I have it heard it said that there is no proof outside the Bible that Jesus Christ really existed. In addition to the two I have added below there are many other sources that confirm that Jesus was a true historical figure.
Cornelius Tacitus is a famous Roman historian and lived from 55-120 AD. He wrote the Annals and the Histories along with other works. From this passage we can see that he was not a Christian, Christ was a real person, was killed by Pontius Pilot, and that his death quieted Christianity for a moment before it exploded all over Judea and Rome. That is a powerful testimony for the resurrection. We continue to read about the persecution of Christians that did not end the Gospel being preached or lived out.
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.
Annals, Tacitus 15.44
Jesus is also mentioned in the Antiquities by Flavius Josephus around the year 90 AD. He was a Jewish Historian.
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.”
Antiquities 18:3
Showing posts with label Christian Study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Study. Show all posts
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Bible
The title “The Bible” means the book and I will explain to you why. Unlike many other religious books that were written by one or two men during a lifetime The Bible is a combination of 66 books written by 40 authors over 1,600 years and the last book was written 2,000 years ago! The authors range from sheppards to kings and it was written in palaces and in jails. It is the number one printed book of all time and the foundation of the largest religion in the world. Everyone who considers themselves an intellectual or seeks knowledge regarding our world should read the Bible for its importance regardless of their beliefs.
For 1800 years people have been trying to prove the Bible wrong yet it still stands strong today in its claim to be the word of God and the one true meaning of life. Some of the biggest misconceptions about the Bible are that the fulfillments of the hundreds of prophecies were added later or that the hundreds of miracles were embellished over time or never happened at all. Anyone who suggests either of these has not done his or her research.
In 1947 The Dead Sea scrolls were found in a cave. They turned out to be the oldest biblical manuscripts found by almost 1,000 years written around the third century B.C. to 68 A.D. One of the manuscripts found was a complete copy of Isaiah dated at 125 BC.
When it was compared to our earliest copy before the Dead Sea Scrolls we were astonished to find out that in 1,000 years of making copies the two were 95% textually identical. The 5% was mainly misspelling of words and did not threaten the reliability of the text. Concerning the prophecies it is important to remember that the prophecies were spoken publicly, written down and studied by the Jewish people until their fulfillment. To change the Bible sometimes hundreds of years later to fulfill a prophecy you would have to get everyone who ever read it to participate.
We have a combined copy of nearly the entire New Testament in the Chester Beatty Papyri within 150-200 years of the originals and a fragment of John dating back to just 25 years after the original. The earliest copy of Plato (Tetralogies) we have is 1,200 after the original and we only have 7 copies in all. We have over 5,000 manuscripts and portions of manuscripts of the New Testament!
Concerning the miracles being embellished acts that actually took place or lies that never happened it is improbable. The Gospel of Matthew was written by one of the disciples of Jesus. He spent years with Jesus and wrote his Gospel only 35 years after he was crucified. He describes 20 miracles performed by Jesus including many that were done in crowds of thousands of people. There was no time for the acts to be embellished or for Matthew to lie. The same people who were hearing his Gospel had either seen the miracles themselves or could ask someone who was there what happened.
For 1800 years people have been trying to prove the Bible wrong yet it still stands strong today in its claim to be the word of God and the one true meaning of life. Some of the biggest misconceptions about the Bible are that the fulfillments of the hundreds of prophecies were added later or that the hundreds of miracles were embellished over time or never happened at all. Anyone who suggests either of these has not done his or her research.
In 1947 The Dead Sea scrolls were found in a cave. They turned out to be the oldest biblical manuscripts found by almost 1,000 years written around the third century B.C. to 68 A.D. One of the manuscripts found was a complete copy of Isaiah dated at 125 BC.
When it was compared to our earliest copy before the Dead Sea Scrolls we were astonished to find out that in 1,000 years of making copies the two were 95% textually identical. The 5% was mainly misspelling of words and did not threaten the reliability of the text. Concerning the prophecies it is important to remember that the prophecies were spoken publicly, written down and studied by the Jewish people until their fulfillment. To change the Bible sometimes hundreds of years later to fulfill a prophecy you would have to get everyone who ever read it to participate.
We have a combined copy of nearly the entire New Testament in the Chester Beatty Papyri within 150-200 years of the originals and a fragment of John dating back to just 25 years after the original. The earliest copy of Plato (Tetralogies) we have is 1,200 after the original and we only have 7 copies in all. We have over 5,000 manuscripts and portions of manuscripts of the New Testament!
Concerning the miracles being embellished acts that actually took place or lies that never happened it is improbable. The Gospel of Matthew was written by one of the disciples of Jesus. He spent years with Jesus and wrote his Gospel only 35 years after he was crucified. He describes 20 miracles performed by Jesus including many that were done in crowds of thousands of people. There was no time for the acts to be embellished or for Matthew to lie. The same people who were hearing his Gospel had either seen the miracles themselves or could ask someone who was there what happened.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Church and Science
In 1616 Galileo was forbidden by the church to publishing anything additional on the subject of Copernican ideas. Simply put, he had stated and tried to prove that the sun was the center of the universe instead of the Earth. To the uneducated eye this looks like another fight between religion and science, faith vs. intellectualism. With research one can find that this could not be further from the truth. In truth, science and religion are a lot closer than most people know.
Both Copernicus and Galileo were professed Roman Catholics. When Galileo discovered mountains on the moon and moons around Jupiter it was not only celebrated but confirmed by Jesuits. The pope encouraged Galileo to study the Copernican theory but asked that he would not teach it as anything more than a theory until there were facts to call it truth. When Galileo published The Starry Messenger and stated the theory to be fact prematurely he was no longer allowed to publish the subject further.
The sun being the center of the universe instead of the earth caused some conflict with interpretation of scripture. Modern secularism likes to exaggerate the church desire to eliminate science that contradicts their interpretation of the bible but it simply is not true. Throughout history the church, as well as the pope of Galileo’s time have a record of allowing their human, imperfect, interpretations of scripture to change while still holding the Bible to be divine and perfect.
Science and religion go hand in hand. Thirty-five craters on the moon are named for Jesuit scientists and mathematicians. J. L. Heilbron of the University of California-Berkeley is quoted saying:
The Roman Catholic Church gave more financial aid and support to the study of astronomy for over six centuries, from the recovery of ancient learning during the Middle Ages into the Enlightenment, than any other, and, probably, all other institutions.
Obviously the men involved in the church are not perfect, but neither are the men outside the church. Both have been wrong in their theories and actions, but one thing is for sure and that is that the church is not against science.
Works Cited
Bulliet et el., The Earth & its Peoples 4th Dolphin ed., v. 2, pp. 446-461, 584-596
Thomas Woods, Jr, “The Church and Science” in How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization ch. 5
Both Copernicus and Galileo were professed Roman Catholics. When Galileo discovered mountains on the moon and moons around Jupiter it was not only celebrated but confirmed by Jesuits. The pope encouraged Galileo to study the Copernican theory but asked that he would not teach it as anything more than a theory until there were facts to call it truth. When Galileo published The Starry Messenger and stated the theory to be fact prematurely he was no longer allowed to publish the subject further.
The sun being the center of the universe instead of the earth caused some conflict with interpretation of scripture. Modern secularism likes to exaggerate the church desire to eliminate science that contradicts their interpretation of the bible but it simply is not true. Throughout history the church, as well as the pope of Galileo’s time have a record of allowing their human, imperfect, interpretations of scripture to change while still holding the Bible to be divine and perfect.
Science and religion go hand in hand. Thirty-five craters on the moon are named for Jesuit scientists and mathematicians. J. L. Heilbron of the University of California-Berkeley is quoted saying:
The Roman Catholic Church gave more financial aid and support to the study of astronomy for over six centuries, from the recovery of ancient learning during the Middle Ages into the Enlightenment, than any other, and, probably, all other institutions.
Obviously the men involved in the church are not perfect, but neither are the men outside the church. Both have been wrong in their theories and actions, but one thing is for sure and that is that the church is not against science.
Works Cited
Bulliet et el., The Earth & its Peoples 4th Dolphin ed., v. 2, pp. 446-461, 584-596
Thomas Woods, Jr, “The Church and Science” in How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization ch. 5
Politics and Religion
I once believed that inside everyone was a common desire to be a good person and have peaceful relationships with everyone else. I now know that the world is more complicated than that. Different organizations, religions, countries and associations are fighting for influence in our world everyday. Many of them are in direct contradiction with one another. Everyone should strive to live in tolerance and peace because all men should be regarded as equal but not every world view is correct or equally valid. Everyone should be conscious regarding what they personally believe because their everyday actions are giving influence to world views everyday. The world view with the most influence is going to be the world we live in.
Whether someone recognizes it or not we are all apart of this process by how we spend our time and money. The smallest decisions have an affect on our community, country, and world. When our world view does not coincide with our actions we support convictions contrary to our own which can have devastating effects. In a world with conflicting views fighting for influence it is detrimental that our actions coincide with our beliefs.
There are many people that still hold on to the world view that I once had. Based on the belief that everyone has a common desire to be a good person, they strive for the world to be a peaceful place with little conflict. In an effort to combine all ideas in a liberal form they eliminate the pure or complete form of every idea including religions, political systems, and ideas that have existed for hundreds of years. In its effort to end the confrontation amongst conflicting world views their philosophy aggressively attacks them all. It is a totalitarian idea that says, “We can not tolerate the intolerable.” It eliminates all ideas that become too extreme or fundamental even though it itself is very extreme. It dulls the minds of the masses to feel safe behind words like open mindedness and tolerance. Those that believe in a specific religion or idea are viewed as close minded, intolerant and extreme. To have a liberal, open minded view does not avoid conflict by combining ideas. It is simply another conflicting world view.
While defending himself as a Christian in his book “The Audacity of Hope” Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States makes an effort to end the conflict between Christianity and other views. In the process he makes an aggressive attack on Fundamental Christianity to the extreme point of redefining what being a Christian has meant for the last 2000 years. “When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static text but the Living Word and that I must be continually open to new revelations-whether they come from a lesbian friend or a doctor opposed to abortion. This is not to say that I’m unanchored in my faith. There are some things that I’m absolutely sure about-the Golden Rule, the need to battle cruelty in all its forms, the value of love and charity, humility and grace” (Obama 224).
The Golden Rule, battle against cruelty, value of love, charity, humility and grace can all be found in the Bible but that is the foundation of Barak Obama’s world view not Christianity’s. Christianity stands or falls on the belief that Jesus Christ was god on earth. In the book of John in the Bible Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my father is. From now on you have known him and seen him!” (John 14:6-7)
It would make no sense for the Jews to kill Jesus because he said I come to preach the Golden rule, battle against cruelty, value of love, charity, humility and grace. They killed him because he said that he was the Messiah, equal with God, and therefore more powerful then them. Christians have always believed that Christ died for the salvation of people on the cross and rose from the dead as a fulfillment of ancient scripture. Christians believe human’s are inherently corrupt and can only live with the characteristic Obama describes through a spiritual transformation through Christ.
To do it without him only leaves ambition, pride and arrogance. In this world of mixing ideas the very definition of an organization or religion is many times in conflict. Martin Luther King Jr. a Christian Civil rights leader once said, “So I say to you, seek God and discover him and make him a power in your life. Without him all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights” (King 49).
America is a superpower that symbolizes the western world and its beliefs. The United States’ technology, creativity and military force have changed the world. It has always maintained a separation between religion and government. Islam is a religion that requires complete submission to its God named Allah. The word “Islam” actually means submission to Allah. To maintain submission to their God the Muslim must follow the words of their holy book entitled “The Koran.”
Barack Obama said in Cairo in 2009, “America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings” (The Arab American News).
His words are hopeful and reach out to those who want the world to be a place for all ideas and beliefs to exist together. This view stands on the assumption that all beliefs share a common foundation and do not need to conflict with one another. There are many sects of Muslims that agree with Obama and desire relations with the Western World but there are others who do not.
For example Abu Bakar Bashir is an Indonesian Muslim Cleric and he said, “But the West is trying to weaken Islam from outside and inside. They attack our people and invade our countries from outside, and they weaken us from within with ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy. This is all designed to contaminate our pure Islam” (Muslim Life Malaysia).
Most of the terrorist organizations listed under the “Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations” on the U.S. Department of State website are Islamic organizations. In its purest form under its prophet Muhammad, Muslims gained power through preaching and force. In his book “Islam World Religions” Matthew S. Gordon describes Muhammad’s actions after conquering Mecca:
The year was 630, and Muhammad stayed for only a short time in Mecca-long enough to establish Muslim control over the town and to win support of the Meccan population. For the next two years, Muhammad expanded his influence throughout the Arabian Peninsula. He sent envoys to distant tribes, calling on them to convert to Islam. Many of the tribes did so with little protest, whereas others were convinced only with the use of force. Before long, Muhammad controlled most of the peninsula (Gordon 26).
Combined with their early conversion tactics it is a fact that the early Muslims provided for their community with violent raids on foreigners. With this history there will always be an element of Muslims that see no problem with including violence into their religion. On the contrary there is a large group of liberal or progressive Muslims that believe in changing with the times. They find a home and brotherhood with liberals of different faiths and beliefs but not without a price. They are commonly no longer considered a true uncompromised Muslim by others. The conflict of world views is always present it simply changes its target.
Most people fail to discover that the most extreme views have historically been birthed in times of great despair. Islam came from a time that many authors sum up into the word “Barbaric”. Christianity arose from the Jewish people while they were under sever oppression under the Roman Empire.
During the industrial Revolution cities were exploding as an increasing amount of people left the country or their own small business to work in a factory. After long hours, sometimes over 14 hours a day adults and many of their children would return home. The cities were growing too fast and entire neighborhoods of shacks that sometimes housed multiple families were falling apart in the horrible conditions. Many citizens from the country did not know how to live in the city. They would dump their trash and waste into the streets and raise pigs and chickens in the alleys. The air was full of burning coal and many of the wells and rivers were polluted. At the expense of this poverty the wealthy were obtaining large fortunes and living in blatant extravagance. It was during this time that Karl Marx wrote his famous “Communist Manifesto.” In it he describes his interpretation of a factories work force:
“Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois class, and on the bourgeois State; they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker, and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself. The more openly this despotism proclaims gain to be its end and aim, the more petty, the more hateful and the more embittering it is” (Marx Location 112).
It was through this extreme oppression that he sounded the trumpet for a Communist takeover:
“The communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. The have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!”(Location 488 Marx).
Currently, China and North Korea are communist countries with Nuclear weapons. China has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. On a CBS Report website Lara Logan informs America of its involvement with China regarding its National Debt, “The nation's debt is the largest in history: $12 trillion and counting. That's over $80,000 for every American worker. China is now the largest holder of U.S. debt. It's also the largest exporter and within the next five to seven years, it's expected to surpass the U.S. as the largest manufacturer in the world.”
As China grows in its influence in the world one must look at its world view. Amnesty International is a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization and on their website they state:
Amnesty International has documented widespread human rights violations in China. An estimated 500,000 people are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or trial, and millions are unable to access the legal system to seek redress for their grievances. Harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise, and censorship of the Internet and other media has grown. Repression of minority groups, including Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians, and of Falun Gong practitioners and Christians who practice their religion outside state-sanctioned churches continues. While the recent reinstatement of Supreme People's Court review of death penalty cases may result in lower numbers of executions, China remains the leading executioner in the world.
That is a drastic difference than the Constitution of the United States of America’s First Amendment which states:
Congress shall make no lay respecting an establishment or religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Cato 43).
As our world enters one of the worst global economic times in history it is everyone’s responsibility to have a conscious world view. How we spend our time and money gives influence and changes the world. We need to ask ourselves: When we purchase a product what companies are we supporting? What country are those businesses in? What government officials are we voting for? In a world engulfed in economic crisis that is made up of opposing religions, politics, and countries our actions matter now more than ever. The world view with the most influence is going to be the world we live in.
Works Cited
“China Human Rights.” Amnesty International. 2010. 30 Apr. 2010
http://www.amnestyusa.org/china/page.do?id=1011134
“Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations.” U.S. Department of State. 8 Oct. 1999. 2 Apr. 2010
.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2002. Print.
King JR, Martin Luther. The Measure of a Man. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. Print
Gordon, Matthew S. Islam World Religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1991. Print
Logan, Lara. “American Debt Threatens Status as World Power.” CBS Reports. USA Today. CBS Evening News, 8 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Public Domain Books, 2005. Kindle Book.
“Muslim Life Malaysia.” 3 Sept. 2006. 20 Apr. 2010
http://muslimlifemalaysia.blogspot.com/2006/09/abu-bakar-bashir-radical-yes-terrorist.html
Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. Print
“The Arab American News” Obama's speech in Egypt aimed at healing rift with the Muslim world. 9 June. 2009. 20 Apr. 2010
http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=World&article=2251
Bibliography
Bulliet et el., The Earth & its Peoples. 4th Dolphin ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.
Carson, Clayborne. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2001. Print.
Moore, Michael. Dude, Where’s My Country New York: Warner Books, 2003. Print
Whether someone recognizes it or not we are all apart of this process by how we spend our time and money. The smallest decisions have an affect on our community, country, and world. When our world view does not coincide with our actions we support convictions contrary to our own which can have devastating effects. In a world with conflicting views fighting for influence it is detrimental that our actions coincide with our beliefs.
There are many people that still hold on to the world view that I once had. Based on the belief that everyone has a common desire to be a good person, they strive for the world to be a peaceful place with little conflict. In an effort to combine all ideas in a liberal form they eliminate the pure or complete form of every idea including religions, political systems, and ideas that have existed for hundreds of years. In its effort to end the confrontation amongst conflicting world views their philosophy aggressively attacks them all. It is a totalitarian idea that says, “We can not tolerate the intolerable.” It eliminates all ideas that become too extreme or fundamental even though it itself is very extreme. It dulls the minds of the masses to feel safe behind words like open mindedness and tolerance. Those that believe in a specific religion or idea are viewed as close minded, intolerant and extreme. To have a liberal, open minded view does not avoid conflict by combining ideas. It is simply another conflicting world view.
While defending himself as a Christian in his book “The Audacity of Hope” Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States makes an effort to end the conflict between Christianity and other views. In the process he makes an aggressive attack on Fundamental Christianity to the extreme point of redefining what being a Christian has meant for the last 2000 years. “When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static text but the Living Word and that I must be continually open to new revelations-whether they come from a lesbian friend or a doctor opposed to abortion. This is not to say that I’m unanchored in my faith. There are some things that I’m absolutely sure about-the Golden Rule, the need to battle cruelty in all its forms, the value of love and charity, humility and grace” (Obama 224).
The Golden Rule, battle against cruelty, value of love, charity, humility and grace can all be found in the Bible but that is the foundation of Barak Obama’s world view not Christianity’s. Christianity stands or falls on the belief that Jesus Christ was god on earth. In the book of John in the Bible Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my father is. From now on you have known him and seen him!” (John 14:6-7)
It would make no sense for the Jews to kill Jesus because he said I come to preach the Golden rule, battle against cruelty, value of love, charity, humility and grace. They killed him because he said that he was the Messiah, equal with God, and therefore more powerful then them. Christians have always believed that Christ died for the salvation of people on the cross and rose from the dead as a fulfillment of ancient scripture. Christians believe human’s are inherently corrupt and can only live with the characteristic Obama describes through a spiritual transformation through Christ.
To do it without him only leaves ambition, pride and arrogance. In this world of mixing ideas the very definition of an organization or religion is many times in conflict. Martin Luther King Jr. a Christian Civil rights leader once said, “So I say to you, seek God and discover him and make him a power in your life. Without him all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights” (King 49).
America is a superpower that symbolizes the western world and its beliefs. The United States’ technology, creativity and military force have changed the world. It has always maintained a separation between religion and government. Islam is a religion that requires complete submission to its God named Allah. The word “Islam” actually means submission to Allah. To maintain submission to their God the Muslim must follow the words of their holy book entitled “The Koran.”
Barack Obama said in Cairo in 2009, “America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings” (The Arab American News).
His words are hopeful and reach out to those who want the world to be a place for all ideas and beliefs to exist together. This view stands on the assumption that all beliefs share a common foundation and do not need to conflict with one another. There are many sects of Muslims that agree with Obama and desire relations with the Western World but there are others who do not.
For example Abu Bakar Bashir is an Indonesian Muslim Cleric and he said, “But the West is trying to weaken Islam from outside and inside. They attack our people and invade our countries from outside, and they weaken us from within with ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy. This is all designed to contaminate our pure Islam” (Muslim Life Malaysia).
Most of the terrorist organizations listed under the “Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations” on the U.S. Department of State website are Islamic organizations. In its purest form under its prophet Muhammad, Muslims gained power through preaching and force. In his book “Islam World Religions” Matthew S. Gordon describes Muhammad’s actions after conquering Mecca:
The year was 630, and Muhammad stayed for only a short time in Mecca-long enough to establish Muslim control over the town and to win support of the Meccan population. For the next two years, Muhammad expanded his influence throughout the Arabian Peninsula. He sent envoys to distant tribes, calling on them to convert to Islam. Many of the tribes did so with little protest, whereas others were convinced only with the use of force. Before long, Muhammad controlled most of the peninsula (Gordon 26).
Combined with their early conversion tactics it is a fact that the early Muslims provided for their community with violent raids on foreigners. With this history there will always be an element of Muslims that see no problem with including violence into their religion. On the contrary there is a large group of liberal or progressive Muslims that believe in changing with the times. They find a home and brotherhood with liberals of different faiths and beliefs but not without a price. They are commonly no longer considered a true uncompromised Muslim by others. The conflict of world views is always present it simply changes its target.
Most people fail to discover that the most extreme views have historically been birthed in times of great despair. Islam came from a time that many authors sum up into the word “Barbaric”. Christianity arose from the Jewish people while they were under sever oppression under the Roman Empire.
During the industrial Revolution cities were exploding as an increasing amount of people left the country or their own small business to work in a factory. After long hours, sometimes over 14 hours a day adults and many of their children would return home. The cities were growing too fast and entire neighborhoods of shacks that sometimes housed multiple families were falling apart in the horrible conditions. Many citizens from the country did not know how to live in the city. They would dump their trash and waste into the streets and raise pigs and chickens in the alleys. The air was full of burning coal and many of the wells and rivers were polluted. At the expense of this poverty the wealthy were obtaining large fortunes and living in blatant extravagance. It was during this time that Karl Marx wrote his famous “Communist Manifesto.” In it he describes his interpretation of a factories work force:
“Not only are they slaves of the bourgeois class, and on the bourgeois State; they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker, and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself. The more openly this despotism proclaims gain to be its end and aim, the more petty, the more hateful and the more embittering it is” (Marx Location 112).
It was through this extreme oppression that he sounded the trumpet for a Communist takeover:
“The communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. The have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!”(Location 488 Marx).
Currently, China and North Korea are communist countries with Nuclear weapons. China has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. On a CBS Report website Lara Logan informs America of its involvement with China regarding its National Debt, “The nation's debt is the largest in history: $12 trillion and counting. That's over $80,000 for every American worker. China is now the largest holder of U.S. debt. It's also the largest exporter and within the next five to seven years, it's expected to surpass the U.S. as the largest manufacturer in the world.”
As China grows in its influence in the world one must look at its world view. Amnesty International is a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization and on their website they state:
Amnesty International has documented widespread human rights violations in China. An estimated 500,000 people are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or trial, and millions are unable to access the legal system to seek redress for their grievances. Harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise, and censorship of the Internet and other media has grown. Repression of minority groups, including Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians, and of Falun Gong practitioners and Christians who practice their religion outside state-sanctioned churches continues. While the recent reinstatement of Supreme People's Court review of death penalty cases may result in lower numbers of executions, China remains the leading executioner in the world.
That is a drastic difference than the Constitution of the United States of America’s First Amendment which states:
Congress shall make no lay respecting an establishment or religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Cato 43).
As our world enters one of the worst global economic times in history it is everyone’s responsibility to have a conscious world view. How we spend our time and money gives influence and changes the world. We need to ask ourselves: When we purchase a product what companies are we supporting? What country are those businesses in? What government officials are we voting for? In a world engulfed in economic crisis that is made up of opposing religions, politics, and countries our actions matter now more than ever. The world view with the most influence is going to be the world we live in.
Works Cited
“China Human Rights.” Amnesty International. 2010. 30 Apr. 2010
http://www.amnestyusa.org/china/page.do?id=1011134
“Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations.” U.S. Department of State. 8 Oct. 1999. 2 Apr. 2010
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2002. Print.
King JR, Martin Luther. The Measure of a Man. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. Print
Gordon, Matthew S. Islam World Religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1991. Print
Logan, Lara. “American Debt Threatens Status as World Power.” CBS Reports. USA Today. CBS Evening News, 8 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Public Domain Books, 2005. Kindle Book.
“Muslim Life Malaysia.” 3 Sept. 2006. 20 Apr. 2010
http://muslimlifemalaysia.blogspot.com/2006/09/abu-bakar-bashir-radical-yes-terrorist.html
Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. Print
“The Arab American News” Obama's speech in Egypt aimed at healing rift with the Muslim world. 9 June. 2009. 20 Apr. 2010
http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=World&article=2251
Bibliography
Bulliet et el., The Earth & its Peoples. 4th Dolphin ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.
Carson, Clayborne. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2001. Print.
Moore, Michael. Dude, Where’s My Country New York: Warner Books, 2003. Print
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