Offending Muslims - Jews and Christians: Racism: Intolerance: Immigration and Assimilation: Political Correctness.What I think is interesting about the Danish Cartoon debacle, is that the Muslim world has managed to manipulate the event and get people cowering, a feat that no Jew or Christian has managed in relation to the horrendous 'religious sacrilege' that every so often raises its' head under the banner of 'freedom of artistic expression'. Europe’s abandonment of the Judeo-Christian foundations of its culture during the last century has left it devoid of any firewall against the enormous encroaching pressures of militant Islam. We stand at the junction of two crossroads. One is called Hypocrisy, and the other called Truth. The Muslim world has backed us into a corner
Now that the title has your attention, I must inform you that this article is not about a Judeo-Christian war on Islam over the Danish cartoons, even if such is likely to soon take place, judging by the article Cartoonish Hypocrisy : Co-Authored by J. Peter Pham
Hamas, the freshly-elected majority in the PA legislature, graphically peddles on its website the notion that God demands the killing of Jews, and promises entry into paradise to those who would carry out that diabolical command: "We shall knock on heaven's doors with the skulls of Jews."
In the Magic City article entitled: America Must Preserve Its Culture By Christopher Adamo, Mr Adamo points out that... "To date, few if any American newspapers have published the disputed cartoons. Yet these same individuals would immediately sound a clarion call if any Christian organization were perceived to be flexing its muscles in an attempt to similarly influence society....Europe’s abandonment of the Judeo-Christian foundations of its culture during the last century has left it devoid of any firewall against the enormous encroaching pressures of militant Islam. Certainly its insipid and fanciful premises of “social justice” and post-modernism are no match for Islamic zeal."
The issue I raise today is one of hypocrisy; the hypocrisy that says it is not OK to offend Muslims but it is OK to offend Jews and Christians.
When Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' came out there was quite a bit of negative media coverage, so I went out and bought a copy (took me three weeks to get it to open - a common occurrence here in China), and having watched it, wondered what all the fuss was about.
The fuss of course was about treading on people's toes and giving offense. In "What Is a Picture of Muhammad, Anyway?" By Robert McHenry he points out that taking offense is often a choice by those seeking the moral high ground, or by those wanting to gain some leverage over others.
He writes: 'The case of unwitting offense (perpetrated by person A) clearly and properly places the onus on (person) B. B has choices. B can say, "You know, in our tradition we don't do that." He can say "There are those who would be quite provoked by what you have said [or done]." He can even ignore the whole incident. Or, of course, he may choose -- choose -- to indulge in an emotional outburst ranging in fervor from a rebuke to a rebellion.'
As far a Muslim offense at the Danish cartoons is concerned, what we have failed to understand is the importance that Muslims place on the religious life, and for them, there is no demarcation line between the secular and religious.
What I think is interesting about the Danish Cartoon debacle, is that the Muslim world has managed to manipulate the event and get people cowering, a feat that no Jew or Christian has managed in relation to the horrendous 'religious sacrilege' that every so often raises its' head under the banner of 'freedom of artistic expression'.
If we were to apply a western more sanitary version of the Muslim reaction to religious sacrilege, then maybe we too could reclaim some of the lost respect for our religions, and more than that, a respect for our traditional national cultures. We could for instance decide that These infidels should be cast out from amongst us; their public accreditations stripped; left with no place to hide or find work; no place from which they could escape public scorn and derision. It would be justified, as these people care nothing for our society, our traditions, our heritage, and we likewise should care nothing for them. They are not one of us!
We stand at the junction of two crossroads. One is called Hypocrisy, and the other called Truth. The Muslim world has backed us into a corner, and if we don't come out fighting them, but instead, cower before their great and terrible might, then we are hypocrites to continue to permit the ongoing public humiliation of our religious and therefore cultural heritage.
If the Muslims win this battle of religious and political correctness, then it is time for the religious folk in the West to stand up and act in similar manner to reclaim our own lost dignity.
So next time you hear someone running down someone for being religious, start up a campaign designed to disempower that complainer. Next time someone demands the removal of some religious icon, or worse, who defiles such an icon, raise all merry hell. Plaster their picture all over town, boycott their stores, work places, schools etc until they apologise for their behaviour.
If freedom of expression is a democratic right, the non believers have a right to express their non belief in any way they choose. But if these recent events are anything to go by, we will soon be required to have one standard of 'democratic freedom of expression' in relation to all things Muslim, and quite another in relation to all things Judeo-Christian.
Is that acceptable?
For the time being, whilst it is still permitted me, let me leave you with a depiction from a Muslim site, which I think is both funny and offensive.
"The Patriarchs' Route" in Gush Etzion also passes through an area known as Netzer, located between the Elazar and Alon Shvut communities. The Netzer area is built on terraces that assemble a spectacularly beautiful, green mosaic; green grapes twining alongside old olive trees in plots of varying shapes and sizes, and in the pre-Spring season the Netzer space looks like a Claude Monet masterpiece: the green background is spotted with the pink and white of the almond trees at the peak of their bloom. But this pastoral bubble bursts the moment we 'zoom-in' on the photo, then we discover a real battle for this land and the future of the country, with the innocent plants often standing like soldiers on the frontline.
A key portion of the meeting was White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) Director Cecilia Munoz outlining President Obama's overall immigration reform proposal that includes creating a pathway to citizenship for up to 11-million illegal aliens. In my discussion with the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Border Security, I mentioned that a potential "State of State Emergency" might be unfolding, and deliberate steps might have to be taken by the State of Arizona to protect its' own sovereignty and welfare."
When we arrived, we noted that this place really was a resort centre. It had wave pools and other interesting things for people to enjoy, and even accommodated school tour groups with dormitory style accomodation. Opposite the breakfast room was a swimming complex, in the front of which was a very interesting sign. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring my .38 Smith and Wesson. When we went in for breakfast, we saw that the next room was set up for a wedding, and discovered that it was 'our' wedding reception. Taking a 'sticky beak', I noted that there were no knives on any of the tables. 'Ahah! Thank God I brought that solid clear plastic knife with me!'.. The whole time before and after the actual church service, the local beggars were inside the church hitting everyone for money. Oh the guilt of refusing a pittance for the poor in the house of God, but I was advised to give no one anything, for that would be more effective than the 'last trump' for the dead. All the beggars would arrive. Not that this mattered at all. Who was carrying money?
A Male Steward came off the plane and walked over to me and said: "It's alright! We aren't going to leave without you! Calm down! Catch your breath!" The 'So and So' was right. It was still another 30 minutes before we took off! I on the other hand was watching the driver through his rear view mirror. He seemed to be blinking an awful lot and his driving was a little erratic. Not that that is unusual in China, but when you are on the highway and you have 3 or 4 lanes to choose from and very little traffic, you would think that you could drive in at least one or two of those lanes for more than 500 meters at a time.
Anyway, I was not the kind of child that hung around and did nothing. I had to have my own adventures and make discoveries of this new place we were to call our home away from home. There was a huge Combined British Military Hospital and a Family Hospital attached to it. At first I avoided the Military Hospital, because the nurses and the orderlies who saw me loitering around might question me and then report this to my father who was the officer in charge.
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
The Principle of Linear Causality
The King's Calendar is a very simple approach to Biblical Chronology. It substitutes a value of 336 days for every year listed in Scripture. As far as the Divided Kingdom is concerned, when you use this 336 day year value, the synchronisms actually work. To see how effective this method is, SEE:Appendix 5: Diagrammatic Reconstruction of Israelite History from 936 to 586 BCE
Because it is a mathematical system, the King's Calendar must abide by certain mathematical rules, the most important of which, is that if you change any date for any day, month, or year every other day, month, or year is effected and must also change. It's like a 'domino effect'. Chronological references cannot be 'forced' to fit, and nor can they simply be ignored or 'compressed' as is the usual case with historians and archaeologists.
If any King's Calendar chronological determination disagrees with anything in the history books, it must argue the case as to why the history books are wrong, or why the evidence for an assertion is untrustworthy. If the King's Calendar successfully defends its' position, then the history books cannot be treated as definitive, and if the King's Calendar is 'proven' wrong, then every other chronological reference it provides is also wrong.
Because of this, the King's Calendar Chronological Reconstruction of Israel's history is unique, in that its' methodology can be scientifically (mathematically) tested and demonstrated to be either true or false. Its' chronological predictions are able to be 'proved' or 'disproved'.
