Tag: Obama

Freedom of religion vs. Freedom of worship. What’s the difference?

Mark Twain once said: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.  Words matter.  This is especially true when it comes to the words of our Constitution. Those words are especially cherished. Yet in the past year it seems the Obama administration has changed one key word in that foundational document.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report revealed grave concern about both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejecting the term “freedom of religion” for the term “freedom of worship” in public pronouncements. Why the change?

The First Amendment has two clauses about Freedom of Religion. The first part is known as the Establishment Clause, and the second as the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits Government from passing laws that establishes an official religion or preferring one religion over another. The courts have interpreted the establishment clause to accomplish “separation of church and state”. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits Government from interfering with a person’s practice of his or her religion. However, courts have ruled that religious actions and rituals can be limited by civil and federal laws. Religious freedom is an absolute right, and includes the right to practice any religion of one’s choice, or no religion at all, and to do this without government control.

November 2009, President Obama used the term “freedom of worship” at the memorial service for the victims of the Ft. Hood shooting. A few days later he did it again in speeches in both Japan and China. In December Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also used that terminology three times in a speech at Georgetown University and never once used the phrase “freedom of religion”. In January of this year Clinton used the “freedom of worship” term four times while addressing senators.

This change in phraseology could well be viewed by human rights defenders and officials in other countries as having concrete policy implications.” – U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report.

That’s not an inconsequential change: Freedom of worship means the ability to have church services, which is crucial, but leaves out protection for Christian schools, publications, and Christian compassionate ministries…’Freedom of religion’ means that ministries designed to help prisoners change their lives, or to help the poor enter the workforce, can teach what the Bible teaches. Under ‘freedom of worship,’ these ministries could become illegal, as they are in many parts of the world. This is a development to watch warily. – World Magazine.

This President clearly sees religion as a key part of foreign affairs, especially when the Muslim world is involved. He is ultra-careful to not want to offend followers of Islam. We already know the administration has rejected the term “radical Islam” or any similar language and refuses to admit religion plays a major role in terrorism.

This new terminology of “freedom of worship” might be given as a sign to Muslim nations and places with Christian persecution like China that they are not going to crack down on religious persecution for minority religions in those countries. That could explain why Obama first used the term after a radical Muslim killed Americans at Ft. Hood. And it could also explain why he used the term in speeches in China and Japan.

In my opinion Obama’s goal is to accommodate some aspects of Sharia law in this country. Hillary Clinton’s goal is to make this country sign the UNITED NATIONS Convention on the Rights of the Child. This convention is signed by 194 countries but not US and Somalia. While looking good on paper the effect of this convention is that the State (Remember “separation of Church and State”) has superior claim on the children, not the parents.

We are talking Freedom of religion versus Freedom of worship. Let me illustrate the difference. Many missionaries and ex-pats live in Muslim countries. They enjoy freedom of worship, but not freedom of religion. One of the tenets of the Christian Faith is the obligation, right and privilege to proclaim the Good News. You can worship without fulfilling the great commission, and missionaries in Muslim countries risk their very lives were they to proclaim the Gospel without first being invited to do so. Even in this country some Christians were arrested for handing out Gospels of John outside a Muslim festival in Dearborn, MI. . They exercised freedom of religion. Islam does by its very tenets not tolerate freedom of religion, but it does accept freedom of worship as a rule.

Thanksgiving proclamation 2008 vs 2009.

In 2008, George W Bush issued his last Thanksgiving proclamation. After the first sentence: Thanksgiving is a time for families and friends to gather together and express gratitude for all that we have been given, the freedoms we enjoy, and the loved ones who enrich our lives. We recognize that all of these blessings, and life itself, come not from the hand of man but from Almighty God. Then Bush adds a historic perspective: Every Thanksgiving, we remember the story of the Pilgrims who came to America in search of religious freedom and a better life. Having arrived in the New World, these early settlers gave thanks to the Author of Life for granting them safe passage to this abundant land and protecting them through a bitter winter. Then he continues with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

In 2009 Barack H Obama starts: What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving. This day’s roots are intertwined with those of our nation, and its history traces the American narrative. Then Barack goes on with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, after which he adds: We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.

In Obama’s narrative the reference to the Author of Life is gone, the Pilgrims are colonists, we are to thank each other and Thanksgiving is a harvest celebration.

Fourth of July is a celebration of the birth of the nation, Memorial day is a day of commemoration and Thanksgiving is a day of giving thanks to God.

We must not cheapen it to a celebration, celebrating each other for our good deeds.

Obama on slavery. The real source of “The Curse of Ham”

Obama Says Slavery’s Past Should Be Taught in the United States. He said this during his visit to Ghana July 10-11 2009, a former slave trading center.

Religion is not permitted to be taught in public schools, but religion plays a vital part in both the establishment and abolishment of slavery. There can be no teaching of slavery’s past without mentioning the role of religion.

A long time ago I heard the justification for black slaves was “The curse of Ham”. So, the Bible, being one of the oldest books in the world is the place to look first. The first mention of slavery occurs in Genesis. This book is common to Jews, Christians and Muslims, covering the time of the beginning until Joseph.

Here it goes: Noah stepped out of the ark, planted a vineyard, got drunk and exposed his nakedness. Ham saw it and told his brothers, Shem and Japheth. Shem and Japheth took a blanket and went backwards up to Noah and covered him without seeing his nakedness. When Noah sobered up and found out what had happened he declared: 

Genesis 9:25-27 (New American Standard Bible)  25So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.” 26He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.”

 The word servant is “ehbed” which means bond-servant, somebody in bondage. This can be for a time, for life, or for taxes. The real interesting thing is that the curse is on Canaan, not Ham. Canaan is the fourth and youngest son of Ham! Let’s look at the four sons of Ham: 

Genesis 10:6-20 (New American Standard Bible) 6The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, 12and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13Mizraim became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim 14and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim. 15Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth 16and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite 17and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite 18and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. 19 The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.

 Whew! That was a lot of territory to cover! All we need to remember from this is that Ham is the father of Mizraim, who is the father of the Philistines, and also father of all black people. And there was no curse laid on them! Many of the modern Middle East people are also descendants of Ham. About Put we do know very little A good guess is they are north African Arabs (Libyans). Which leaves us the Canaanites. Their territory covered what is called “the promised land” with a few exclusions and additions. The territory just north of Gaza was supposed to be taken by Dan, but we can see what happened instead: 

Joshua 19:40-47 (New International Version)  40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, clan by clan. 41 The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 46 Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa. 47 (But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory, so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their forefather.)

The territory between Gaza and Joppa was never taken by Dan, so instead the Philistines took it over. While this was part of “the promised land”, it was never conquered and so it is even today. Dan instead took the northernmost city in Israel, which was not part of “the promised land”. You may have heard of the expression “from Dan to Beersheba” which is the length of the territory of “the promised land”. Other areas of the Canaanites never taken by the Israelites were the towns of Tyre and Sidon, with their corresponding agricultural support land. The two things we take away from this study is: It has nothing to do with black people, and really nothing about slavery either. It is instead a prophesy defining “the promised land” and its future destiny.

 Now take a look at Nimrod, a grandson of Ham. His territory included Babel, (somewhere in Southern Iraq) from which we get the first hints of the need for slavery. They were building a tower in Babel, so they needed a lot of revenue in the form of material, manpower, food and drink. They had a temple dedicated to the Goddess Ishtar. The temple prostitutes were always willing to help for a fee. It is in Babel we have the first known use of money, to facilitate the use of “the oldest profession”. So sex slaves are the first known cases of real slavery. This among other things financed the grandiose plans of the ruling élite. Meanwhile in Cush and later in Egypt they were building pyramids. It took a lot of manpower to get all those stones from point A to point B and up to point C. The highly skilled stone cutters were probably not slaves, but the logistics people most certainly were slaves of one type or another, caught in involuntary servitude. So how did they obtain all those slaves? They did it by raiding nearby villages, towns and countries. You did protect your own people  for a fee, paid mostly as forced labor for a time, or substituting with somebody else that will actually do the work – the beginning of the slave trade. To avoid forced labor you could also make payment in kind by giving one of your daughters to the ruling élite.

Now we fast forward to the Roman Empire. It was actually an improvement over the previous mafia type arrangements that had been the norm until then. They instituted a rule of law, and to make sure it was adhered to they invented Crucifixion, the most tortuous form of public execution they could think of. To do all the work that needed to be done they had to have lots of slaves. It is estimated that half the population were slaves. In addition there were people who worked off their taxes as laborers or servants for a time. During the conquering years slaves were obtained as they conquered new territories. Later taxation became the major source of forced labor. But safe travel was made possible since their naval ships (galley slaves needed) provided protection from piracy. On land the road system was excellent. You just paid your fee for protection, and safe travel was almost guaranteed. Of course neighboring countries were raided for additional slaves. It is against this backdrop we read the story of the Canaanite woman. 

Matthew 15:21-28 (New International Version)  21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” 23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” 27″Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

After seeing the woman’s faith Jesus grants her wish. She is now one of his. Faith trumps pedigree. This is the Christian message.  But what about slavery? We find one more clue in the story of the Ethiopian eunuch: 

Acts 8:26-39 (New International Version)  26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31″How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

The point to take home here is that the Ethiopian eunuch was really a black slave. Yes, he was an important official, but a slave nevertheless. You only castrate slaves, so they will not get any ideas. Since they do not have an offspring, there is zero risk of palace coups. Thus made safe for their masters the salves could rise to become ambassadors, and be completely trusted. And Philip baptized him, signifying equality in Christ. The New Testament also tells us about slave trading:

1 Timothy 1:9-11 (New International Version)  9We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

 So, Slave trading is out for Christians. If you had slaves, you could keep them, but you could not buy more, and you could not sell them. You could release them though, and that was encouraged. We have the example of the slave Onesimus:

 Philemon 15-16 (New International Version)  15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

Now back to slavery through the ages: The Roman Empire was in decline, and Christianity increased in spite of heavy persecution. In 313 the Emperor Constantine I issued the “Edict in Milan” that Christianity should be tolerated, and in 325 he summoned the First Council of Nicaea. Slavery became discouraged due to the teachings of the Church, but then as now people are not always listening. The relationship slave-master became more like sharecropper – landowner without any possibility of getting out. After the fall of the Roman Empire there was a vacuum of leadership and the Church became part of the established powers.

Down in Arabia lived a man named Mohammed. He died in 632, and his followers started a Jihad (commonly translated “Holy war”) of never before seen magnitude. In 732 they had conquered all the former Roman Empire outside of Europe, and Spain in Europe. The followers were promised immediate passage to heaven if they died a martyr’s death in the cause of Jihad. Not only that, they were promised attention of black-eyed beauties when they got there. The Quran does not mention how many, but tradition tells there are either 70 or 72 virgins that cannot wait to satisfy their every need should they be lucky enough to die a martyr’s death. And they took slaves, lots of them, especially young, attractive women. They commanded the best prices on the slave markets.

The Jihad forces went over the Pyrenees, and France was next on the agenda. Then the most important battle in world history took place: The battle of Tours in 732. The Muslim forces  under Abd-Er-Rahmanhad a supremely trained and equipped cavalry army, and the opposing side a bunch of ragtag foot-soldiers. Having successfully learnt how to fight the Vikings, they used the advantages of geography and the fact that they too were not afraid of dying to defend their women. After many days of battle and heavy losses on both sides the leader of the Muslim forces was killed. The invaders withdrew, never again to cross the Pyrenees, and Europe was saved.

Further north were the Vikings, known for their ferocious fightings. They were trading people traveling long distances to Iceland and America (Västerled) and on the Russian and east European rivers (Österled) all the way down to Miklagård (now Istanbul) where they traded freshly obtained slaves for merchandise. It is from this trade the east European people are called Slavs.

Around 853 A.D. St Ansgar became the catalyst to Christianize Denmark and Sweden. One of the main results was that slavery and slave trading was abolished by the Scandinavians, and all of Northern and Central Europe was freed of slaves. Meanwhile after 100 years of conquests there were plenty of slaves in the Muslim empire (Caliphate). As opposed to Jesus, who was never married and had few earthly possessions and certainly no slaves, Mohammed owned, bought, sold, married one slave and freed slaves. In the Quran there is plenty of law how to deal with slaves, and how to calculate their worth as opposed to free persons. Just as a man is twice as trustworthy as a woman when it comes to testimony slaves are usually half a person or less in penalty cases. But there is no mention of the curse of Ham in the Quran. Where did the Curse of Ham come from?

The earliest mention of the Curse of Ham and the cause of black skin comes from Rabbinic writings during the time of captivity in Babylon. The Talmudic writings were not widely distributed, and only Talmudic scholars knew the content.  There is no evidence that these writings “got feet” until the Muslim takeover of Arabia.

Ka’b al –Ahbar (ca 652 A.D) wrote that Ham lay with his wife and gave birth to a black boy and girl. He claimed they were not his. They are, his wife responded “for the curse of your father is upon us.” The story goes on, and all blacks come out from four black children of Ham. Wahb ibn  Munabbih (ca 730 A.D.) wrote that Ham was a fine white man, but because of his Father’s curse God Almighty changed his skin color to black. He then became the father of all the black people. In the story collection “One Thousand and One Nights” it is also found: Noah blessed Shem and Cursed Ham. (Source: The curse of Ham. By David M. Goldenberg)

So it is from the Muslim literature and oral tradition we find “The curse of Ham”. It is not found in the Bible (or the Torah), nor is it found in the Quran.

After the defeat in France, the Muslim invaders slowed down. They had conquered much of the civilized world. They turned their eyes towards India, but the going was much slower since there was no power vacuum there, just proud, ancient civilizations. In the Mediterranean both Muslims and Christians returned to the piracy trade that had been prevalent before the Roman Empire controlled the seas. Part of the yield from piracy was slaves. But the Muslims needed more slaves. The Quran is quite clear: You cannot take slaves from your own people, and Christians and Jews are also protected as long as they pay the special tax – the Dhimmi tax.

Not so for the heathen. They were free for the taking. Because of the “curse of Ham” they made no effort to convert the blacks, just use them as a source for slaves. In East Africa the slave trade was heavy, with Muslim slave traders as the buyers and raiders and also African warring tribes as sellers. The males were castrated, and the slaves went north on a long forced march. The losses mounted. Many slaves died en route due to polluted water and disease. Incompatible immune systems led to losses that could be as high as 85%. About 10 million slaves made it up to the Muslim countries between 700 and 1500 A.D. The men were laborers and sometimes sex-objects, the women were mostly servants, but their owners could also use them as sex-objects.

When the Muslims came into contact with Christians their use of black slaves were explained as “The Curse of Ham”. Since the Muslims made no effort to convert the blacks at that time, it was explained that they were sub-human, and because of the curse, it served them right.

On the Iberian Peninsula wars between Christians and Muslims continued, and both sides took slaves. Times changed again and the Muslims were driven out of Spain and Portugal. The Spanish and Portuguese fleet ruled the waves, and piracy stopped on the Mediterranean. The Catholic Church, having been a staunch anti- slavery proponent went into a low period in the form of Pope Innocentius VIII. In 1488 he accepted 100 Moorish slaves from King Ferdinand of Aragon, and divvied most of them up between some of his Cardinals. Except for this low-point the Church issued Bull after Bull condemning slavery. An excellent article on the catholic church and slavery can be found in

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/julyweb-only/7-14-53.0.html?start=1

In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean. His desire was to spread the Gospel to India, or at least that was how he sold it to Queen Isabella of Spain. The real reason was probably to find a new spice route to India. Constantinople had fallen to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, and the Muslims had taken over the spice trade. The story of Columbus makes fascinating reading for everybody. Christopher Columbus had  Norwegian ancestors in his lineage, and he knew about old tales how the Vikings went in Västerled (the western route) to Iceland, to Greenland and all the way to Vinland. Around the Millennium mark Europe and Greenland had a warming trend, substantially warmer than it is even today, and Greenland was named Greenland because of all the green grass that grew there. But around 1250 A.D. it got substantially colder, the Greenland settlements were abandoned, and the trade route to Vinland largely forgotten. Christopher Columbus had this crackpot idea: Maybe the earth isn’t flat after all, as he has been told by many. Maybe it is a sphere. He had heard rumors about it. Being a very religious man he checked with the Jews and found out in the Bible

Isaiah 40:22 (NIV) He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. The Hebrew for the word circle means circle in 2-dimensional geometry, but sphere in 3-dimensional geometry. So it was well known in learned circles that the earth is a sphere.

After Columbus had discovered the Caribbean the race was on. There was gold and riches for the taking. So they did. The natives had no immunity to many of the diseases the Europeans brought in, so they kept dying in large numbers, sometimes in excess of 80%. Not to worry. There was a steady supply of slaves from the Muslim slave traders. So the slave trade blossomed. And the Spaniards and Portuguese paid better for non-castrated male black slaves. So the trade was: slaves to America, looted gold back to Europe.

In 1588 the British defeated the Spanish Armada and – you guessed it, the British took over the slave trade. They also eventually cut out the middleman, the Muslim slave trader. You already know all about the next phase of the slave trade, so fhere is no need to repeat it here. The loss of Spanish hegemony over the Mediterranean started the piracy all over again: And I quote: The untold story of the million whites enslaved by non-whites is covered in a new book by Robert Davis. Most previously estimated slave counts have tended to be in the thousands, or at most in the tens of thousands. Davis, by contrast, has calculated that between 1 million and 1.25 million European Christians were captured and forced to work in North Africa from the 16th to 18th centuries. Davis’s new estimates appear in the book Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan). Not always mentioned is the efforts of William Wilberforce to abolish slavery after his conversion to “serious Christianity”. This too makes fascinating reading.

Today piracy has started again, this time in Somalia, The US merchant ship Maersk Alabama was seized, and finally released through the assistance of the USS Bainbridge, named after William Bainbridge, who was instrumental in forming the US Marines and putting an end to the Barbary Piracy and slave trade. This is why the Mariners’ hymn contains the words “To the shores of Tripoli”. Saudi Arabia did away with slavery in the 50’s, Mauritania in 2007 and in southern Sudan it is still going on; where Muslim soldiers raid Christian villages, kill the men, kidnap the young women, and take them to their villages. The girls then have a choice. They can convert to Islam and marry a Muslim as a second, third, or even a fourth wife. Is she refuses to become a Muslim she will be sold as a sex slave. It is estimated that in Sudan alone over two million Christians have been enslaved or killed. In Darfur it is a similar situation. The issue is Arab Muslim against Black Muslim.

But Obama did mention that on the top of the hill overlooking the fort where slaves were traded was a church.

The argument is that the Church was complicit in the slave trade by not speaking up forcefully. I will take the example of the Roman Catholic Church since I am not a Roman Catholic, just a follower of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Except for a very brief period during the time of Pope Innocentius VIII they have sent out Bull after Bull about the evils of slavery. The fact that nobody is listening does not make them complicit. Today a similar situation exists with abortion. The Roman Catholic Church is very clear in its condemning of abortions. And nobody is listening. Like the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, which stipulated blacks were chattel not worthy of citizenship, Roe v. Wade has encoded the pernicious principle that an entire class of people — unborn babies — are subhuman and not entitled to basic rights. The argument then: It is my property. I have the right to do with my property as I see fit. The argument now: It is my body. I have the right to do with my body as I see fit. Lost in both cases is that we are dealing with a human life, deserving equal protection under the law.

But Obama did mention that on the top of the hill overlooking the fort where slaves were traded was a church.

Warren Buffett profiting from working on the railroad.

 Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.

With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.

 

I’ve been workin’ on Obama,

All the live long day.

And I told him without drama

Ship the oil my way.

Don’t you hear the hot air blowing?

Rise from the pundits every morn.

Don’t you hear the people shouting

“Sarah, won’t you run?”
Sarah, won’t you run,
Sarah, won’t you run,
Sarah, won’t you run the race for us?
Sarah, won’t you run,
Sarah, won’t you run,
Sarah, won’t you run the race?

Something big is cooking with Sarah.
Something is cooking up, I know.
Something big is cooking with Sarah
Strumming on the old banjo.

Fee, fie, fiddle-e-lies
Fee, fie, fiddle-my-Obama.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-lies
Strumming on the old banjo.

Obama’s State of the Union. A Limerick.

I  listened to the State of the Union message and found the president unusually lightweight and repetitive.

Obama as leader: We will end up last

Over his head – his rule must not last.

We all start to feel

He is but a heel

Shoemaker, stay at your last.

Is Obama a Christian? A Limerick.

Shahada, professing Obama’s belief

That makes him a Muslim, much to our grief

He keeps saying this:

A Christian he is.

Unless he is baptized, he lies like a thief.

In Feb 2008 Obama said: “Here are the simple facts. I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian. I have been a member of the same church for 20 years. I pray to Jesus every night.” We’ve all heard by now that Obama became a Christian mostly to expedite his political career and that the Trinity United Church of Christ he joined, presided over by Reverend Jonathan Wright, was not exactly mainstream. We’ve heard about Wright’s damning of America and we know that the church was — and might still be — a hot bed of black nationalism. But what is not as well-known is that no baptism is required, nor must Muslims renounce Islam to be accepted as full members in that church. Obama mentioned his two children were baptized by Rev. Wright. He has as of today made no reference to his own baptism, nor does the media seem to be the least interested if he is or not. On February 27th 2007, speaking to Kristof of The New York Times, Barack Hussein Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”

In an interview with Nicholas Kristof, published in The New York Times, Obama recited the Muslim call to prayer, the Adhan, “with a first-class [Arabic] accent.” The opening lines of the Adhan (Azaan) is the Shahada:

“Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! I witness that there is no god but Allah I witness that there is no god but Allah I witness that Muhammad is his prophet? ”

According to Islamic scholars, reciting the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith, makes one a Muslim. This simple yet profound statement expresses a Muslim’s complete acceptance of, and total commitment to, the message of Islam. Obama chanted it with pride and finesse. Here is a call to prayer at sunset:

Do you think it is one of the prettiest sounds on earth? So which Jesus does Obama pray to every night? Is it the Christian Jesus Christ as stated in the Apostles Creed? I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Or is it: I believe in Jesus the Muslim, a great Prophet, who was conceived by a decree from Allah, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was not crucified, did not die , and was never buried; he descended not to the dead. On the third day he did not rise again; but ascended immediately into heaven, Allah raised him up unto Himself, and he will come again  and deny he ever claimed divinity, he will defeat the anti-Christ, give witness that Muhammad is the supreme last and final Prophet, that all the world must convert to Islam or perish, and after that peace will come?

Sarah Palin mocks Obama’s 57 states, then gets cut off. A Limerick.

Obama: Our two score and seventeen states 

A Freudian slip, that’s what the left hates.

U.S.A., OIC*

Not the same, not to me,

 But Sarah pokes fun when Obama misstates.

*The Organisation of Islamic States, an organization with 57 member nations.

Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad joined in prayer, where?

President Obama gave a rousing speech in Cairo which was dubbed by some as Wilsonian in its lofty rhetoric, historic in scope and generally inspiring to all of mankind. I however was left puzzled. When did Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad ever appear together, and for what purpose?   First let us take a look at the quote.

Obama said: Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra — (applause) — as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon them, joined in prayer. (Applause.)

Since Muhammad is mentioned, we must look at the Holy Quran (Obama’s word) for clues. The first clue is found in:

Sura – 17 The Children of Israel (Bani Israel)

[17:0] In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

[17:1] KHALIFA: Most glorified is the One who summoned His servant (Muhammad) during the night, from the Sacred Masjid (of Mecca) to the farthest place of prostration, whose surroundings we have blessed, in order to show him some of our signs. He is the Hearer, the Seer. YUSUFALI: Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). PICKTHAL: Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far distant place of worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer. SHAKIR: Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

[17:2] KHALIFA: Similarly, we gave Moses the scripture, and rendered it a beacon for the Children of Israel that: “You shall not set up any idol as a lord and master beside Me.” YUSUFALI: We gave Moses the Book, and made it a Guide to the Children of Israel, (commanding): “Take not other than Me as Disposer of (your) affairs.” PICKTHAL: We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for the children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me. SHAKIR: And We gave Musa the Book and made it a guidance to the children of Israel, saying: Do not take a protector besides Me;

Trying to find more clues I read the whole Sura 17 to see if there were more clues. It dealt to a large extent of the importance of the contact prayers. Let us take the one at noon (or is it after the sun’s zenith?) It turns out that it is illegal to start the midday prayer before the sun starts to decline, so there are helpful aids on the internet for more than six million locations all around the world to give you the exact local time to start your prayers. If you start them too early you nullify the whole idea of submission. At night you can pray as long as you want for extra credit.

17:78] KHALIFA: You shall observe the Contact Prayer (Salat) when the sun declines from its highest point at noon, as it moves towards sunset. You shall also observe (the recitation of) the Quran at dawn. (Reciting) the Quran at dawn is witnessed. YUSUFALI: Establish regular prayers – at the sun’s decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. PICKTHAL: Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn is ever witnessed. SHAKIR: Keep up prayer from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed.

[17:79] KHALIFA: During the night, you shall meditate for extra credit, that your Lord may raise you to an honorable rank. YUSUFALI: And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of Praise and Glory! PICKTHAL: And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate. SHAKIR: And during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud beyond what is incumbent on you; maybe your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory.

Moving right along I find another startling statement:

[17:101] KHALIFA: We supported Moses with nine profound miracles – ask the Children of Israel. When he went to them, Pharaoh said to him, “I think that you, Moses, are bewitched.” YUSUFALI: To Moses We did give Nine Clear Signs: As the Children of Israel: when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: “O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been worked upon by sorcery! PICKTHAL: And verily We gave unto Moses nine tokens, clear proofs (of Allah’s Sovereignty). Do but ask the Children of Israel how he came unto them, then Pharaoh said unto him: Lo! I deem thee one bewitched, O Moses. SHAKIR: And certainly We gave Musa nine clear signs; so ask the children of Israel. When he came to them, Firon said to him: Most surely I deem you, O Musa, to be a man deprived of reason. [17:102 ] KHALIFA:  He said, “You know full well that no one can manifest these except, obviously, the Lord of the heavens and the earth. I think that you, Pharaoh, are doomed.” YUSUFALI: Moses said, “Thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-opening evidence: and I consider thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to destruction!” PICKTHAL: He said: In truth thou knowest that none sent down these (portents) save the Lord of the heavens and the earth as proofs, and lo! (for my part) I deem thee lost, O Pharaoh. SHAKIR: He said: Truly you know that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent down these as clear proof and most surely I believe you, O Firon, to be given over to perdition. The Torah clearly states there are ten miracles (maybe one of them was not profound). The one omitted is the death of the firstborn, leading Pharaoh to finally let the children of Israel go. The death of the firstborn is the key event in the time of Egyptian captivity. It is still memorized as Passover, and for us Christians Jesus was the Passover lamb.

And the last verse is also troubling: [17:111] KHALIFA:  And proclaim: “Praise be to GOD, who has never begotten a son, nor does He have a partner in His kingship, nor does He need any ally out of weakness,” and magnify Him constantly. YUSUFALI: Say: “Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation: yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!” PICKTHAL: And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence. SHAKIR: And say: (All) praise is due to Allah, Who has not taken a son and Who has not a partner in the kingdom, and Who has not a helper to save Him from disgrace; and proclaim His greatness magnifying (Him). This is obviously a dig to all Christians.

But there was no reference to joined prayer; This is to be found in the mythical story:

Laylat-ul Mi’raj

(The Night of Mi’raj)

In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad’s night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem prior to his famous trip to heaven is called Isra’.  As alluded to in the Qur’an (17:1), a journey was made by a servant of God, in a single night, from the “sacred place of worship” (al-masjid al-haram) to the “further place of worship” (al-masjid al-aqsa).

Traditionally, there was general agreement that the servant of God was Muhammad and that the “sacred place of worship” was Mecca.  Early commentators, however, interpreted the “further place of worship” as heaven, and the entire verse was considered a reference to the Prophet’s ascension into heaven (Mi’raj), an ascension which also originated in Mecca.  In the period of the Umayyad caliphate (661–750), the “further place of worship” was read as Jerusalem.  The two versions were eventually reconciled by regarding the Isra’ simply as the night journey and relocating the point of Muhammad’s ascension from Mecca to Jerusalem to avoid confusion.  Some commentators also suggested that the Isra’ was a vision sent to Muhammad in his sleep and not an actual journey at all; but orthodox sentiment has emphatically preserved the physical, thus miraculous, nature of the trip.

The Isra’ story, greatly elaborated by tradition, relates that Muhammad made the journey astride Buraq (q.v.), a mythical winged creature, in the company of the archangel Gabriel. Muhammad meets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus in Jerusalem; he then officiates as leader (imam) of the ritual prayer (salat) for all the prophets assembled and establishes his primacy among God’s messengers. For the full story go to: “http://www.geocities.com/khola_mon/myth/Miraj.html”

So, this was the story if Isra, which gave the rousing applause at Obama’s speech. There are quite a few things that bother me, as a Christian about this quotation. But one thing is cute The mythical creature has the name Buraq, meaning Lightning. Barack is a namesake of this winged horse. So I can imagine Obama as a young lad in Indonesia going to public school and hearing the story of Isra during the mandatory Quran classes (Obama was registered in the school as Muslim by his step father) hearing from the teacher he has a famous name, and then hearing the whole story and feeling blessed and important destined to do great things. (This is just my imagination running wild).

Whar really bothers me are these things:

  1. Moses, Jesus and Muhammad pray the contact prayer (salat). This means Jesus acknowledges Mohammed’s      superiority as the final prophet.
  2. The furthermost place of prostration has been changed from Heaven to Jerusalem  to satisfy Ymayyad’s claim to Jerusalem, and is not found in the Quran. This story is the main claim of the Muslims for supremacy of Jerusalem apart from the normal claim, people and territory once under Muslim control must remain under Muslim control forever. They still haven’t gotten over the loss of Spain.
  3. Obama says piously:  Peace be upon them, as if Jesus is just another dead prophet. Jesus is not dead, He is Risen.

The Islamic infiltration is pervasive. Another example happened last winter:

Invocation by Husham Al-Husainy, Imam of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, a Shi’ite mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting. Here’s a transcript:

… In the name of God the most merciful, the most compassionate. We thank you, God, to bless us among your creations. We thank you, God, to make us as a great nation. We thank you God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us God to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Ameen.

The inquiring mind wants to know: Who are “the people you doom”. These are anybody that stands in the way of final peace that will come only after Islam is practiced by everybody. So this means Jews, Christians, cult members, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Shintoists, Animists, Wiccan, Agnostics, Atheists, and anybody that considers himself free from  all or belonging to another religion.