Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Here is a site dedicated to posting stories of the discrimination against Christians in Europe. I offer it as evidence of my contention that we are facing a major clash of cultures/religions in the near future here in Canada as well. Observatory - Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians

"Part Mother Teresa, part Rambo." Any woman who could be so described is worth reading about! Heroic, Female and Muslim - NYTimes.com

I pray that Canada and the USA will heed these lesson being offered in Europe and will be more demanding of Muslims to respect the rules of our cultures. If we follow the path of pure appeasement as Europe has done (although France is trying if not yet succeeding in this struggle) we will face these same crises here. Religious tolerance is key in our countries... tolerance tied to respect for the law (including property laws).  Catholic Culture : Latest Headlines : Muslim demonstration inside cathedral was not offensive to Catholics, Spanish court rules

Hooray!!! There is justice in the land after all! City plans to bill pastor for security around planned Quran burning - CNN.com

Donald Trump is scheduled to appear on the Larry King Show on CNN this evening to discuss his offer to purchase the Manhattan property near Ground Zero upon which the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his Muslim brethren intend to build the ‘Cordoba Center’, an Islamic cultural and religious center. While supporters of the project state that it little more than an ‘bridge building’ effort to the Christian west, an Islamic YMCA, its’ opponents characterize it as an insult to those thousands who perished on 9/11 and a threat to religious peace and civil liberties. They point to Youtube videos purporting to show how Islamists have intimidated and effectively taken over neighborhoods within Europe in which they impose Sharia Law upon the women under their control, in open contravention of the rule of law. Most analysts and media commentators are calling this little more than a publicity stunt with Trump using the occasion to market himself. It need not be so. In fact, if he were to follow ...

One of the greatest gifts the RC Church brings to modern debates is the corporate memory of over 2000 years of successes and failures. It has seen cultures and countries rise and collapse. It has witnessed umpteen social experiments in personal and cultural liberties and restrictions. It has participated in some of histories greatest and worst events. Alas, these gifts are not appreciated in a world that demands instant answers and solutions. Yet I suggest that even if one does not hold to the church's  teachings and practices, one would be well served to at least give due consideration to the wisdom she offers lest we fall victim to that old dictum about repeating the errors of history. The 24/7 news channels are great at creating a sense of urgency. The internet is fantastic at offering immediate opinion and comment. Yet as we face a multitude of cultural and international crises (especially in this post 9/11 world) it is careful reflection and reason that is needed to ensure t...

Obama bases his position on the principle of religious freedom. Good move! Obama endorses building a mosque near Ground Zero - The Globe and Mail

Today is a fruitful one on the internet. Found this tidbit on the National Post, Holy Blog. ------------------ by Barneyrubble Jan 26 2010 4:33 PM I live in a part of Canada that does have a Muslim population. I don't see too many burkas though. When I see them I think they are strange looking however, kind of like a Jew wearing a skull cap or a Hindu wearing a turban - or even a Christian with a cross dangling about his or her neck. Religion is weird if you are not part of it. As an atheist I have taught myself to respect other peoples' ideas about religion, however.  I know that they believe strongly in the things that they do. Is it my right or my duty to make them conform to my way of thinking? I don't think so. I guess that is why I continue to be proud to live in a country that respects the rights of individuals and in their right to express themselves and to carry on in their own ideas regarding faith and religious dres...

The threads of commentary on the internet is polluted with those who refuse to grant to Muslims the rights of religious freedom, opting instead for a "tit for tat" policy. While I grant that we are in the midst of clash of cultures and convictions, I question both the efficacy and the appropriateness of their strategy in the conduct of this war. In short: I agree with their cause for concern, but I believe that the actual reading of history, as seen through the lens of the historical memory of the church, leads to an understanding of the most effective and proper manner in which cultures have both succeeded and failed in negotiating a peaceful coexistence. Society ignores her advice at its own peril. Let's just for a moment, consider the following. In this Time Magazine article , we gain some perspective with which measure the level of fear and hysteria which is inflamed by those who pretend to be 21st manifestations of Winston Churchill. First we demonize, then we open...

In the wake of the mass murders at Fort Hood(Texas), there have been a number of posts/stories on the internet about the implications of the shooter being a practicing Muslim. Victor Davis Hansen of the Online National Review muses whether or not the act of the shooter was an example of "al Qaedism", a term he has coined for when Muslims face a spontaneous rage in response to a sense of personal failure or impotence (not sexually but personal none the less) which is united with the trials of the Islamic faith in the modern world. He points out that this seems to have been the force behind the 24 attempted or realized attacks of this nature since 9/11. Rick Santorum from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (Washington DC) addressed the structural "flaw" (my term, not his) within the Islamic faith that impedes the application of the separation of Church and State which has been the hallmark of western Christianity, one of the societal fruits of the Enlightenment. ...