Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Is this bloodshed Islam's Reformation?

"The current mess looks remarkably like the Thirty Years War with its religious underpinnings, warring states and over-involved mega powers."

Andrew Klavan  "This from a Wall Street Journal piece celebrating the October 31st anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, the 1517 protest against Church practices that is usually regarded as the start of Christianity’s Reformation. Joseph Loconte, an associate professor at the Christian King’s College, writes:

Given the failed revolutions of the Arab Spring, can Islam undergo a similar reformation? One hopeful sign is the outrage at the atrocities carried out under the banner of Islam.
"Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the relentlessly heroic crusader against Islamism, and the author of Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, also finds hope in Islamic protests against Islamist atrocities."


"One can hope. But the tenets of Westphalia grew out of Christian thinking and Christian religion. Christians were appalled by the bloodletting of the the Thirty Years War precisely because it violated the central preachings of the Prince of Peace: Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you. The outline for modern statehood and separation of church and state were written into the Gospels: Judge not lest ye be judged; render under Caesar that which is Caesar and unto God that which is God’s, and so on."

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