Crusade vs. Jihad

Having been out of touch with most of what was going on with the world for a month, I’m back. The first thing to do, said I, is find something for the blog. Ok, not first, but it was on the list...

As answer to my ongoing quest, there appeared a number of stories in a couple of newspapers this weekend about the shift occurring in Christianity and although most of this wasn’t news to me, it did get me thinking that I could rile some people up with my unvarnished thoughts on the matter.

Essentially, the power centre of Christianity has shifted from Europe to Africa and Asia. What I hadn’t previously taken note of, being preoccupied with the depredations of Islam on Western society, was what the prognosis is for Islam’s main competition.

According to the stuff I was reading, (my interpretation, at least) the near complete collapse of faith in Europe and erosion in North America has been largely counterbalanced by an energetic resurgence or breaking of new ground in Africa and Asia, particularly South Korea and China.

Personally, I’m not a church-going type, but I recognize that you have to fight fire with fire, or at least brimstone, and secular moral relativism is a lousy counter to Belief (capitals intended). This equates to: if push comes to shove, I’ll back the faith of my ancestors as that’s what got us the advances we have today. Islam is a dead-end, and is completely incompatible with progress, so I don’t want it in charge of any place I live. I don’t want a theocracy of any sort, but Christianity at least acknowledges the idea of separation between religion and state.

This is all my personal view, and at that not based on anything other than “research by osmosis” over the years. It certainly appears that the Muslims causing the trouble (not all of them of course) are un-persuaded of the virtues of dialogue, and they are more interested in forcing people to see things their way. Religion isn’t the best route to an open mind, but something is needed to motivate those of us who don’t want to live under the Caliphate. Also, just maybe, being able to see everyone’s point of view is a bit of problem when one of those views wants you dead or enslaved…

So, it’s a good-news-bad-news thing. The future of Western civilization does NOT necessarily belong to Islam, but the cures for that disease are like chemotherapy, and in any event staving off the Islamist death cults will alter our society significantly. It seems to me that there is a lack of will, even a certain enervation in Western societies that prevents us taking the action required to deal with the root causes of those who wish us destroyed or assimilated. I have a feeling that the push will come from Africa, from the Christian communities directly on the front lines of the “Clash of Civilizations.”

So Secular Humanists, convince me that you have a rallying-cry to defend my way of life. Barring that, consider that the enemy of your enemy is your friend and think about who you have a chance of making common cause with. I’m pretty sure that Bin Laden’s crew and the Mullahs in Tehran won’t make that list, so who will have the stones to take them on? The Pope folded, so the spiritual descendants of Martin Luther may have to do the job.