Book of Matthew Quotes
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
New Testament, Matthew 13:57
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Al-Maarri’s quotations are not only meaningful in their own right, but they illustrate the openness and free thinking that was allowed in the early days of Islam before about 1100. If anyone wrote such things today in most Islamic countries he would at least be jailed if not executed for blasphemy. And if any Christian in Europe made the same statement, he would have been excommunicated at least if not tortured and murdered.
Five years earlier, Young had all but given up on the idea of converting Native Americans—see {619863} and {619863}. Young was very ambivalent about the Indians, at some points wanting to convert them and on others to have them removed from the area to make way for Mormon growth and development--{619865}. At this time, the Mormons and the Federal Government were at loggerheads regarding the requirement for enforcing Federal law in all territories including Utah. Young and others hoped to enlist Indian warriors in any potential battles with the army.
This quotation is one of the great religious ecumenical statements of history. Mani’s religion became extinct. Zoroaster was the prophet who founded the religion of Persia that preceded Islam and still has some followers. Like Judaism and Christianity, it is allowed under Islam as Mohammad had a large part of the Middle East who followed that religion.
Mormons had been attacked, murdered and run out of community after community. The Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, had been shot and killed. They finally came to the very inhospitable land of Utah, and built a thriving community.
The sermon was so stirring that it was published in Pittsburgh and distributed throughout the Union.
The Guru was then horribly tortured, and when he still would not convert, the Emperor had him beheaded. A new Indian Emperor, Aurangzeb, had ascended the throne of India by imprisoning his father and murdering his brothers. All the Emperors in those days were Muslims ever since the Islamic army had left Arabia and conquered most land to the East including most of India. Aurangzeb was worse than most and claimed he had a vision from God telling him that he should make everyone in the kingdom a Muslim. But about half the population was still Hindu. He decided to get the Sikh Guru to convert and then almost all would follow. The Sikhs were considered a Hindu sect at the time, and the Sikh Guru was respected by most Hindus. When the Emperor sent for the Guru, he explained that India should only have one religion, Islam, and offered the Guru much gold to convert, but if he did not do so, it would go badly for him. The Guru asked that a large pile of peppercorns be brought before them, and had it set on fire. When the fire burned out, the Guru went through the ashes and found three peppercorns intact.
There is irony in this act and statement. The film was censored because it was a defamation to Jesus Christ, who the Muslims recognize as a holy Prophet. See {620971} . However, ultra-fundamentalist Muslim clerics preach hate and desecration of Christianity, Judiasm, and Hinduism commonly. None are ever prosecuted in Pakistan. Books and pamphlets excoriating Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Bhai prophets are common place in Pakistan. Ironically, this banned film was called for by the Catholic Church.
This quote is significant for several reasons. First, it illustrates the theological dimension of the Saudi Arabian kingdom where the Royal Family maintains its position by always accommodating and financing the Wahabi fundamentalist version of Islam. Second, it shows how difficult it is for modern science to be taught and understood in fundamentalist Islamic societies. Third, it illustrates a historically classic repressive logic: He who disagrees with the current religious orthodoxy is disagreeing with the espousers of that religion. And if the espousers are wrong, they are lying. Therefore the dissenter is accusing God and his prophets of being liars. That is blasphemy and an insult to all believers. Last, it illustrates the parallel between Islam and Christianity in development. The latter is 700 years older than Islam, and about that long ago, the Roman Catholic Church repressed Galileo for claiming that the Earth was not the center of the universe.
Note that this point of view is somewhat anti-scientific. However, Mormonism is not monolithic. See {625544} .
The Inquisition had tortured De Molay and his fellow Templars forcing them to confess to blasphemy, homosexuality and other capital crimes. Finally De Molay was sentenced to be burned at the stake. At the last moment he confessed to having lied under torture.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
The consequence was just the opposite. The Mormons have thrived in America despite vicious Anti-Mormon violence and discrimination.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Prophecy makes people face the prospect of change. As with new technology, it often brings creative destruction along with the changes.
The Gospel according to Matthew (Greek: Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ματθαῖον, romanized: Euangélion katà Matthaîon), also called the Gospel of Matthew, or simply Matthew, is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and forms a community of disciples, how Israel becomes divided and how Jesus condemns this hostile Israel, of how this culminates in his departure from the Temple and his execution; at this point the whole people reject Jesus, and on his resurrection he sends the disciples to the gentiles.
