BBC News - Salman Taseer: Thousands mourn Pakistan governor

When are people going to face up to what is before their eyes? Islam is a religion of violence and death, that eschews mercy, celebrates vengeance and advances by oppression and subjugation. History shows it, current affairs demonstrate it.

The governor - a senior member of the governing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - had recently angered Islamists by appealing for a Christian woman, sentenced to death for blasphemy, to be pardoned.

Mr Gilani has declared three days of national mourning and appealed for calm.

The bodyguard, Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri, 26, was showered with rose petals by supporters as he appeared in court in Islamabad on Wednesday.

News reports carefully avoid naming Islam when reporting these things by speaking of “religious extremists” but this is inaccurate and misleading; indeed, these are weasel words. Whenever we see these reports they are Muslim Extremists. Muslims blowing up Christian churches, Muslims blowing up mosques and killing each other, Muslims bombing our cities and killing our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters.

When a Muslim leader stands up for what are called “liberal values” but what are actually “civilised values” Muslims far and wide go into their usual screaming fit of hysteria and he gets killed by his own bodyguard who, in turn, gets lauded and showered with rose petals as he appears in court.

There is no maturity, no reason, no civilised outlook and no mercy in Islam and it is time we demanded that Muslim Pakistan step up to the mark and prove itself capable of civilised involvement with the wider world. Time we stopped making excuses for a nuclear power with the mind and emotional maturity of a petulant child.

BBC News - Salman Taseer: Thousands mourn Pakistan governor

Book: John Paul II used belt to whip himself - The Vatican- msnbc.com

Oder the Postulator promotes Carol the Flagellator.

There is an unseemly rush to make John-Paul II a Saint. Files and boxes of evidence is being put together by a bloke named Monsignor Slawomir Oder to make a case and all that is needed now is evidence of a miracle attributable to John-Paul’s intervention. I just wonder how crazy this all has to get before someone cries, “Stop! ‘Christ died for sinners to bring us to God.’ He was whipped so you wouldn’t have to be.  Only God is good and a saint is someone who trusts God. Someone so filled with self-loathing that he whips himself needs a therapist not sainthood.”

At a news conference Tuesday, Oder defended John Paul's practice of self-mortification, which some faithful use to remind them of the suffering of Jesus on the cross.

"It's an instrument of Christian perfection," Oder said, responding to questions about how such a practice could be condoned considering Catholic teaching holds that the human body is a gift from God.

In the book, Oder wrote that John Paul frequently denied himself food — especially during the holy season of Lent — and "frequently spent the night on the bare floor," messing up his bed in the morning so he wouldn't draw attention to his act of penitence.

"But it wasn't limited to this. As some members of his close entourage in Poland and in the Vatican were able to hear with their own ears, John Paul flagellated himself. In his armoire, amid all the vestments and hanging on a hanger, was a belt which he used as a whip and which he always brought to Castel Gandolfo," the papal retreat where John Paul vacationed each summer.

While there had long been rumors that John Paul practiced self-mortification, the book provides the first confirmation and concludes John Paul did so as an example of his faith.

Book: John Paul II used belt to whip himself - The Vatican- msnbc.com

Government Criminalises Quid Pro Quo

In a recent post I discussed a Christian couple running a hotel in Aintree who are being prosecuted for disagreeing with a Muslim guest over issues of faith. It seems it is illegal to hold and express a view that is unpopular, especially if it contradicts the claims of Islam.

Today we discover that this micro-managing government has effectively criminalised quid pro quo! They will be picking the company we keep, the books we read and how late we stay out soon. It was GK Chesterton who declared:

“Once abolish the God, and the government becomes God”

BBC NEWS | UK | Childcare help 'could be illegal'

21 Questions About Mormonism - Secret Underwear

To find out what this series is about look here.

Q: Is there such a thing as Mormon "underwear"? if so, are all Mormons required to wear it? What does it symbolize?

A: Like members of many religious faiths, Latter-day Saints wear religious clothing. But members of other faiths — typically those involved in permanent pastoral ministries or religious services — usually wear religious garments as outer ceremonial vestments or symbols of recognition. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, garments are worn beneath street clothing as a personal and private reminder of commitments to God.

Garments are considered sacred by Church members and are not regarded as a topic for casual conversation.

C: The Mormon temple garment is issued to each Mormon when they go through their first temple endowment ceremony. It carries significant Masonic marks that mirror marks on the temple veil referred to earlier. Mormons wear these garments at all times and they act as a continuous reminder of covenants made in the temple. To not wear your temple garment is as serious an offence as can be imagined.

It is noteworthy that nothing in the Bible even hints at the wearing of such garments in relation to the every-day devotional life of Israel or of the Christian Church. Members of different faiths, both in the Bible and in history, have worn special vestments, garments or jewellery etc. designed to distinguish them in society, much as a surplice distinguishes a priest, or as a wedding ring distinguishes a married person. These are more to do with convention and custom and temple garments cannot fall into this category since there is nothing distinguishing about them because they are invisible to society.

For some the temple garment is an occasion for mirth and mockery but it is quite wrong to take such an attitude to something that is important to someone’s faith. Trivialising it also detracts from the important fact that, actually, it is a first class method of control since its presence acts as a constant reminder and sort of “silent policeman”. In a person’s most private and intimate moments its presence is a check on the wearer and can be like a bridle, reflecting perhaps the power and control leaders wish to have and their lack of trust in their followers. It must be said that it is also a profoundly effective passion killer except perhaps for those few who might get a kick out of strange underwear.

Furthermore, it imposes someone else’s definition of modesty in that you have to wear clothes that cover the substantial (neck to knee) garment. Of course modesty is a characteristic of Christian life but one elects to be modest under the influence of the Spirit and Christian teaching. This practice of imposing a standard by effectual dictate has been problematic for the church down the years as the design of the garment which, like so much Mormon doctrine and praxis was considered unchangeable, has changed, from a neck to ankle one piece item to a neck to knee two pieces, to reflect changes in fashions. It also encourages an elitist attitude in followers who regard themselves as “superior” because of their involvement in secret ceremonies and their wearing of special clothing compared to others who are not initiated as are Mormons. In all these ways it forms a real barrier on several levels.

Previous Posts:

Mormonism: A Cult?

Jesus: God the Son, or the son of a god?

Kolob: Where God Lives?

God, Mary and the 'S' Word

Jesus in America

What Every Mormon Wants: godhood

Mormon Women

 

Coming Up:

Kolobs?

In Black and White

The Elusive Gold Plates

Mormon Teachers of the Law

"Watch out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk around in long robes

And be greeted in the marketplaces

And have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts.

They devour widows' houses and for a pretence make long prayers.


They will receive the greater condemnation."

Mark 12:38-40