umbrage at Rudy Giuliani's assessment of Barack Obama's formative years. In response, Farrakhan launched into a pejorative racial ad hominem attack on America's Mayor as well as all Americans of European descent.
This invective is rather ironic as President Obama's lineage does not include ancestry of slavery. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was a Kenyan and Stanley Ann Dunham was a white woman hailing from Wichita, Kansas. So the Reverend Farrakhan is conflating the struggle against someone who neither suffered from the disadvantages of slavery nor really lived in society which did not seek to redress those iniquities.
Rudy Giuliani could point to Barack Obama's two autobiographies, which chronicle how the future President was raised in Indonesia during formative years in which the love of country tended to be instilled.
On the third day of Hanukkah for year 5775 (according to the Jewish calendar), President Barack Obama hosted Jewish leaders to celebrate the festival of lights.
After the President made his Hanukkah remarks and there was prayer and the ceremonial lighting of the menorah, it was time for the President to glad hand the greeting line. A gentleman with a booming voice proclaimed: "Mr. President, when I told my Christian friend that I was coming to a Hanukkah party at the White House, he told me: 'I didn't know that the President was Jewish!'".
After Mr. Obama had a good belly laugh, he said as he was walking away: "I am [Jewish], in my soul." This sotto voce utterance impressed Jewish Journal writer David Suissa. This does jibe with a New York Magazine proclamation in 2011 that Mr. Obama was America's first Jewish President.
But to my goy ears, the quip sounded like pandering pleasantries which mean about as much as "If you like your health care plan then you can keep it." However, there are some similarities. Mr. Obama had a secular and politically progressive secular upbringing which showed Marxist sympathies. That definitely parallels sensibilities on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
So maybe he is what he says, but a self hating one who harbors little affinity towards the state of Israel.
The perpetrator of the Sydney Siege, Man Haron Monis (ne Mohammad-Hassan Manteghi Borujerdi and a.k.a. Ayatollah Manteghi Boroujerdi) has been portrayed as damaged and unstable individual who was facing a raft of criminal charges. Alas, this is only part of the picture. The 50 year old self self styled imam and spiritual healer had immigrated to Australia from Iran claiming political asylum in 1996. Moreover, Monis had converted from Shia to Sunni Islam and pledged himself to the ISIS cause.
"Shariah law doesn’t allow you to do so, your reason for hiding your
religion Islamically is not a legitimate reason. You must rely on Allah
(SWT) and avoid the satanic style of politics. You will be apostate by
denying your religion, I advise you to avoid such a big sin."
Even though candidate Barack Obama has once mistakenly referred to "My Muslim faith" and was quickly corrected by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, this seemed like a slip of the tongue. News reports have indicated that Mr. Obama was baptized in 1988 at the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ. There is no reason to question this profession of faith.
The problem is that Islam attributes the faith of one's father to the scion. Barack Huissan Obama, Sr. may have been a Marxist who did not believe in any spiritual religion but he was born a Muslim. Thus a radicalized Muslim would be offended by such person being baptized as a Christian and then denying their proscribed faith.
Obviously, Mr. Obama gave little heed to crank letters from Australia during the Presidential general election campaign. But Islam is not just a faith system, but a holistic philosophy which encompasses faith, law (shariah) as well as polity. As seen practiced by ISIS, slavery and sexual submission is permissible under shariah law.
As radicalized salafists who seek to bolster a Caliphate call for lone wolf attacks in the West, it is important to understand what enflames such a psyche. While occidental sociology tends to encourage tolerance and free will, these norms are abhorrent to many members of the so-called religion of peace (even though Islam actually means submission).
During Christmastide, westerners usually revel for peace and Earth and good will towards men. It is key to remember that these noble sentiments may not be reciprocated by faith filled radicals.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence [or By God's mercy] he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Hulloa boys, Hulloa boys, let the bells ring.
Hulloa boys, hulloa boys, God save the King!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Today is Guy Fawkes day in the UK. Today it seems treated as just another bank holiday to enjoy carousing and fireworks. Despite the 400 years that separates them, the Gunpowder Plot is analogous to the Islamists attacks on 9/11/2001.
The Protestant Reformation in England was not simply King Henry VIII making himself the supreme head of the English church in 1534. After Queen Elizabeth I assumed the English throne after the Catholic Queen Mary, there were a series of Sixteenth Century laws enacted to reinforce Protestant dominion over England. The Act of Uniformity from 1558 forced subjects to attend Anglican Churches and use the Book of Common Prayer. Fines for following one's conscience became exorbitant for most Catholics, it became treasonous to be absolved from schism, Jesuits were banned and priests were executed.
After the death of the "virgin" Queen and the demise of the Tudor dynasty, King James I was settling into power under the aegis of the Stuart dynasty in a de facto united kingdom of Scotland, England and Wales. Aggrieved Catholic partisans hoped to restore a Catholic monarchy to England. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic convert who fought in religious wars on the continent. When he returned to England, he plotted with others to attempt regicide. Fawkes and his cohorts leased an undercroft which was directly beneath the House of Lords. The plan was to blow up Westminster Palace (the Houses of Parliament) with 36 barrels of gunpowder. Black humorist quip that Fawkes was the only man to ever enter Parliament with honest intentions.
[The Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot/ Henry Peronnet Briggs c. 1823]
The plot failed in part because Parliament delayed meeting for several months due to threats of the Plague. Some of the gunpowder had decayed during the delay. Concerns about Catholics being in the chambers may have tipped off security. In the end, an anonymous tip turned Guy Fawkes in on November 5th as he was guarding his stash of explosives.
Fawkes was not cooperative after he had been taken into custody. In fact, he earned some admiration from James I for his "Roman Resolution". Fawkes was transferred to the Tower of London where his interrogators were authorized to start easy and proceed to the worst, hence starting with manacles to potentially the rack. After a few days of torture, Fawkes told all and was forced to sign a confession.
Almost three months later, Fawkes and seven cohorts had a pro-forma trial at the Star Chamber. Fawkes and three others were slated for public execution. The others were hanged, drawn and quartered. Fawkes begged for forgiveness from the King and the state while still keeping his "crosses and idle ceremonies". Afterwards, Fawkes unexpectedly jumped from the gallows which broke his neck. Nevertheless, Fawkes lifeless body was still quartered and his body parts scattered to the four corners of the Earth.
***
While several centuries may have dulled the severity of the Gunpowder Plot, this was a vigilante attempt to decapitate the Government by destroying the seat of power. This is the same plot lines as 9/11 although the Al Qaeda hijackers used airplanes missiles instead of kegs of gunpowder to try and achieve their ends.
Today, "Guy Fawkes Day" is made light be burning effigies and lighting fireworks. But this was a violent reaction by a persecuted religious minority intent on a paradigm shift. While western nations have become secular and there is a separation of church and state, Islamists intent on building a Caliphate and imposing Sharia law do not make that distinction.
***
While there are no longer sectarian battles in Christendom, a strong case can be made that political correctness is zealously being mandated as a state secular religion in America. In 2010, President Obama had a spate of incidents where he could not read his own teleprompter well enough to utter "One Nation…Under God" when echoing the Declaration of Independence. Now the Obama Administration is fighting to prevent FDR's National Prayer on the eve of D-Day be incorporated into the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Lest one dismiss this assertive secularism as being merely rhetorical, consider how the implementation of Obamacare is eviscerating the right of conscience clause for Catholic health care workers.
The Gunpowder Incident of 1605 shows the stakes and consequences of imposing state religions. But even the most onerous of laws did not shake the faithful. Some groups like the Puritans left England to follow their conscience in tolerant Dutch territories before becoming Pilgrims to the New World. Others stayed within the Church of England but their Anglo-Catholic worship retained most of the vestiges and spiritual orientations of traditional "Papists".
***
Perhaps the lessons that we should draw from the residue of the Gunpowder Plot is that we ought to cherish our liberties, such as the freedom of religion and the rights of the individual over the tyrannical predilections of the state so that we do not have to wait for a masked avenger to lead us to freedom.
Former President George W. Bush (Harvard Business School, MBA '75)
The face of terror is not the true faith
of Islam. That's not what Islam is all
about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't
represent peace. They represent evil and war. When we think of Islam we think of a faith
that brings comfort to a billion people around the
world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and
peace. And that's made brothers and sisters out of every
race -- out of every race.
U.S. President Barack Obama as law student (J.D. Harvard '91}
Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state.
Caricature of British Prime Minister David Cameron (M.A. Brasenose College, Oxford '88)
"They [ISIS] boast of their brutality; they claim to do this in the name of
Islam. That is nonsense. Islam is a religion of peace. They are not Muslims,
they are monsters.”
Self appointed ISIS/ISIL/IS Caliph Abu Bakr al Baghdadi
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi (B.A., M.A., PhD Islamic Studies, Islamic University of Baghdad}
Here the flag
of the Islamic State, the flag of tawhīd (monotheism), rises and flutters. Its
shade covers land from Aleppo
to Diyala. Beneath it, the walls of the tawāghīt (rulers claiming the rights of
Allah) havebeen
demolished, their flags have fallen, and their borders have been destroyed.
Their soldiers are either killed,
imprisoned, or defeated. The Muslims are honored. The kuffār (infidels) are
disgraced. Ahlus-Sunnah (the
Sunnis) are masters and are esteemed. The people of bid’ah (heresy) are
humiliated. The hudūd (Sharia penalties) are implemented – the hudūd of Allah –
all of them. The frontlines are defended. Crosses and
graves are demolished. Prisoners are released by the edge of the sword. The
people in the lands of the
State move about for their livelihood and journeys, feeling safe regarding
their lives and wealth. Wulāt
(“governors”) and judges have been appointed. Jizyah (a tax
imposed on kuffār) has
been enforced. Fay’ (money taken from the kuffār without battle) and zakat
(obligatory alms) have been
collected. Courts have been established to resolve disputes and complaints.
Evil has been removed.
Lessons and classes have been held in the masājid and, by
the grace of Allah, the religion
has become completely for Allah
It would seem that someone who constantly quotes the Quran and interpretive sharia texts and has several advanced degrees in Islamic studies would be the best bet in that bunch. While we may vehemently disagree with Bakr al Baghdadi's interpretations and implementation of sharia law, it seems incredulous that secular Western leaders insist that ISIS is not Islamic. Former President George W. Bush was closer to the mark in his comments that the face of terror is not the true face of Islam, but that may be more wishful thinking that comparative theology.
In a faith of 1.57 billion believers throughout the world, Islam can have many different expressions and emphases. America has been blessed by a Muslim community which freely practices their faith in a peaceful manner. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Europe has a more acrimonious experience. Many nations have colonial ties with Muslim majority nations, like Britain (Pakistan), Netherlands (Indonesia), France (Algeria). Other European nations invited Islamic immigration as guest workers, like Germany (Turkey) but the cheap labor never moved back home. Now that there are significant European Muslim populations in concentrated enclaves which are adverse to assimilation. Consequently, there are no go zones where the police avoid and the Islamic communities semi-formally administer Sharia law, which often conflicts with the jurisprudence of the rest of the state.
Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has condemned the brutality of ISIS in beheading hostages and killing unbelievers (be they Jewish, Nazarenes a.k.a. Christians, and even other Muslims who do not adhere to their Salifist jihadism) as a" unique evil". Alas, this is not historically accurate, as the victory of the Knights Hospitaller in Great Siege of Malta (1565),the Holy League's victory at sea in the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the defeat of the Ottomans in the Siege of Vienna (1683) marks efforts by Muslims to expand their caliphate by the sword.
Islam is more than a religion but is also a holistic political system with its own jurisprudence. Political Islam is a manifestation of this theocratic thread in Islamic thought. Bakr al Baghdadi's declaration demonstrated point by point how ISIS was incorporating its interpretation of sharia law. Time and again, we in the West are told that Islam is a religion of peace. But the root of the word Islam means submission. Perhaps by submitting to the five pillars of Islam, a believer is said to gain peace. Another myth is the CAIR-full instruction that jihad simply means "interior struggle". The word jihad means struggle. In the Muslim world, jihad means Holy War. If it were just the interior struggle, why would Qu'ran 4:94 exempt the elderly and children from jihad? Many Muslims live out their faith peacefully. But to deny that the so called Islamic State is not Islamic because it does not comport to our sensibilities as outsiders of what Muslims ought to believe is ludicrous. While we should not mistake all Muslims as radical Islamists, it seems silly to inculcate a cognitive subterfuge. Jonah Goldberg offered a challenging point to our secular Islamic scholars entrenched in the corridors of power: "Instead of Americans trying to persuade Muslims around the world that terrorism is un-Islamic, why shouldn't Muslims be working harder to convince us?"
A fortnight later, 40,000 Kurds who practice the Yazidi faith were herded onto Mount Sinjar and left to fend for themselves or be slaughtered. Yazidis have a monotheistic faith which has roots in Zoroastrianism with elements of Islam as well as Christianity.
What may have prompted President Obama to act in the case of the Yazidis rather than the Iraqi Christians may have been concentrated the ethnic on a mountaintop for genocide and then bragging about it on Twitter. Or perhaps it was ISIS terrorists putting Yazidi kids' heads on a pike as a message to the world. Nonetheless, former Governor Mike Huckabee has it right, it is evil
The remarks in full of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) at the 2013 Value Voters Summit sponsored by the Family Research Council.
The metal barricades seen in front of the dais reflected the Government Shutdown Theater, when the Obama Administration went to the trouble to "barry-cade" (sic) public monuments on the National Mall during the Government Shutdown in October 2013.
To commemorate the 62nd consecutive year of the National Day of Prayer, there certainly were different approaches. Unlike his predecessor, President Barack Obama has not hosted an ecumenical service to commemorate the National Day of Prayer, the 44th President does issue proclamations each year. Mr. Obama's 2014 proclamation paid lip service to the importance of respecting religious liberty, which struck many political observers as ironic considering the manner which the Obama Administration has rolled out the Contraception Mandate portion of Obamacare.
On the other hand, Dr. James Dobson chose to play the prophet who will tell truth to power. Dr. Dobson was quite clear in labeling Mr. Obama as the "Abortion President". Dobson detailed how President Obama gave the keynote speech at the 2013 Planned Parenthood convention to brag how an expanded "womens' health services" would be part of Obamacare. Dobson also noted that Planned Parenthood garners $250 million a year for "reproductive health".
Dobson's group "Family Talk" recently won an injunction to block the Federal government from forcing it to impose the Contraception Mandate (which includes abortifacients). Dobson tearfully proclaimed: So come and get me if you must, Mr. President. I will not blow before your wicked regulation." Dobson urged his audience to fight on as: “We can win. And keep prayer because that’s what really made a difference here.”
Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX 1st) sympathsized with his colleague Rep. Hahn but he also recognized that Dr. Dobson considers abortion to be a sin and can not separate his religious belief from politics. Dobson's pointed speech was not partisan in the sense of party politics or advocating specific legislation but he did detail real world challenges to living in a morally inspired life. Should the National Day of Prayer be full of pretty pabulum about prayer which amounts to nothing or should it be prayerfully minded people who share their faith, even when it is challenges the conventions of the day?
Is it the event itself? There are thousands of National Day of Prayer events throughout the United States, but activities in the Federal City tend to dominate the spotlight. So having issues that are uncomfortable or contentious can threaten the non-political comity of the National Day of Prayer.
While that is true, what worth is the National Day of Prayer if it is just holding hands and singing Kumbaya? Sometimes following the path of prayer is not pleasant or readily placable. President Obama had the temerity to talk about religious liberty, while his Administration seeks to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to violate their consciences and submit to participation in the Contraception mandate which is abhorrent to their mores.
It may be that the subject matter of Dobson's defiance is the issue. Forty one years after Roe v. Wade, Americans are still uncomfortable about abortion. Pro Life and Pro Choice activists cite various polls on the acceptability of abortion. Legislatively, the trend is towards restricting abortion but the judiciary strikes such laws as threatening the progressive right. But language matters. Notice how pro-abortion politicos talk about "womens' reproductive health" or perhaps "a woman's right to choose" rather than killing a human life which has not been granted personhood.
It is easier for morally conscious people to support "womens' reproductive health" rather than deal with the gruesome realities of abortion. This may be why the Gosnell Movie troubles Kickstart in its crowd-sourcing funding efforts. The Gosnell film bills itself as dramatizing the life of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, America's most successful serial killer -- the doctor is sin. Abortion often incites a clear break among religiously oriented people, dividing social justice spirituality from traditional Bible believers.
The question is-- Did Dr. Dobson unduly politicize the National Day of Prayer?
To commemorate the 62nd annual National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday in May, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation. The text of Mr. Obama's 2014 proclamation touted religious liberty and those being persecuted for their convictions.
Those are noble sentiments, if only they were observed. Dennis Miller has quipped that citizens who disagree with Mr. Obama are often treated worse then his enemies. The Obama Administration has been adamant about enforcing the Contraception Mandate upon religiously oriented organizations (but not churches themselves) which find abortifacients abhorrent.
The U.S. Supreme Court may decide on the constitutionality of this Contraception Mandate when it rules on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby in June. Nonetheless, Dr. James Dobson of Family Talk (and previously the founder of Focus on the Family), used his remarks at the 2014 National Day of Prayer to underline how deeply he finds Obama's abortion mandate offense and that he will fight for his religious freedom.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops will be sponsoring their third Fortnight for Freedom from June 21st to July 4th. This year, the Fortnight for Freedom will focus on the freedom to serve the poor and vulnerable in accord with human dignity and the Church's teaching. But living one's faith outside of the doors of the Church requires religious liberty.
If we relied upon words alone, one might conclude that the Obama White House has experienced a metanoia and respects religious liberty. But in the real world, actions speak louder than words.
The Reverend Al Sharpton gave an unusual Easter message on the Tom Joyner Show. Sharpton tried to be ecumenical to reach out to Christians, Jews and atheists with an anti-materialist message to remember the reason for the season.
Sharpton alluded to every man challenges where people feel crucified. Sharpton encouraged folks to rise above their suffering and not become like the disease they fight. Sharpton closed his secular preaching by alluding to an alleged crucifixion of Barack Obama. The Reverend claimed that he was not comparing Obama to Jesus but for every crucifixion there is a resurrection for those who believe.
So the question is on the orthodoxy of Reverend Al Sharpton's Easter message that to every crucifixion there is a resurrection for those who believe, so rise above your unearned suffering.
For those who want to hear more of Reverend Sharpton's preaching, you will not find him in church but on PoliticsNation, 6 PM et on MSNBC.
