Max Power
Not Rod Carey
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RE: Religion of peace at it again
Norwegian terrorist Breivik (killed 77 and injured 150, mostly kids) and Timothy McVeigh were motivated by Christianity. Breivik called himself a "Christian crusader."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-juerg...10443.html
Quote:Many Christians cringe when Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Breivik is described as a "Christian terrorist." But that is what he is.
It is true that Breivik was much more concerned about politics and history than about scripture and religious belief. But much the same can be said about Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other Muslim terrorists. Bin Laden was a businessman and engineer, and Zawahiri was a medical doctor; neither were theologians or clergy. Their writings show that they were much more interested in Islamic history than theology or scripture, and imagined themselves as recreating glorious moments in the Muslim past in their own imagined wars.
Breivik, in his manifesto, writes of al Qaeda with admiration, as if he would love to create a Christian version of their religious cadre. Though he only occasionally quotes scripture, and admires the church in Norway largely as a cultural center for Christendom, he is captivated by Christian history. Breivik is fascinated with the Crusades and imagines himself to be a member of the Knights Templar, the crusader army of a thousand years ago. He would like to have a Christian army comparable to al Qaeda's Muslim militia.
So if bin Laden was a Muslim terrorist, Breivik is a Christian terrorist. The symbol that Breivik designed for his movement, and that was made into a medallion in India, portrays a cross penetrating a skull on which are scrawled the crescent symbol of Islam, the Marxist hammer and sickle, and the Nazi swastika. How much more Christian can you get?
Still, no one wants to think of their own religion as capable of horrible acts of violence, which is why most Muslims around the world still question whether a Muslim could possibly have perpetrated 9/11. Conspiracy theories in the Muslim world blame the CIA or the Israeli secret police.
While Muslims shirk at the implication that their religion of peace is identified with terrorism, Christians blame Islam for any terrorist act committed in its name. Why not admit that Christianity is also, alas, at times linked with terrorism?
This question arose after Christian terrorist Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. At that time and since, many Christians have refused to think of him in Christian terms. The similarities between Breivik and McVeigh are striking.
Both were good-looking young Caucasians, who imagined themselves soldiers in a cosmic war to save Christendom. Both thought their acts of mass destruction would trigger a great battle to rescue society from liberal forces of multiculturalism that allowed non-Christians and non-whites positions of acceptability. Both regretted the loss of life but thought their actions were "necessary." For that, they were staunchly unapologetic.
Their similarities even extend to the kind of explosive used in their actions. Both used a mixture of fuel oil and ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which Breivik said he needed for his farm operations. The farm, it turned out, was rented largely because it was a convenient place to test his car bombs.
And then there is the matter of dates. McVeigh was fixed on the day of April 19, the anniversary of the Waco siege. Breivik chose July 22, which was the day in 1099 that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was established during the First Crusades. The date, 2083, that is the title of his manifesto, is the date of the Battle of Vienna in which the armies of the Ottoman Empire were defeated and Europe was prevented from becoming a Muslim territory.
The threat of Islam is a dominant motif of Breivik's 1500-page manifesto, "2083: A European Declaration of Independence." The writing of a manifesto is a major difference between Breivik and McVeigh, who was not a writer. Instead, McVeigh copied and quoted from his favorite book, the novel "The Turner Diaries," written by neo-Nazi William Pierce and the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald.
But the novel McVeigh loved explains his motives in a matter eerily similar to the writings of Breivik: He thought that liberal politicians had given in to the forces of globalization and multiculturalism, and that the "mudpeople" -- non-White non-Christian non-heterosexual non-patriarchal males -- were trying to take over the country. Sympathetic Whites had to be shocked into reality by the force of an explosion signaled to them that the war had begun. These were McVeigh's ideas from "The Turner Diaries," but they were also Breivik's.
Like the Oklahoma City bombing by America's Christian terrorist, the horrible events of July 22 by Norway's Christian terrorist Anders Breivik were symbolic attempts at empowerment, aimed at showing the world that the imagined war to save Christendom had begun. It is a tragic fantasy -- that Christianity is under siege and needs to be saved -- but one that echoes throughout the world of the Christian right, and sadly erupts, at times, in terrorism.
Then there's the Iraq War, which killed hundreds of thousands of people, which had Christian overtones. Bush said it was a "mission from God" and it was revealed Rumsfeld's briefing covers to Bush had Bible quotes on them. Seriously, WTF?
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...Bible.html
Quote:Donald Rumsfeld's holy war: How President Bush's Iraq briefings came with quotes from the Bible
By Paul Thompson
UPDATED: 03:50 EST, 20 May 2009
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The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was sold as a fight for freedom against the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction.
But for former U.S. defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his elite Pentagon strategists, it was more like a religious crusade.
The daily briefings about the progress of the war that Mr Rumsfeld gave to President George W Bush were illustrated with victorious quotes from the Bible and gung-ho photographs of U.S. troops, it has emerged.
Enlarge Gung ho: This image of a jet taking off, including the words of Psalm 139-9-10, was on the briefing for March 19, 2003
The news is certain to anger Muslim critics of the invasion, whose claims that a Christian superpower was trying to overthrow an Islamic nation were rebuffed at the time by the White House.
One of the top-secret 'worldwide intelligence updates', which were hand-delivered to Mr Bush by Mr Rumsfeld, includes an image of an F-18 Hornet fighter jet roaring off from the deck of an aircraft carrier.
On it were the words of Psalm 139-9-10: 'If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast, O Lord.'
The cover of another featured pictures of U.S. soldiers at prayer with a quote from Isaiah: 'Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Here I am Lord, Send me.'
Enlarge Foolish men: Rumsfeld used biblical passages to convince Bush that America was on the right path in its invasion of Iraq
A photograph of Saddam Hussein included a quotation from the First Epistle of Peter: 'It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.'
The religious theme for briefings prepared for the president and his war cabinet was the brainchild of Major General Glen Shaffer, a committed Christian and director for intelligence serving Mr Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In the days before the six-week invasion, Major General Shaffer's staff had created humorous covers for the briefings to alleviate the stress of preparing for battle.
But as the body count rose, he decided to introduce biblical quotes.
Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush: Religious crusade in Iraq
However, many of his Pentagon colleagues were reportedly opposed to the idea, with at least one Muslim analyst said to be greatly offended.
A defence official warned that if the briefing covers were leaked, the damage to America's standing in the Arab world 'would be as bad as Abu Ghraib' - the Baghdad prison where U.S. troops abused Iraqis.
But Major General Shaffer, 61, who retired in August 2003, six months after the invasion, claimed he had the backing of the president and defence secretary. When officials complained, he told them the practice would continue because it was 'appreciated by my seniors' - Mr Rumsfeld and Mr Bush.
The briefing covers were revealed for the first time by GQ after they were leaked to the U.S. magazine by a source at the Pentagon.
Enlarge The biblical quotes were the branchild of Major General Glen Shaffer, a strongly religious man who was director for intelligence serving Mr Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mr Bush, a born-again Christian, believed the invasion was a 'mission from God'.
However, the news that his war cabinet meetings had a biblical theme will only add to criticism of the war, which has claimed the lives of around 4,300 U.S. servicemen and women since March 2003.
Another of his briefings included the words 'Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed' alongside a photo of a U.S. marine with a machine gun.
And on an image of U.S. tanks rumbling through the Victory Arch monument in Baghdad was a quote from Isaiah: 'Open the gates the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps the faith.'
Enlarge Pious: U.S. troops pray, captioned with text from Isaiah, on the front of this security briefing for George Bush
A photograph of U.S. tanks in Iraq used a further passage from Isaiah: 'Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.'
Anti-war campaigners said the images and words were used by Mr Rumsfeld to curry favour with his boss by playing on Mr Bush's devout religious beliefs.
The Reverend Barry Lynn, of the U.S. campaign group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said U.S. soldiers 'are not Christian crusaders, and they ought not be depicted as such'.
He added: 'Depicting the Iraq conflict as some sort of holy war is completely outrageous. It's tremendously damaging to America's reputation in the world.'
The Pentagon said yesterday it did not use biblical quotes on the daily briefings for President Obama.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z1p2EQYfRj
Some religion of peace.
(This post was last modified: 03-13-2012 04:42 PM by Max Power.)
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