Posted on 04/15/2002 10:18:54 AM PDT by H.R. Gross
But for once, Mr. Raimondo did have something to contribute to FreeRepublic. Namely, he linked his rant to the Rod Drehar article in NationalReviewOnline that apparently sparked his interest in the subject...
And that article has some fascinating insights and information... Pardon me for not having paid attention, but I'd never really had a clue why the Muslims had gotten so bent out of shape when Sharon went up to the Dome of the Rock.
The following makes it all clear. It was worth slogging through Justin's column to get to. Of course, Justin doesn't bother to mention that there is also a Muslim eschatology at work here, an "end days" O.K. Corral scenario that neatly corresponds to and transposes everything referred to in the New and Old Testament sources... Muslims, too, share the sacred belief that the Messiah/Jesus will return... to the Dome of the Rock ...as a "Muslim prophet"... And all the Jews will be killed, as the 'very stones cry out', 'there is a jew behind me, kill him'... And all 3 religions have their eyes square on the same couple of acres of real estate...
...This past weekend I watched a Sunday morning news interview with a young Palestinian woman who'd been captured by the Israelis before she could detonate herself. She's got a 7 year old daughter but didn't seem to be second-guessing herself in the least. It was just a way to 'make everything right with God, wipe the slate clean for all the mistakes in her life', the ultimate, best sacrifice... to kill some infidels, the more the better....
The 9/11 suicide bombers took out the most lives, so no doubt the most merciful Allah loves them best of all...
Anyway, this is what I found so interesting in Rod Drehar's article, that Justin linked to:
"...To Jews who adhere to ancient tradition, whose number includes religious Israeli nationalists, the long-awaited Messiah will return to become the king of Israel and high priest of a rebuilt Temple, which can only be on Temple Mount. For Christian fundamentalists, Jesus Christ's return at the height of the battle of Armageddon, in which forces of the Antichrist clash in Israel with a 200 million-man army from the East, will require a Third Temple from which the Lord will begin a millennial reign. And for Muslims, an Antichrist figure called the Dajal will be a Jew who will lead an all-encompassing war against Islam, which will culminate in the return of Jesus (as a Muslim prophet), the Kaaba, or Sacred Rock in Mecca, transporting itself to Jerusalem, and final judgment in the valley just below the Noble Sanctuary.
"What happens at that one spot, more than anywhere else, quickens expectations of the End in three religions. And at that spot, the danger of provoking catastrophe is greatest," writes Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg in "The End of Days", his 2000 book about the apocalyptic struggle over the Temple Mount...
...The unshakable belief in particular prophetic visions — Jewish, Christian, or Islamic — makes the art of political compromise impossible when it comes to Jerusalem. Says Weber: "There's no way to negotiate these ideas. If you believe that this is in the prophetic cards, that this is history before it happens, that this is how God is going to manipulate events to bring about the final phase of human history, then you cannot negotiate land for peace, or anything else."
Put another way: You don't have to believe that a rust-colored calf could bring about the end of the world — or that 72 black-eyed virgins await the pious Islamic suicide bomber in paradise — but there are many people who do, and are prepared to act on that belief. This is a stubborn reality that eludes many of us in the modern, secular West, particularly those who work in the media, and who are therefore responsible for reporting and explaining the world to the masses.
Thank you, Justin, for linking to someone who's capable of discussing these subjects so plainly and even-handedly, without the least excess of undue rancor or bile.
The complete R. Drehar article:
No, I'm using an analogy to illustrate mathematics.
That phrase implies a time before which they did not exist, i.e. (3d analogy again) a height below the center of the earth, i.e. a nonsensical requirement that has nothing to do with the mathematics.
Only the readers of certain cheap novels would consider her as any authority, nay even arbiter, on what is good and what is evil.
Did it ever occur to you guys that biblical prophecy was written as a warning of things to avoid, if possible -- not a decree to obediently implement?
I, for one DON'T support Armageddon, and never will. But if it does happen, I hope it takes out its supporters along with its participants.
Well, it may come as a surprise to you, but to most normal, rational people, their religion is not their political ideology. What you choose to call 'sensible' is really just humanist hubris.
One perfect Red Heifer can now produce endless copies that can be made ready when needed.
Next issue:
"An inspired declaration of Divine will and purpose" is how a definition reads in the dictionary I have handy. I think a more accurate definition is one I've seen a few times -- "Prophecy is history written in advance."
At any rate I do not regard prophecy as "marching orders." When God says something will happen, or more so, says He will do something Himself, I don't regard that as a commission to try to make it happen or try to do it for Him. Though clearly, some do, even to the point of trying to bring in the prophesied Millenial kingdom of Jesus Christ themselves, having "interpreted" prophecy regarding it to mean a spiritual return rather than a physical return of Jesus, or even just to mean an admirable vision of extended world peace (which of course, if man attempts to bring in, means war).
The bottom line is that if the Bible is the word of the Almighty, then what is prophesied will come to pass. Period. Meaning it's just as futile to try to prevent it as it is to stand on a beach and shout at the tide not to come in. And that was the point of my reply.
So wonder why the Muslims sealed the Golden Gate in Jerusalem and put a cemetary in front of it to try to prevent the Jewish Messiah/Jesus from entering as prophesied?
Didn't work for Canute, did it? I confess to also hoping that the onrushing tide includes a double helping of Grace and divine mercy. Because there are just as many folks out there with the belief that the Koran is the 'word of the Almighty'. And that Jesus is coming back shoulder to shoulder and arm in arm with Moe Hammid.
Things could get very ugly, as they say in the movies, just before the Good Guys come charging over the hill and avert the slaughter of the innocents, a scant few moments before the credits start to roll and the Final Curtain descends...
The question is, are those Hollywood kind of production values really respected and maintained in the Larger Universe?
I know I believe one thing, that Moe Hammid was the original, pioneering puppet master/cult-supreme-leader. The first to take a free ride on the back of the Judeo-Christian tradition. All the others that have come along afterward, the L. Ron Hubbards and all the rest, should be paying him royalties. ...And maybe they will, in the First Circle.
CJ, you have given us many posted examples of your irrational 'ideologies', - your strange 'system of beliefs', -- in both venues. They are far from what any normal person would call sensible.
Thus, what you say comes as no surprise,
You believe you have knowledge.
I believe that it is used to consecrate the building of the temple. Christians who believe that in the very last days the temple will be rebuilt, would view the birth of a red heifer as another very tiny piece of the puzzle falling into place.
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