How many times have you heard people say this? "It's not polite to talk about religion or politics." Well, unless we start having some serious discussions about religion and politics in this country, we may see a sequel to 9-11 that will make those attacks pale by comparison.
How many times have you heard people say this? "It's not polite to talk about
religion or politics." Well, unless we start having some serious discussions
about religion and politics in this country, we may see a sequel to 9-11 that
will make those attacks pale by comparison. I believe that your life and the
lives of your spouse and children may very well depend upon whether or not we
start talking about religion and politics. And we'd better start doing it soon!
My friends, the two most important factors that affect our lives are religion
and politics. If we can't talk about them, what CAN we talk about? Who won the
game? Who cares? The most popular movie in the theatres? So what? Fifty years
from now, 90% of what we waste our time talking about won't mean a thing. If we
have any sense at all, we will spend our time with our friends discussing
things that matter.
Let's start with religion. There are two big lies floating around our country
that have been repeated so often by politicians and the media that even
normally sensible people are starting to believe them. The first is that we are
fighting a war on terror. The second is that Islam is a religion of peace.
What do I mean when I say that the "War on Terror" is a lie? The very phrase
belies the fact that the real threat to our nation and the world is a very
specific form or terror: Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism. The phrase "War on
Terror" implies that there are many kinds of terrorists, and that our fight is
against a vague enemy composed of these many groups.
There are, in fact, many different groups who engage in terror. The Basque
separatists who were initially blamed for the Madrid bombings (which turned out
to be the work of Islamic terrorists) were suspected specifically because they
had engaged in terrorist acts in the past.
Environmental wackos in this country have engaged in eco-terrorism, which has
resulted in many injuries and deaths. Many nations have experienced the tragedy
of terrorism at the hands of some extremist group that wasn't satisfied with
the use of the ballot box.
But there is absolutely no question that the greatest threat to the security of
this nation and the stability of the entire world emanates from one religion:
Islam.
If this is so, why is the press not shouting it from the rooftops? Why does our
President call Islam a "Religion of Peace"? (Although I notice he has been
making that rather bizarre statement less and less lately.) As I wrote in my
article "Is This a Religious War?" in November of 2001, the word "Islam" does
NOT mean "peace." The literal translation of the Arabic root word for Islam,
"asla ma," is "submission." And in fact, one of the basic tenets of this
religion is that good Muslims are required to make sure that everyone "submits"
to what they consider the only true religion, Islam.
A good example of the power of the Islamic religious leaders was seen in the
formation of the government of Iraq. Although we received numerous promises
that after the liberation of Iraq the new government would be a secular
democracy, the leaders of Iraq declared it to be an "Islamic State." I believe
this was done because of threats of violence against them if, for instance,
Christians were given the same rights as Muslims.
The lying media tells us that the current violence in Iraq is from "freedom
fighters" opposed to the US-led "occupation." In fact, the current violence in
that nation stems from: 1) Various Islamic groups killing one another in a bid
for power; and 2) Foreign (mainly Iranian) Islamic zealots attacking the new
government (including murdering several of its leaders) for not being Islamic
enough!
Yes, I hear your indignant cries, and I agree that most Muslims are peaceful
people who just want to be left alone to live their lives and practice their
religion. But it is clear to all but the most politically correct that the
religion has been hijacked by fanatics who praise and admire Hitler, and who
lust for world domination by Islam. They use the most bloody and violent parts
of the Koran to justify their vicious acts. And this is not new. Many of the
Islamic religious leaders of the 1940's preached that Islam should finish what
Hitler had started.
But what about the peaceful Muslim leaders? Yes, what about them? Where are
they? Where are their voices when terrorists and murderers use their religion
to justify their horrendous acts? Why do they allow their mosques to be used as
terror recruitment centers and hiding places for bombs and weapons? There can
be only two possible explanations. Either the "peaceful" Islamic leaders are
afraid to speak up, or they believe that the violent terrorists are doing the
will of Allah.
We're also forbidden to talk about politics in polite company. Well, we'd
better wake up to the fact that soon politics, in the form of the 2008
presidential election, will have a tremendous influence on every facet of our
lives. Will a Democrat or a Republican live in the White House?
Will we live in a Socialist nation (Democrat) or a free one (Republican)? Will
we go back to the pre-Reagan days when up to 70% of our income went to Federal
Government (Democrat) or will we continue to enjoy tax cuts that allow us to
continue to grow the economy (Republican)? Will freedom of religion be crushed,
with ministers threatened with jail for "hate crimes" if they speak out against
homosexual marriages (Democrat) or will freedom of religion be expanded, with
faith-based organizations being allowed to minister to the needy (Republican).
But the greatest difference is the one that will determine whether thousands,
perhaps millions, of Americans will die in terrorist attacks. The Democrats are
on record as being in favor of the UN controlling our national security. John
Kerry strongly expressed this view both after the Viet Nam War and while he was
the Democrat presidential nominee and head of the Democrat party. He committed
his party to this position. So whoever is nominated by the Democrats for the
2008 race will have to be someone who will carry that torch.
On the other hand, Republican George Bush proved that he was not a lapdog of
the UN. He had the guts to defy the UN and tell them that if the US had to go
it completely alone, we would do the right thing in Iraq. The UN had issued 17
resolutions concerning Iraq in over a decade, but never had the courage to back
them up. "W" had the guts, the resolve, and the determination to do what the UN
should have done years earlier. And I believe the Republican presidential
nominee will follow in Bush's footsteps.
"But isn't it wrong to defy the International Government?" First, there is no
such thing as an International Government. The Bible tells us that one day
there will be such a beast, and that it will be controlled by Satan. But today
what we have is a collection of 200 nations who get together at the UN to make
speeches and make trouble.
Although we pay well over half the bills of this monstrosity, most of the
nations we support either hate us or envy us, and they continually pass
Resolutions condemning us and our allies. Fortunately, the Resolutions of the
main body are meaningless, and we have veto power on the Security Council, the
only body that counts.
"But shouldn't we respect the UN since most of the nations of the world are
members?" Well, let's see. The UN removed the US from the Human Rights
Commission. They replaced us with The Sudan. The Sudan is an Islamic
(peaceful?) nation whose government has for many years systematically murdered
Christians or sold them into slavery if they refused to convert to Islam. The
UN turned a blind eye to this for many years. No, I don't think the UN is
worthy of respect. It is worthy only of contempt.
So: one party (the Democrats) supports putting our military and ultimately our
whole nation under UN control. The other (the Republicans) stands up to the UN
and condemns them when they are wrong (which is most of the time). Which one of
these do you want controlling your destiny and defending you from terrorists?
I sincerely hope that I have convinced you that this nation needs a dialogue
about religion and politics, and that it needs it now. You may not believe in
my conclusions on these subjects, but if I get you talking about them with your
friends and neighbors, then I will have accomplished my purpose.
It is not enough to have the paid "talking heads" on TV debating these
important subjects. We are the ones who will be affected by the outcome of the
debates. So we need to rid ourselves of the ridiculous notion that "nice"
people don't talk about religion and politics, and get involved before it is
too late.
Dr. Tom Barrett has been an ordained minister for 30 years. He has written for local and national publications for most of his life, and has authored several non-fiction books. He has been interviewed on many TV and radio programs, and speaks at seminars nationwide. Tom is the editor and publisher of Conservative Truth, an email newsletter read by over fifty thousand weekly which focuses on moral and political issues from a Biblical viewpoint.
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