It is a message of Christianity that is as old as Christ -- indeed, in the New Testament is is presented as "seek ye first the Kingdom of God." Ad the many young pilgrims who traveled to Sydney, Australia for the World Youth Day celebration with Pope Benedict XVI heard the pontiff restate it for them.

Indeed, he noted that placing the spiritual before the material was the key to bringing about the renewal of our modern society.

"In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair," the pontiff said.

Quite true -- indeed, we see the results of that emptiness every day in news reports and popular entertainment that rejects the values of God.

Sadly, the need to focus on the sensational over the spiritual was demonstrated by AP and CNN, when they recast their article to focus not on the message but on a meeting with a small group of victims of clergy abuse and the complaints by Church critics that they were not included. Perhaps the most obvious sign of this was CNN's change of headline -- from

Pope: 'Spiritual Desert' Growing Across World

Pope meets abuse victims in Australia

After all, it would never do to focus on the Good News when the salacious is available.

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What have they done? The same thing as always -- put out textbooks that peddle hatred. Oh, and by the way, they are used in at least one school operating under the auspices of the Saudi embassy almost within the shadow of the US Capitol itself!

What is included in these books?

They assert that unbelievers, such as Christians, Jews, and Muslims who do not share Wahhabi beliefs and practices, are hated "enemies." Global jihad as an "effort to wage war against the unbelievers" is also promoted in the Ministry's textbooks: "In its general usage, 'jihad' is divided into the following categories: ...Wrestling with the infidels by calling them to the faith and battling against them." No argument is made here that such references to jihad mean only spiritual and defensive struggles.

Lessons remain that Jews and Christians are apes and swine, Jews conspire to "gain sole control over the world," the Christian Crusades never ended, the American universities of Cairo and Beirut are part of the continuing Crusades, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are historical fact, and on Judgment Day "the rocks or the trees" will call out to Muslims to kill the Jews.

They teach that it is permissible for a Muslim to kill an "apostate," an "adulterer," and those practicing "major polytheism." Shiites are among those identified as "polytheists." One lesson states that "it is not permissible to violate the blood, property, or honor of the unbeliever who makes a compact with the Muslims," but is pointedly silent on whether security guarantees are extended to non-Muslims without such a compact. Other lessons demonize members of the Baha'i and Ahmadiyya groups.

A lesson from a tenth grade text now posted on the Saudi Ministry's website sanctions the killing of homosexuals and discusses methods for doing so.
In the lessons examined in this report, the Saudi government discounts or ignores passages in the Qur'an to support tolerance.

Yeah, that's right -- "queer killing" is a part of the official curriculum of Saudi schools, including the one operating in Fairfax County, Virginia! And the Saudis must be proud of that fact, since they highlight that lesson on their Education Ministry's official website.

Now just imagine the howls or outrage if there were a Christian school operating with a curriculum even half that outrageous. The school would quickly lose its accreditation, the relevant state and local governments would step in to close the place down, and the children would be taken into state custody because of their parents' educational neglect. But nothing even close to that has happened with regards to The Islamic Saudi Academy. While there have been requests for a State Department investigation, those have come only after those who questioned the schools operation have been accused of slander and labeled as bigots and hatemongers by those requesting the investigation -- even as the school's director is arrested for covering up the abuse of a student!

And remember -- this school provides the same fine education received in, and is subsidized by, our friends in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!

UPDATE: Debbie Schlussel notes this bit of information from Radar magazine -- some of the official parts of the Saudi curriculum.

What follows are excerpts from textbooks used by Saudi children during the 2007-2008 school year, which really illustrate the House of Saud's devotion to tolerance, peace, and interfaith understanding. It'll also help explain why a Saudi conference is being held in Spain.

1st Grade
"Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words—(Islam, hellfire)
'Every religion other than ____ is false. Whoever dies outside of Islam enters ____.'"

5th Grade
"A Muslim is forbidden to love and aid the unbelieving enemies of God...."

"Which of the following should you love in God, and which of them should you hate in God?
Example: One of your relatives who does not pray, does not fast, and does not worship God.
Answer: I hate him in God."

"Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere effort to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will Muslims and Arabs emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God...."

8th Grade
"Lesson Goals: 1) The student notes some of the Jews condemnable qualities...."

"God told his Prophet, Mohammed, about the Jews, who learned from part of God's book that God alone is worthy of worship. Despite this, they espouse falsehood through idol worship, soothsaying and sorcery. In doing so, they obey the devil..."

"God told his Prophet Mohammed: say to those who cast aspersions on your religion: has anyone told you who will receive the harshest punishment from God on the Day of Resurrection? They are the Jews, whom God has cursed and with whom he is so angry that he will never again be satisfied. Some of the people of the Sabbath were punished by being turned into apes and swine. Some of them were made to worship the devil..."

"God punished the Jews in several ways for their unbelief and error. Explain the ways...."

9th Grade
"The prophet said, 'The hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, until the Jew hides behind rocks and trees, until the rocks or the trees say, 'O Muslim! O servant of God! There is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him'...."

"(1) It is part of God's wisdom that the struggle between the Muslims and the Jews should continue until the hour of judgment. (2) The good news for Muslims is that God will help them against the Jews in the end, which is one of the signs of the hour of judgment...."

10th Grade
"Basic Elements of Zionist Faith:
The Jews are God's chosen people and the souls of the tribe of Israel are a part of God. Other souls are Satanic souls that are like the souls of animals.
The world belongs to the Israeli. It is his right to rule and he has sovereignty over the world in his capacity as God's chosen people above all humankind...."

"How the Zionists Achieve their Goals:
Sedition, ruses, and conspiracy theories throughout history.... The First World War: the Jews played a role in starting it....
Attempting to inundate peoples with vice and rampant prostitution.... They manage bars in Europe and America, as well as in Israel itself.
Gaining control over literature and the arts; spreading degenerate pornographic literature, and encouraging perverted trends in literature, thought and art.
Gaining control over the film industry in the Western world and elsewhere.
Fraud, bribery, theft, and swindles."

"Homosexuality is one of the most disgusting sins and greatest crimes.... It is a vile perversion that goes against sound nature, and is one of the most corrupting and hideous sins.... The punishment for homosexuality is death. Both the active and passive participants are to be killed whether or not they have previously had sexual intercourse in the context of a legal marriage.... Some of the companions of the Prophet stated that [the perpetrator] is to be burned with fire. It has also been said that he should be stoned, or thrown from a high place."

11th Grade
"The Prophet said, 'Do not greet Jews and Christians with the words 'Peace be upon you.' If you come upon one of them on the road, force him to the narrower part.'"

Taught in Saudi Arabia -- and, courtesy of the Saudi Embassy, in America. Not to mention around the world.

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But remember, folks, that the radical homosexualist agenda is no threat to any of your rights under the Constitution of the United States.

Christian publisher Zondervan is facing a $60 million federal lawsuit filed by a man who claims he and other homosexuals have suffered based on what the suit claims is a misinterpretation of the Bible.

But a company spokeswoman says Zondervan doesn't translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations. Instead, she said in a statement, the company relies on the "scholarly judgment of credible translation committees."

That is to say, setting aside whether the federal civil rights lawsuit is credible, the company says Bradley Fowler sued the wrong group.

His suit centers on one passage in scripture -- 1 Corinthians 6:9 -- and how it reads in Bibles published by Zondervan.

Fowler says Zondervan Bibles published in 1982 and 1987 use the word homosexuals among a list of those who are "wicked" or "unrighteous" and won't inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Fowler says his family's pastor used that Zondervan Bible, and because of it his family considered him a sinner and he suffered.

Now he is asking for an apology and $60 million.

"To compensate for the past 20 years of emotional duress and mental instability," Fowler told 24 Hour News 8 in a phone interview.

Now wait just one minute. Do you mean to tell me that federal courts are now going to rule on the proper translation of biblical passages? That strikes me as a rather grave intrusion into a realm that the First Amendment would seem to bar. Especially when you consider that at least three other translations that I encountered and others refer to men having sex with men or "mankind" -- and therefore clearly refer to homosexual practice -- going back to at least the King James Version in the early 1600s. What's more, the English translation of Calvin's Geneval Bible refers to "buggerers" -- again, something understood at the time as a reference to homosexuality. For that matter, reference back to the book of Genesis makes it clear that the sin of Sodom, from which the term "sodomy" arises, was HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY (though some contemporary theologians attempt to reinterpret it as failure to give proper protection to guests)!

But in the end, this entire matter comes down to a theological dispute over the proper translation of the Bible and whether dynamic equivalence or formal equivalence is the proper method of translating biblical manuscripts from the ancient dead languages in which they were written in centuries past -- and, implicitly, whether the doctrinal interpretations of scriptural passages which have arisen within Christianity over the last two millennia are correct. And that, my friends, cuts straight to the heart of the First Amendment guarantees of free exercise of religion and non-establishment of religion.

Oh, and why Zondervan as the target in this lawsuit? Because they are the biggest publisher of Bibles in America, and the NIV (in its various forms) are the biggest selling text in America today, usually selling more than the venerable King James Version in any given year. Drive them and their best selling translation out of the market, and the hope would be to silence Christians in this country in the same way that Canada's human rights commissions are being used to silence them in the Formerly-Great White North.

H/T STACLU. Right Pundits

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July 06, 2008

July 05, 2008

July 02, 2008

How Not To Respond To Muslim Religious Sensitivities

If you recall, nearly three years ago there was a move in the UK to ban pictures, cartoon, and knick-knacks depicting pigs from government offices in some areas. Why? Because they were offensive to Muslims, who object to pigs on religious grounds. Those who put the ban in place (including some school boards, which banned books like Winnie the Pooh because of characters like Piglet), argued that they were merely promoting tolerance and harmony between people of different faiths -- despite the fact that it meant that a small minority were censoring the majority.

At the time, one of my commenters asked if dogs were next, given Muslim objections to dogs for similar reasons.

Guess what -- that scenario is now playing out in the UK.

A postcard featuring a cute puppy sitting in a policeman's hat advertising a Scottish police force's new telephone number has sparked outrage from Muslims.

Tayside Police's new non-emergency phone number has prompted complaints from members of the Islamic community.

The choice of image on the Tayside Police cards - a black dog sitting in a police officer's hat - has now been raised with Chief Constable John Vine.

And the local constabulary has apologized, expressing regret that they failed to consult with the department's "diversity adviser" over the matter before the card was put out to the public with the picture of Rebel, the force's new police dog.

Now come on. Like we un the US, most folks in the UK have been raised with the mentality that "Happiness is a warm puppy." Like the US, the UK is a country in which dogs are "man's best friend" and a part of the family. Why, then, apologize to the hyper-sensitive for even depicting a dog on the poster? Isn't there an obligation on the part of Muslims to recognize that the British majority does not take offense at the mere mention of the word "dog", and that they will have to deal with the reality that the majority view will be the one catered to?

Oh, yeah. This is the same country that made this decision last week, limiting the use of sniffer dogs near Muslims in London subway stations. Interestingly enough, the use of the dogs began after the 2005 bombings on that subway system -- by a group of Muslims, don't you know.

More at Lionheart, LGF, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air

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