Protestant Praise For The Pope

Pope Benedict XVI is getting a lot of heat for quoting something written in the Middle Ages. Muslims around the world are responding violently, possibly including the murder of Sister Leonela, a nun in Mogadishu. The irony seems lost on them - their violence serves to prove the veracity of what the Pope quoted. The Bishop of Rome has apologized for how people have reacted, but not for what he said. Good for the Pope!

If I hear one more politician say Islam is a religion of peace, I think I'll scream. It is not. Westernized Muslims are not being true to their faith anymore than liberal denominations that sanction homosexuality and abortion are being true to the Christian faith. Jihad is a tenet of Islam. It is not merely a philosophical allegory as some apologists would have us believe. According to Islamic tradition, the complete military subjugation of the earth is mandated by Allah.

Pope Benedict's quote from medieval writings is very important because the writing was done at a time when religious conflicts were seen as just that - religious conflicts. Today the secular western politicians who try fiercely to compartmentalize religion to a private issue without bearing on public policy cannot conceive of people being willing to blow themselves up in the name of their faith. It has to be because of their economic or educational deficits. Their poverty makes them desperate and resentful of our affluence. How many more well-educated professionals have to strap on bombs (or hijack planes) before this paradigm is abandoned?

Our Catholic brothers and sisters have a leader who spoke the truth about the Muslim threat. Here's one Protestant that is very grateful to him.