Orthodixie

Madonna (not this one) said:

“I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.”

Yes, well … no.

Story.

“A recent topic in the news has been the remarks of Pope Benedict XVI at Regensburg University. Well, to be accurate, his remarks have not been in the news so much as the reaction of the moslem world. We in the west see clearly the irony of moslems who use violence to demonstrate that Islam is not inherently violent! What we westerners, we Catholics, and dare I say we Anglicans do not see clearly is the point that his holiness was trying to make in his brief speech. He was addressing not Islam but Europe and America, and asserting that our failure in the West is the error of secularism. Secularism, of course, is the error of attempting to separate faith from the rest of our lives. Especially in America we face a culture that views religion as a private affair and tries to relegate all religious discourse to private venues. Christians, of course, know better. We know that our relationship to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit is not something we can keep sequestered away in some little closet or other out-of-the-way part of our lives. Our faith, if it is to be at all real, must be the compass that guides our actions, the map that charts our course, and the force that sustains our being. The biggest enemy of Christianity, bigger even than the false imaginings of Islam, is secularism. Rather than trying to compartmentalize our lives we should try even harder to ensure that our religion spreads into our work, our study, our friendships.”

From Anglo-Catholic Musings — thanks to FWD from blog reg, Keith.

“As the world’s attention is drawn to events in the war against terrorism, the focus is on disturbing extremism expressed by militant factions of Islam. Reports are filed almost daily on terrorist activities breaking out with alarming regularity in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.

While in determined pursuit of terrorists responsible for 9/11, the U.S. and its allies find themselves entangled in an ideological confrontation with the Islamic world whose borders transcend national boundaries. As the bulwark of religious freedom, the U.S. still treads carefully, referring to the attack on the supposedly peaceful Muslim religion. Ironically, many Islamic leaders continue to interpret this assault from the West as one against Islam; they traditionally regard non-Muslims as historic enemies anyway with whom they are in a perpetual state of Jihad (armed struggle for the advancement of Islam), according to the Koran. And the U.S. is viewed as one of the remaining infidel strongholds in the world.

This chilling revelation flies in the face of the politically comfortable notion that extremism is the way of only a “few fanatics or fundamentalists.” A trip back to the 14-Century history of Islam reveals a record filled with genocidal wars against non-Muslims … In the brutal Islamization process historical nations and cities in Anatolia lost their names and their heritage. The people living there for centuries … were destroyed, driven out, or forced into degrading dhimmitude — a demeaning condition of cultural and religious bondage.

This condition of conquered Christians does allow for an ultimate religious conversion — from Christians to Muslims …”

— Taken from the preface of The Janissary Factor … in the Name of God, a novel by Steven P. Stamatis.

And now … an opposing view.

The following tips are [excerpted] from Mother Pelagia of Lesna Convent, who prefaces them with the remark: “Orthodox families train their children from a very early age to acquire religious habits, in some of which I was myself, as a Protestant, brought up.”

1 – Prayers are said morning and evening, either together as a family or individually.

2 – A blessing (grace, we called it) is said by the head of the family before a meal, and a prayer of thanks afterward.

3 – On entering a room where there is an icon, cross yourself before it and say a brief prayer.

4 – When leaving one’s dwelling, make the sign of the cross over the door and pray for its protection.

5 – On seeing a priest, abbot or abbess, or even when phoning them or writing to them, always ask their blessing.

6 – Before going to bed, make the sign of the cross over it and pray for protection during sleep.

7 – When you hear of anyone’s death, immediately say a prayer for their eternal memory.

8 – If discussing or planning the future say: “As God wills.”

9 – If you offend or hurt anyone, say as soon as possible, “Forgive me,” always trying to take the blame yourself.

10 – If something turns out well, say “Praise be (to God).”

11 – If something turns out badly, if there is pain, sickness or any kind of trouble, say “Praise be to God for all things,” since God is all good and, though we might not understand the purpose of these things, undoubtedly they have been permitted by God.

12 – If you begin some task, say, “God help me,” or of someone else’s working: “May God help you.” (How sad that this expression is so perverted in the modern exclamation “God help you!”)

13 – Cross yourself and say a brief prayer before even the shortest journey by car.

14 – When you receive a blessing after prayer, always remember to thank God; it if is a small thing, you may add a prayer of thanksgiving to your daily prayers or make and offering. For matters of greater import, ask a priest [for a special remembrance such as] … the Thanksgiving Molieben.

But NEVER neglect to give thanks.

Compiled from The Shepherd.

Question: What was the intended outcome of the Pope’s words (quoted or otherwise) on Islam? And, for all Christians, what should now be our response?

GetReligion’s got links to links.

Some may have to deal with the outcome more than others.

Did you hear about the new church in Afghanistan?

Are our views on the Muslim-Rage-of-the-Moment forming us or just scaring us?

Then there’s this new cartoon controversy.

One last question: How are the Evangelical-Enough-to-work-for-the-Apocalypse-Crowd dealing with this? (I mean, there was a time when they believed the Pope to be playing for the other side.)

Blipverts: A blipvert is a high speed commerical condensed into a few seconds. It becomes embed in the viewers mind. It brings up ratings because it prevents the viewer from changing the channel.

In “Max Headroom,” Blipverts are super-compressed TV ads that have the unfortunate side effect of exploding your head.