Barbarians

15 Comments

1. Absit invidia says:

   26 February 2015 at 10:30 PM

   I simply cannot understand how the civilized world allows these hooligans to pillage, rape, and plunder with no civilized nation lifting a finger to stop them – not “degrade” them, but really stop them. This reminds me of how the Northern Vietnamese Army utterly brutalized South Vietnam after forces withdrew from there and America declared a standoff.
2. gramma10 says:

   26 February 2015 at 10:49 PM

   cnewa.org is accepting donations for these poor brave Christians over there.

   Help Syria’s frightened Christians survive.

   Please pray and discern your role.
   Thank you.
3. Muv says:

   27 February 2015 at 3:42 AM

   Or if you are in Europe, donations can be sent to Aid to the Church in Need

   UK site – http://www.acnuk.org/

   International Head Office in Germany – http://www.acn-intl.org/pg/home.html?p=EN,,,1.2,,,

   And here is an article showing the Prince of Wales during his recent visit to Jordan. He is a supporter of Aid to the Church in Need, has contributed financially and also spoken out about the plight of Christians in Syria and Iraq. We don’t hear much from the government about the persecution of Christians, but Prince Charles has been very forthcoming.

   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/jordan/11398232/Prince-of-Wales-in-show-of-support-for-Jordan-and-Middle-East-Christians.html
4. northernhermit says:

   27 February 2015 at 8:20 AM

   Did you notice how the article mentioned that the Puritans of England did the same thing? It seems they borrowed from Obama’s comparison of ISIS and the crusades.
5. jhayes says:

   27 February 2015 at 8:22 AM

   Don’t think I’ve heard this explained by the Church before:

   At the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said he was unaware of any discussion of martyrdom for Mr. Foley, noting that such a process can take decades or centuries. But he did say that any religious conversion “not done freely does not indicate a conversion.”

   “You can’t condemn people who are afraid of dying and so don’t show themselves as Catholic,” Cardinal Amato said. “A Christian is not obliged to be a martyr.”

   HERE

   James Foley was beheaded by ISIS in August. He was a devout Catholic who was reported to have converted to Islam during his captivity. [Whoa… hang on. Don’t connect the two. A person can hide. A person can flee. A person can be mute. But we can’t abjure the Christian Faith, apostatize.]
6. YoungLatinMassGuy says:

   27 February 2015 at 8:46 AM

   If one wants to understand the darker side of human nature, one needs to understand one simple fact:

   Being the “bad guy” is fun!

   (Like pretty much all sin) Burning, looting, and raping your way across the countryside can be, and is, Incredibly FUN!

   If you don’t, or can’t, get that, then you’ll nowhere close to understanding isis.
7. ocalatrad says:

   27 February 2015 at 9:00 AM

   “Barbarians” is right. These people make the Nazis look like kindly gentlemen. This grieves me almost as much as the constant murders because it goes to the soul of humanity and its cultural heritage, a heritage which can never be reclaimed.
8. Aquinas Gal says:

   27 February 2015 at 9:15 AM

   These cultural treasures can never be replaced. This graphic image shows how opposed to culture, study, and education ISIS is — a logical conclusion to Islam’s rejection of the God of reason, as Benedict has spoken about.
9. jhayes says:

   27 February 2015 at 11:15 AM

   Fr. Z commented Whoa… hang on. Don’t connect the two. A person can hide. A person can flee. A person can be mute. But we can’t abjure the Christian Faith, apostatize.

   Foley had been in captivity for two years before he was beheaded. The article I linked said that one interpretation might be that he had pretended to convert to Islam under duress but had continued to see himself as a Catholic. Since many Catholics in the Middle East may be faced with that decision, It may be worthwhile clarifying Cardinal Amato’s comments in which he said that a conversion under duress is not really a conversion and that Catholics are not required to be martyrs.

   The Marranos in Spain adopted that strategy. They were Jews who publically converted to Catholicism in order to remain in the country but continued to practice Judaism in private and to attend clandestine Jewish services when possible

   Catholics may have to decide whether they can say the formula for becoming Muslim “I declare that there is no God but God (Allah) and .Muhammed is the Prophet of God” while believing that since they are saying it under duress they are not really converting and are still Catholic

   It seems important for the Church to be very clear about that.

   [Apostates can’t be martyrs. What is left is to determine is who is an apostate.]
10. Marissa says:

    27 February 2015 at 12:48 PM

    (Like pretty much all sin) Burning, looting, and raping your way across the countryside can be, and is, Incredibly FUN!

    If you don’t, or can’t, get that, then you’ll nowhere close to understanding isis.

    Indeed, not just fun, but empowering. To have total control of the world around you is usurping the role of God. It’s what the serpent promised Eve.

    I also think it really is a sincere attempt to be a good Muslim though. Jihad has always been a part of that.
11. frjim4321 says:

    27 February 2015 at 1:59 PM

    Thanks for the valuable post, but … isn’t this an insult to barbarians? [Tru dat.]
12. Clinton says:

    27 February 2015 at 3:04 PM

    I notice that the video only shows them destroying large, heavy artworks.
    I’ve read that these same barbarians who congratulate themselves for their
    vandalism were not above looting, preserving, and selling the more portable
    artifacts to provide cash for ISIS. In other words, they aren’t so committed
    to purging the world of idols that they aren’t willing to make a buck, too.

    Somehow that just makes the vandalism worse.
13. kimberley jean says:

    27 February 2015 at 6:26 PM

    jhayes, being able to say the shahada won’t save you. The Jordanian pilot probably learned it by heart when he was a little boy.
14. jhayes says:

    27 February 2015 at 9:15 PM

    kimberley jean, I don’t think ISIS doubted that the pilot was a Muslim or asked him to say the shahada to prove he was.

    I think the problem is for Catholics who are captured and told “convert to Islam by morning or we will kill you”

    They should be offered the option to pay the Jizya instead, but if they are dealing with extremists, they may have to decide between saying the shahada to confirm their conversion, or accepting death.
15. The Cobbler says:

    28 February 2015 at 10:00 PM

    Well, I never thought I’d say this ;^), but I couldn’t agree more with Fr. Jim!

    Unrelatedly (well, related only through the topic of the post…), being evil isn’t fun… thrilling, sure, but there’s a big difference.

Comments are closed.