www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall bin Laden tape

Menkalinan,

Perhaps you are their LaFayette? Perhaps the courageous bin Ladin is their George Washington?

Where do you teach history?

Dan L

To equate Islam with American Revolutionaries can work on some levels. They both fought for a cause in which they believed.

1. American Presidents did claim an entire continent as their own even before they had set foot on it.

Islam claims the entire world as their own. Many are willing to kill to claim the entire world and many others cheer them on.

2. Our American anscestors did subjugate other peoples, blacks and Native Americans, as they dominated them.

Islam has done this with all other groups they've dominated for fourteen hundred years.

I guess we are pikers by comparison.

While it is true that the Byzantine Empire could be very nasty with their Dhimmi the Muslims learned from them and did an even better job of it.

Now let's bring it up to date. If the Libyans hadn't changed their ways and if we had sent troops of occupation into Libya after they did then I would think the West is no better than Islam. But we didn't and the Libyans did.

If the Afghanistanis had fought against us as ferociously as they did against the USSR and if they had not flocked to the polls but had rejected the elections out of hand then I would say that we were wrong and those who see bin Ladin as a righteous freedom fighter were right. But that is not what happened.

If Saddam Hussein had not murdered his own people and their had not been people within Iraq who were willing to step forward and form a new government I would think we were wrong and bin Ladin and his defenders were correct. However, that is not what happened. Hussein was a butcherer and courageous people have stepped forward to form a new Iraq.

If Muslims either accepted Christ as God or were willing to have their own religion without trying to kill us then I would say they are no danger. Since they reject Christ as God and are willing to kill us then they are a danger.

There must be some reason that the Wahhabists who really control Saudi Arabia have not found a way to make life better for all Muslims with all of the oil revenue pouring into that country but instead use their resources to kill people. I wonder what it is?

Dan L

I believe you misunderstand me. I am in no way defending terrorist actions or condoning their mindset. I oppose such things as utterly as I believe that Christ is my God.

If the reasons for invading Iraq were his butchering of innocent people, then why didn't we invade in the 80s when he perpetrated these crimes? As I recall, the U.S. backed Saddam because he was fighting Iran at the time.

Menk,

Thanks for the clarification. I have the same questions. There's alot of wickedness and self interest in politics. Why didn't we wipe out the government of Khartoum 20 years ago? Why didn't we intervene in Rwanda over a decade ago?

We are a generous people in many ways, but we are also a selfish people. I enjoy our modern conveniences but recognize that they exist in part not only upon our ingenuity but upon the backs of many people outside our country. At the same time I recognize that our form of government if exported could be helpful to people mired in poverty and that we give away many many things to poorer countries.

M. Scott Peck said, "Life is difficult" and so it is.

Dan L