Posted on 12/16/2013 6:06:55 AM PST by marshmallow
Warning that a Middle East empty of Christians would be “just like the Taliban,” Iraq’s most senior Catholic leader pointedly called on the West to show greater concern for suffering Christians in the region.
“We feel forgotten and isolated,” said Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, head of Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Church.
“We sometimes wonder, if they kill us all, what would be the reaction of Christians in the West? Would they do something then?”
Sako made clear he’s not asking for a mobilization “to protect Christians,” but rather Western efforts to support “harmonious societies for all human beings”, based on “a civil state in which the only criterion is citizenship grounded in full equality under the law.”
Sako said that at the moment, the influence of Western nations in the region seems to be based primarily on self-interest.
“All they do is create problems, sell weapons and take oil,” he said, adding bluntly, “This is a sin.”
In terms of the Catholic response, Sako proposed that the church produce a new document directed specifically at Muslims to lay out the case for moving beyond tolerance to “religious freedom and full citizenship.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ncronline.org ...
Who is to go to hell?
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Woops I posted on incorrect thread. Not paying attention!!! Sorry!!!
The West is actively anti-Christian and is actively collaborating with the Ummah to remove Christianity as a force anywhere on the Earth.
Perhaps this poor slob hasn’t got the news?
Sorry, brother. You’re talking to a country in which the majority are not Christians. It’s more a label people wear, less actual faith. Just look at the majority Catholic support for all sorts of sinful crap.
The horrific suffering and martyrdom of Christians in many areas of the world is being totally ignored and we know why. Pastors are mainly silent and we know why. But Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith need to become aware of these atrocities so we can all pray and sacrifice for these Christian families that are suffering daily. These people need our prayers!
I know. It seems like Christians in the West don’t seem to care about the Christians in these anti-Christian countries. I told a pastor a long time ago that all of the land areas that are now predominantly Muslim were once predominantly Christian. He didn’t have much to say in response.
“Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.”
I noticed with Iraq, the Christians of all denominations were happy in their Dhimmitude and suffered minor persecution until the fall of Saddam. Their enclaves were protected, but again within Dhimmitude. Meaning second or third class citizens who will not progress in society and were basically (and still) stick to their enclaves (ghettos) or risk their lives going out of them.
No matter how much we prodded and poked Maliki, he could not protect Christian enclaves, nor even his own Shia shrines. The fall of the dictator Saddam put Christians in that country in a very vulnerable state. They expected the Muslims to respect the Qur’an and protect Christians who submitted to their political authority.
I know this Dhimmitude is a ‘foreign’ concept to Americans, but for a Christian culture that has survived for centuries under Muslim rule, they see a dictator who persecuted now and then, better than tasting some freedom they could never really exercise.
It is truly a wake up call for those of us in the West. What we are seeing in Iraq and Syria and other places is what happens when radical Islam goes unchecked.
There are several reports of home churches springing up of all denominations. This is what the Christian faith has done throughout history when targeted for persecution and death.
Unless one can find Biblical evidence of declaring a political/military crusade to go in and protect the Christian communities, then this will continue. We are told to pray, exhort and comfort our brothers and sisters in Christ. The comfort part is what is needed now along with our prayers. We should be looking for ways to bring them physical aid to meet their basic needs. That is what the Greek churches did for Jerusalem and Judea as we see in Acts. The tricky part is how do you get comfort aid to fellow Christians in a hostile environment without being dragged into another war? Tough one. I think there is a solution but many in the West are probably not prepared to do it.
I have heard several priests here in DC/NoVA urge prayer for those being persecuted for their faith. We pray for them frequently, but it is difficult to know what else can be done for them.
One would think. But it doesn’t appear to be so given the attitudes and actions we see. Those in power and those who put them there seem oblivious to the dangers is Islam.
That’s becoming more and more common here in the US as well. Not only through the harassment by government but also due to the organized churches incorporating none Biblical teaching.
‘If They Kill Us All, Will You Do Something Then?’
.
Perhaps our “Christian” politicians could answer that question.
In a lecture delivered on 12 September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI quoted from a dialogue believed to have occurred in 1391 between Manuel II and a Persian scholar and recorded in a book by Manuel II (Dialogue 7 of Twenty-six Dialogues with a Persian) in which the Emperor stated: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” Many Muslims were offended by what was perceived as a denigration of Muhammad, and many reacted violently. In his book, Manuel II then continues, saying, “God is not pleased by blood – and not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...”
Such as?
Catholics and other Christians of all kinds are under attack by Islam, and I fail to see that any of them are supporting "sinful crap."
Just look at the majority Catholic support for all sorts of sinful crap.
Such as?
Catholics and other Christians of all kinds are under attack by Islam, and I fail to see that any of them are supporting "sinful crap."
He's talking about Catholic politicians who support the whole liberal program, and the Catholics who vote for them.
It's a little hard to believe you didn't understand that.
If you’re a Christian, you had better be prepared to die for your belief,,,,,,in this country.
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