The Pope represents more to Islam than just existing.
Historically speaking the Catholic Church, is the only institute willing and able to take on the scourge of Islam not only ideologically and in past times by force.
I think Iraq / Afghanistan is proving grounds that radical Islam is not going to be destroyed by sheer force, especially by a weak willed minimalist type of warfare the west is currently waging.
Christian faith and religion in the end will play a much bigger role in Islam defeat than many people realize. IMHO
Actually, if you believe in and follow biblical prophecy, the only way the anti-Christians will be defeated is via the return of Jesus Christ himself. We Christians are really powerless until then. There's only one thing that can sustain us until then (our belief), cause it will appear that we are losing until that time. I guess that's why it's called 'faith'. You have to have it to endure what's coming.
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Christian faith and religion in the end will play a much bigger role in Islam defeat than many people realize. IMHO
So you have forgotten or never known about the defense of Europe on the East by the Orthodox? Or are you one of those Latins who claims that we're you, just naughty schismatics, but really part of your church anyway?
Without St. Lazar and those who died with him on the field of Kosovo, Europe would have been overrun in the 14th century. Without Vlad Tepec, in the 16th.
And other Eastern Christians have taken a hand in opposing Islam: Copts are very confrontational to this day, despite their homeland having been overrun, and the iconclast Leo the Isaurian turned back the tide in East the 8th century, even as Charles Martel did in the West.