Christian jihadists?

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Irvine511

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[q]Some Indians want 'Da Vinci' banned, one offers bounty for author

Anto Akkara

New Delhi (ENI). Some Indian Christians are so incensed with the fictional blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" they want the government to ban it and one Roman Catholic has offered a bounty of US$25 000 on the head of author Dan Brown, leaving other members of the faithful embarrassed by the reaction.

The Mumbai Catholic Council has threatened to stop the screening of the movie if the government fails to ban the recently released movie of the book. Another group called the Catholic Social Forum has said if the shows go ahead it will launch a death fast from 12 May.

Nicolas Almeida, a Catholic and former Mumbai municipal councillor, offered a reward of 1.1 million rupees ($25 000) for the head of author Brown, leading a Catholic journalist to compare Almeida to the Taliban.

Still, the autonomous Delhi Commission for Minorities joined Christian groups like the All India Christian Council calling for a ban on the movie.

The commission said the Da Vinci Code is "sheer blasphemy" and that it has "deeply upset Christian sentiments", in appealing on 10 May to the federal Censor Board to deny screening permission for the movie.

"In a country like ours where vicious propaganda is used against Christian minorities by Hindu bigots, the movie will be handy for them to tarnish our image," Arnold James, a Church of North India member and Christian representative in the Commission, told Ecumenical News International.

http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http://www.eni.ch/articles/display.shtml?06-0391

[/q]
 
And we are surprised why? The people of the book all believe in the same imaginary friend - which is marginally less crazy than believing in multiple imaginary friends :wink:
 
Some Indian Christians are so incensed with the fictional blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" they want the government to ban it and one Roman Catholic has offered a bounty of US$25 000 on the head of author Dan Brown, leaving other members of the faithful embarrassed by the reaction.

:banghead:
 
I've seen off-the-wall reaction to this book and movie, but this takes the brass cigar. People like this make me embarrassed to be a Catholic. Heck, I read "The Da Vinci Code" and it was just a book to me.
 
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Bounty? Sheer stupidity and unacceptable. But I’m sure you understand how some can be offended – and take it to a higher level when they see an offense to a Holy God.
 
nbcrusader said:
Bounty? Sheer stupidity and unacceptable. But I’m sure you understand how some can be offended – and take it to a higher level when they see an offense to a Holy God.



should we have the same understanding for those who issued the fatwah on Rushdie?
 
Irvine511 said:
should we have the same understanding for those who issued the fatwah on Rushdie?

No - you missed the separate responses I made for (i) seeking affirmative harm and (ii) being offended.

In either case, wanting to harm others is wrong.
 
nbcrusader said:


No - you missed the separate responses I made for (i) seeking affirmative harm and (ii) being offended.

In either case, wanting to harm others is wrong.



sorry -- the two responses appeared linked with the "but" acting as a connector between the two thoughts, one qualifying the other. as in, it is wrong to harm people, but we can understand why people want to.

should we extend more sympathy and understanding to those who feel offense in regards to their religion, as opposed to others who take offense at perceived insults to their race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or country of origin?
 
Irvine511 said:
should we extend more sympathy and understanding to those who feel offense in regards to their religion, as opposed to others who take offense at perceived insults to their race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or country of origin?

That is probably a source of great disconnect in many discussions.

While faith may be viewed as a choice by many, from a Christian perspective there are two things in play. First, God draws us to himself. We still make a choice to accept Jesus as Lord, but we also see Scripture that tells us that it is not fully our choice - so we cannot boast about how clever we are for choosing Jesus.

Second, once you have accepted faith, it is not a condition that can be turned on and off. There is a real meaning to the term "born again" which describes a new, unchangeable state of existence. You can't lose your faith (though you can live outside God's Will).

Third, when it comes to the object of the offense, I am more offended by the irreverent than the personal attack. I know to expect the personal attack. And what is my response in these situations? Prayer for those who attack or teaching opportunity for those who face similar experiences.

I know this is interwoven with theological concepts, but I believe you wanted to understand this from the perspective of a person of faith.
 
nbcrusader said:
I know this is interwoven with theological concepts, but I believe you wanted to understand this from the perspective of a person of faith.



that was very interesting, thanks for your perspective.

am a bit confused about #3 -- what do you mean by being more offended by "the irreverent"?

also, do you think, then, that faith must be viewed as an immutable human characteristic such as race, gender, ethnicity, and (most would argue) sexual orientation?
 
Irvine511 said:
am a bit confused about #3 -- what do you mean by being more offended by "the irreverent"?

also, do you think, then, that faith must be viewed as an immutable human characteristic such as race, gender, ethnicity, and (most would argue) sexual orientation?

I would say I take a "high view" of God. The attributes of Holy, Perfect, Righteous, etc. are integral to my view of God. When I hear the casual profane use of God's name, it strikes me as irreverent.

As to your second question, I would say that faith (in contrast to religion), in my opinion, is an immutable characteristic.
 
nbcrusader said:
As to your second question, I would say that faith (in contrast to religion), in my opinion, is an immutable characteristic.



for you or for everyone?

people can lose their faith, or they can find their faith. can you do the same thing with race, gender, etc.?
 
nbcrusader said:
As a matter of Christian doctrine, you cannot lose your faith. You can stop living your faith, but you don't lose your faith.



but doesn't this beg the question -- if you do indeed lose your faith, you then cease to be a Christian? if so, what happens to the immutability of faith? or is faith only immutable for Christians?
 
Well, I'd say the question is: what does someone mean when they say "I've lost my faith". Is is a temporary straying? Is it a case where the person never had faith (but lived mechanically within the confines of a religious tradition)?
 
nbcrusader said:
Well, I'd say the question is: what does someone mean when they say "I've lost my faith". Is is a temporary straying? Is it a case where the person never had faith (but lived mechanically within the confines of a religious tradition)?


i would say that having "lost one's faith" means that one no longer believes (and since it is a matter of belief, we have no evidence for these things) in either Jesus as a savior or, to go further, that there is a Creator/God/Supreme Being.

are you saying that "true" faith would never leave, for if it leaves, it wasn't "true" in the first place?

sort a silly example -- but remember "Signs"? the Mel Gibson character was a preacher of some sort, but had lost his beloved wife in a car accident and this caused him to lose his faith. ignoring the rest of the movie, and using that as a jumping off point, is someone of faith who loses their faith due to circumstance a charlatan? is it that a person who goes from having faith to agnosticism or atheism due to a variety of reasons (trauma, personal reflection, personal revelation, intellectual pursuit) was never in possession of "true" faith to begin with?
 
I just dug this off my HD, it was a protest picture from Turkey over the Mohammed Cartoons ~ one could say that Muslims and Christians have a lot more in common than some make out.

28743capt_ist10702051440_turkey_denmark_prophet_drawings_ist107.jpg


Caption reads: "We Love Jesus Too" with the sign on the right having a Cresent and Crucifix united in peace over a burning Star of David.

United in faith no doubt :wink:
 
A_Wanderer said:
ICaption reads: "We Love Jesus Too" with the sign on the right having a Cresent and Crucifix united in peace over a burning Star of David.

United in faith no doubt :wink:



i bet they just watched "The Passion."
 
A_Wanderer said:
I just dug this off my HD, it was a protest picture from Turkey over the Mohammed Cartoons ~ one could say that Muslims and Christians have a lot more in common than some make out.

A common theological error. I've met plenty of Muslims and Christians who believe that they worship the same God.

Nothing like trying to pretend you have an ally in your campaign of hatred.
 
nbcrusader said:


A common theological error. I've met plenty of Muslims and Christians who believe that they worship the same God.

Nothing like trying to pretend you have an ally in your campaign of hatred.
Muslims still see Jesus as a prophet of their God. How is their monotheism different than Christian monotheism?
 
First, how Islam defines God is fundamentally different that Christianity. Second, Christians are still considered infidels in the eyes of Islam.

The words used are the same, but they have different meanings.
 
Your considered infidels because you don't acknowledge the final revelations from God, Islam sees itself as a progression and in societies under Islamic law people of the book are in theory allowed to continue practicing their faith as dhimmis.
 
A_Wanderer said:
And we are surprised why? The people of the book all believe in the same imaginary friend - which is marginally less crazy than believing in multiple imaginary friends :wink:

Great post!!!
 
To me it's not a matter of all Muslims. I've already posted this link, but I think this particular Muslim worships the same God I do.
http://www.mevlana.net

Take a look at the site and you'll see why. This guy is revered by Christians and Jews as well as Muslims.
By the same token, I don't think the Wahhabist Muslims who label me an infidel are worshipping the same God I am. In fact, I think they are worshipping Wahhab, not God.
 
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