Nigerian churches call Christmas bombings 'declaration of war'

CNN ^ | Wed December 28, 2011 | Soni Irabor

[MinorityRepublican]

Medics carry the body of a victim after a bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church inNigeria's capital, Abuja, on December 25.

"Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigeria's Christians are losing faith that the government will protect them from attacks by Islamic extremists and will "respond appropriately" to future killings, the country's leading church group warned Wednesday.

In a public message to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Christian Association of Nigeria called the Christmas Day targeting of churches in several cities "a declaration of war on Christians and Nigeria as an entity." The group also criticized its Muslim counterparts for failing to condemn the Islamic militants blamed for Sunday's attacks, calling their responses "unacceptable."

"The Christian community is fast losing confidence in government's ability to protect our rights to religious liberties and life," its president, Pentecostal pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said in the statement. "The consensus is that the Christian community nationwide would be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and properties."

Nigerian official condemns attacks

Jonathan responded with a statement of condolences for the attacks, which the church group said killed more than 50 worshippers, and a call for Nigerians to unite behind the government's efforts to pursue those responsible. Nigerian authorities have blamed Boko Haram, a fundamentalist Islamic movement that mounted similar attacks the previous Christmas.

"The best thing is for all religious leaders, opinion and traditional leaders, youth leaders and women leaders to come together and assist government," Jonathan said. He pledged that his administration "will surely do more," but added, "The terrorists are human beings. They are not spirits."

[TomasUSMC]

Muslim counterparts for failing to condemn the Islamic militants blamed for Sunday’s attacks, calling their responses “unacceptable.”

//////////////
SAME response as when we killed OSAMA. NOT ONE MOSLUM IN THE WORLD CHEERED HIS DEATH.

[TomasUSMC]

It would sure be great to have a website for Christians in Nigeria.

[takenoprisoner]

The group also criticized its Muslim counterparts for failing to condemn the Islamic militants blamed for Sunday's attacks,

As if they would. Are you kidding me? All muslims condone violence as a critical component of their agenda. So don't hold your breathe waiting for so called moderate "peaceful muslims" to condemn these atrocities. It won't happen. Not in Nigeria, nor anywhere in the world.

[Happy Rain]

Muslims HAVE to either convert murder or enslave non Muslims—it's the prime directive of their misanthropic “religion.” They risk perdition as apostates if they don't.

May as well make it more difficult for the evil savages by taking a few with you.

[Biggirl]

Big difference, Americans are much, much more better educated.

[livius]

I think this is meant more as something to energize the government to come to their defense than as an actual threat of organized Christian resistance; for one thing, the Christian groups in that country aren’t very organized among themselves. Wideawake’s postings gave some good background.

That said, I don’t think the Nigerian government or military is going to do anything to help. I honestly don’t know what the Christians should do, since I’m not sure they have the capacity to fight back with an armed resistance, they would receive no support from the West (which would promptly take the side of the Islamists) and the end result would probably be the invitation of thousands of non-Nigerian or even non-African Muslims into Nigeria to support Boko Haram. Arab Muslims are all throughout Africa, leading these Muslim terrorist groups.

No matter what, unless the government acts, things are going to get much more bloody and awful for the Christians. Maybe if we change the occupant of the WH there will be some hope for them, but otherwise, I really don’t know what the Nigerian Christians are going to do. Because they’re Christians, they’re not even considered acceptable for refugee status in the US (while at the same time, hundreds of thousands of Muslims are brought to the US every year as “refugees”).

[popdonnelly]

These Christians are only being realistic.

[Biggirl]

Yet the Christian Churches are growing BIGTIME in Africa all the same, so the Muslims are in a losing fight.

[Biggirl]

As a matter of fact, I sense a number of Muslims got angry when Osama got killed.

[Biggirl]

Plus at my parish, there are parishoners from that part of the world, Nigeria.

[BykrBayb]

Rita, maybe you should just lurk for a while, until you get the hang of things around here. Take a look at these threads: http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/joos/index .

Freepers are like any other family. We have our little inside jokes, quirks and what have you. Sometimes people looking in from the outside don’t get it, and that’s okay. But if you hope to become part of the family, you need to learn a little about us, and decide whether or not you can live with us.

Happy New Year.

[L,TOWM]

Actually it isn’t balderdash. Once you are here for another year or two, you will pick up the lingo and know what it means. I am kind of stuned you would go that direction — accusations of anti-semitism are hugh and series.

I suppose that the misspellings in the last sentence went right over your head, too.

[RitaOK]

” Actually it isn’t balderdash. Once you are here for another year or two, you will pick up the lingo and know what it means. I am kind of stuned you would go that direction — accusations of anti-semitism are hugh and series. I suppose that the misspellings in the last sentence went right over your head, too. “ <<<<

Taste, or the lack of it is not on a time clock. I could turn gray on FR and it won’t become funny. The goofy stab at humor and “affection” is permanently lost here.

“Hugh” and “series”, huh? I guess so, if I took it that way.

[yinandyang]

Not just NIgeria but all through Islamic world - Egypt, Iraq, etc. Christians are being persecuted. Like it was in the first century AD, except Muslims are the new Romans.

[bayouranger]

Love your reply...+1

[Mr. Silverback]

Not to hijack the thread but...

Could any and all available Ron Paul supporters identify for me the troops Nigeria has deployed to within 100klicks of Mecca or the Muslims that have been bombed by the Nigerian Air Force? Would really appreciate it, thanks in advance.

[George Varnum]

It seems as though Nigerian Christians are starting to catch a case of the Judas Maccabees.
It might be high time.

True, Christian revivals often spring forth from the blood of our martyrs (as seems to be going on in China), but there comes a point when we can’t convert souls faster than the barbarians can cut our bodies down.

That might be the time when we need a Judas Maccabee.

As one dual Citizen of the US and Israel, and courageous advocate for a Christian / Israeli alliance http://www.vicmord.com/ said at a workshop I attended last year;

“Either the Jews and Christians will come together under the WORD, or Islam will bring us together under the SWORD!”

Israeli intervention would make a lot of sense, but I’m not holding my breath after they apparently ignored a golden opportunity during the recent Iranian uprising.

Assuming that Israel does not want a piece of this...

Couldn’t a consortium of Christians or a Church take up a collection to hire a few good mercenaries to sneak in and advise / train / arm the persecuted Nigerian Church to better defend themselves from Islamic extermination (which is what it will end up being if unresisted)?

Surely there must be a few good Christian Warriors left in this World.... aren’t there?

We did not declare war on Islam... Islam declared war upon us, and it appears to be a fight to the death whether we like it or not.

Does our Judeo-Christian Faith deny us the right of self / family / community / Church defense?

I for one think not.

[sinanju]

Uh, George, I realize you can write it that way, but most of us prefer Judah Maccabee.

Yes, it would be great to recruit volunteers to arm and train a self-defense movement. I’m betting the Nigerian Government would be happy to look the other way as the Islamists threaten them too.

However, you can bet your booty that the Obamanoids in OUR government, along with the UN and Interpol would stomp all over any “Abraham Lincoln Brigade” the way Clinton and Janet Reno stomped on the Branch Davidians.

[Grizzled Bear]

So they are saying these killings aren’t worth responding to. Nice. Declaration of war? It’s like Japan bombing Pearl Harbor and the US saying don’t do it again.

The correct response to an attack is to convince your enemy that the cost of attacking you is too damned high.

That's something we, as a nation, have forgotten. If we responded to Pearl Harbor the same way we have acted in Iraq, our nation would have likely been divided amongst the Axis Powers.