Opus 2013-197: You Can’t Have It Both Ways

A couple of years ago I started reading a novel called The Thieves of Darkness.  I didn’t finish it.  Sometimes a person’s point of view gets in the way of the story. 

The author made a big point about Muslims, Jews and Christians coexisting in Istanbul.  He proclaimed they lived peacefully and without violence.  All was sweetness and light. 

I kept reading and a few pages later he mentioned that one church they were passing by was one of the few that had not been turned into a mosque when the city was conquered.  I felt like I had come into the presence of one of my eighth graders who doesn’t listen and is incapable of putting two thoughts together.  You see, these two concepts don’t go too well together. 

On one hand you have a culture in which Islam is dominant being described as tolerant and benevolent.  Then you point out that a city that was once a major center of Christianity had seen its churches confiscated and transformed to the use of another religion.  Which view is more accurate? 

I am thinking that the romantic view of history has little to do with reality.  Just because you feel good about something and want it to be that way does not mean it really is that way.  Islam has systematically worked to destroy the Christian faith it conquered with the sword.  It started with the simple pressure of higher taxes.  Those who were not serious about their faith made quick conversions.  Then you got into the kind of pressures that the Nazis put on the Jews, distinctive clothing and limited neighborhoods.  Children were easily influenced to leave the faith of their parents.  Eventually you kidnaped the children of Christians, forced them to convert and serve in the armies of Islam.  Finally you get to physical violence and death.

It continues in Iraq, Iran and Egypt today.  Much of the killing and violence you hear about in Africa and Southeast Asia involves Muslims killing Christians.  Christians are being murdered and their homes and churches are being destroyed.  You won’t see it much in the news but it is going on as I write.

If you are a believer, pray for the persecuted brothers and sisters.  If you are not then put on your Cap of Concern for Justice and put some pressure on our political leaders.

And keep in mind it is coming to a neighborhood near you.  You may not like the church bells that wake you up on Sunday morning.  Fine.  I support your right to complain.  When the mosques are built in your town you will hear the call five times a day and if you protest you will be labeled a hater, or worse.

You might become the target of the “Ultimate Solution.”

homo unius libri