Emanuel Swedenborg Quotes
For the judgment was accomplished not only upon all the men of the Christian church, but also upon all who are called Mohammedans, and, moreover, upon all the Gentiles in the whole world.
Swedenborg, Emanuel. Account of the Last Judgment, and the Babylon Destroyed. American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society, 1853, p. 44.
Wycliffe had come down with a serious illness and appeared to be dying. The friars gathered at his bedside assuming that he would repent his attacks on the church, the friars and the Pope with his last rites. Instead, he pronounced this famous line. The churchmen left in disgust waiting for him to die. But he did not and vexed the established church and its representatives for a few more years. Wycliffe was castigated and had his books burned for his attacks on priests and bishops. A thousand years earlier another man was canonized as a Saint for similar attacks. See {618186}
This verse is often cited by Muslim scholars who are defending against the claim that The Koran teaches violence against non-Muslims. In this case, the Jews are admonished to kill their defeated enemies. Today many Muslims claim that Jews and Christians who believe in the Old Testament believe that the violence was justified because it was ordered by God. Therefore when God orders Muslims to kill idolaters and other enemies, it is the same thing and not reprehensible.
This is the justification that some Muslims use for the murder of prisoners of war if the war is perceived to be an attack on Allah. This for most includes Westerners.
It was a custom for suicide bombers in the Middle East to write or video record last words to loved ones.
People of this era not only saw epidemics as the wrath of God, but also saw military catastrophe, invasion and raids as a punishment of God for the sins of the people of the area.
This sura has justified major discrimination against non-Muslims so that they should never appear “preeminent” over the faithful. See for example, {617157} and {617160}.
It turned out that it was that particular forester had approved the “use” of the national forest. FDR transferred much land from the Forest Service which was cozy with large economic corporate interests to the Park Service which then was not. Later, both would be or not depending on the leadership at the time.
The juxtaposition of scenes of murder and brutality together with God and holy purposes seems foreign to us today. It is extant among some Islamic groups who exult in similar scenes while calling to God. This “barbarity” is historically not just Islamic but was typical of Christians as well. Beheading was common in the Crusades, and it is still popular among some of the Islamic extremists who look to the “old days” as a model for them today.
The Prophet Muhammad when he was the spiritual and civil leader never called for the death of anyone who insulted him. This is strictly a mania of extremist followers of Islam. However, it should be kept in mind that the Roman Catholic Church in its history murdered people for insulting the Pope or Jesus. It all stems from the Old Testament call for the execution of heretics and blasphemers.
The reason he claimed that Governor Taseer was a blasphemer was that the governor opposed death penalty for saying or writing anything that was heresy or blasphemy as interpreted be fundamentalist Muslims. The Governor knew he was taking a risk. See {620970} .
This quotation was very important because it demonstrated clearly that Hamas was not just a political party or a service organization, but was not only committed to violence and terrorism, but had more than political or territorial ambitions and objectives. Like other genocidal evil individuals and groups, an objective is to kill s particular people. What is even worse, is that this particular cleric / politician hijacks Islam—and claims that God wants the genocide to take place. This is vehemently denied by the vast majority of Muslims in the World.
At the time, most Muslims and Jews of Andalusia lived together very amicably. Ibn Hazm was a brilliant scholar of philosophy, law, theology, and science and the leading Islamic intellectual of Andalusia. However, he had one major rival, a Jew named Samuel ibn Naghrela who was just as brilliant a scholar, but also one of the best military leaders, and physicians of the kingdom. (See {623786} & {623774}) Ibn Hazm was very jealous and tried to turn the Muslim Berber King Habbus al-Muzaffar against ibn Naghrela and other Jews. The king however made Samuel ibn Naghrela his hajib (prime minister / vizier) of Grenada in 1037. He was also made military commander and excelled at both areas while continuing his scholarly activity. Samuel ibn Naghrela held his political and military positions for 17 years and both these intellectuals wrote brilliant books in several field which added to the reputation of this era as the Golden Age of Islamic Spain.
Most sophisticated Muslim theologians would not agree at all with the “permission” he quotes from the Koran. However, there is no hierarchy of belief in Islam and there are tens of thousands of Muslim imams and millions of individual Muslims who believe and teach just what this particular terrorist stated.
In the early stages of Islam, Muhammad had hoped to convert the Jews and others on the Arabian Peninsula. When they refused to be converted, he warred against them usually killing the men, and taking the women and children as slaves. The result was that non-believing tribes were “cleansed” from the Arabian Peninsula. The Muslims at the time preferred children as slaves. For then they could convert the children against their will. Adults in Islam must accept Islam in order to convert. Children are regarded as having no such maturity of decision making and therefore opposition to conversion may be ignored and they may be forced. Critics of Islam and those who argue that Islam is at odds with all other religions point to this quotation. They claim that it is the only religion whose founder and fundamental scriptures demand war against others for no other reason than that they believe in a different religion. The Catholic Church during the Crusades and the Inquisition had a similar philosophy as did Christian missionaries colonizing Africa later. One difference is that most Christians today repudiate the doctrine as against the true spirit and teachings of Christ and view it as historical error, while very few modern Muslims repudiate this quotation of the Prophet.
His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art.
The Turks could not take the city then, but they did 56 years later in 1453.
Constantine the Great. This is one of Constantine’s major defenses of his decision to adopt Christianity. Scholars today still argue as to what part practical politics played in Constantine’s conversion and what part was his personal religious conversion.
