Spreading Christianity is a Hate Crime!

I was going to write about a few things today, but then this little ditty caught my attention, and even though I don't want to sound like I'm beating a dead horse, (Or a camel in this case!) as soon as I saw it I knew that I had to comment on it!

We all know that being an Apostate in Islam (rejecting Islam and converting to another faith) is punishable by death and is enforced in some parts of the Middle-East!

It works the other way too. (Just not the way you think!)

Here is what got me steamed!

Two Christian preachers were stopped from handing out Bible extracts by police because they were in a Muslim area, it was claimed yesterday.

They say they were told by a Muslim police community support officer that they could not preach there and that attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity was a hate crime.

The community officer is also said to have told the two men: ‘You have been warned. If you come back here and get beat up, well, you have been warned.’

Now if this had taken place in Saudi Arabia or even Egypt I could at least understand it, but that's not the case bunky! OH NO!

You see kids, this happened in BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND!!!!!!!!

This comes amid growing concern over the development of Islamic ‘no-go areas’ throughout Britain.

The preachers, who have the backing of the Christian Institute pressure group, say they will take the force to court for breaching their human rights if they don’t receive an apology.

They have accused the officer, PCSO Naeem Naguthney, of behaving in an ‘aggressive and threatening’ manner. A complaint by their lawyers said he interrupted as they spoke to Muslim youths about their beliefs.

Mr Abraham, 65, who was born a Muslim in Egypt and is a convert to Christianity, said: ‘He told us we were trying to convert Muslims to Christianity and that that was a hate crime.'

‘He said we were in a Muslim area and were not allowed to spread our Christian message. He said he was going to take us to the police station.’

Mr Cunningham added: ‘I am dumbfounded that the police seem so nonchalant. They seem content not to make it clear that what we were doing was perfectly legal. This is a free country and to suggest we were guilty of a hate crime for spreading God’s word is outrageous.’

According to a complaint by the men’s lawyers, Mr Naguthney summoned two other officers in support, one of whom, a full constable, is said to have told the men not to return to the area.

Upon further investigation by the "Perspective" research department it seems the Alum Rock area was at the heart of a terrorism inquiry last year, which ended with the conviction of local resident Parviz Khan for plotting to kidnap and behead a British soldier.

A senior Church of England bishop, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, warned recently that it is hard for non-Muslims to live and work in some areas where radicals and clerics are trying to impose an Islamic character.

As a final note on this strange and almost unbelievable article I have to admit that there was a time when I was all for Multi-Culturalism because it worked so well when my parents and others came over to Canada in the fifties and sixties.

But, since then we have had groups of people who aren't content to fit in, but would rather import their prejudices and lifestyles to the dismay and disruption of society in general.

I am becoming much more of a "fit in or get out" kind of guy!

Your "pissed" scribe;

Allan W Janssen

(With thanks to Steve Doughty and Andy Dolan of the Daily Mail.)

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://Allans-Perspective.blogspot.com

Christianity is Genetic

glumbert - Gay scientists isolate Christian gene

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://Allans-Perspective.blogspot.com

FREEDOM!

Well kids, the bleeding heart, politically correct, don't spank your kids, let other religions celebrate their holidays but put a stop to Christian activities in case you insult someone LEFT is out in force again.

The latest outcry is about "Fitna: Freedom of expression or freedom to insult?"

If you haven't seen this film yet it is further down the page in this blog but to save you the trouble I will explain it.

The movie shows verses from the Koran that advocate terrorism, killing infidels, (non-believers) chopping the hands from thieves, warfare and general mayhem accompanied by pictures of what radical Muslims and terrorists have been doing this past little while.

And these assholes ask if we are doing it just to insult the Muslims.

Listen bunky, I don't see any Lutheran (Me) terrorists, or any Buddhist suicide bombers, or Baptist fathers killing their daughters because they slept with someone, or any Mormon's stoning people who leave the faith, or Jehovah's Witnesses subjugating their women, or Protestants and Catholics who wage a holy war on.................. Oh, wait a minute....... I forgot about Northern Ireland!

Oh well, five out of six ain't bad!

Back to my point.

This is not about insulting someones religion bunky.

The Muslims have brought it on themselves by the actions of the Radical Islamist and the complacency of the mainstream Muslim community.

Sure our freedoms end at the point of swinging your arms..... at someone else's nose, and you can't yell fire in a crowded theatre, but it would be blasphemous for us to let other people and religions tell us how to live our lives.

If Islamic radicals tell us that we are going to convert to Islam no matter what they have to do, then that is a declaration of war and I'm not too concerned about who I insult!

End of story!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

To sin..... or not!

O.K. kids, gather round! Today's lesson is on how to read the bullshit detector properly!



We are going to give you some statemnets from this web-site and all you have to do is determine whether it is the "God's honest truth!" or a bunch of crap. Ready? Go!

- Peter Atkins, professor of chemistry at Oxford and an atheist, said that man is ‘just a bit of slime on the planet’. He believes it’s scientific fact that we evolved from pond scum. That’s hardly the stuff to inspire us with purpose and sacrifice......... ‘Now I realize why I’ve been depressed for so long’, a man with dishevelled hair, baggy clothes and unkempt beard told me one evening. He said he had always accepted evolution was a fact. That night he realized that this evolutionary belief was the reason for his dark despair and feeling of emptiness. All this illustrates why creation is not an academic issue. Your understanding of where you have come from impacts the way you live now, and that affects your destiny. The truth is that evolution is not scientific fact. In Creation magazine we show how the scientific evidence supports creation.

- The more that science discovers about the living cell, the more the evidence supports creation by an intelligent designer. In fact, more levels of complexity in the design of DNA have now been identified, further supporting an intelligent designer. It’s so amazing that it is breathtaking. Design in the world, of course, has always pointed to the reality of God. Romans 1:20 says: ‘For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen.’ Examples of design are too many to count: the mantis shrimp the monarch butterfly, marsupial pouches, and the amazing abilities of squirrels. All these testify to the hand of the supreme intelligent designer. But who is the designer? Science cannot answer these questions, but the Creator has spoken to us through his prophets and given us the answers in the Bible.

- Believing the Bible is not a matter of blind faith. There’s lots of evidence for its reliability. Archaeological discoveries confirm the Bible’s historical accuracy. Gold discoveries support the biblical timescale. Dinosaur fossils support the account of the global Flood in the Bible.

- One lady I know of, Brooke, really struggled in her first year as a Christian. ‘I would be a passionate Christian on Sundays, but when I started thinking about creation against evolution I would find it hard to believe in God during the week. It was like a yo-yo between believing and not believing.’ Things changed when she learned about the scientific evidence for creation and realized she could trust the Bible. Brooke said that it helped her find her feet—and her wings. That’s the sort of stuff that Creation magazine deals with.

- The reason men rape is because of Original Sin. This very easily explains rape, but because you're an unbeliever, you have no real answer as to why rape is wrong. In your free will, everybody-decide-for-himself-what's-right-or-wrong view, by definition, means that there is no transcendent, absolute argument against rape or anything else.

- But, I'm not talking about just 'religion.' I'm not a religionist. I don't believe 'religion' saves anybody. 'Religion' is something people babble about and praise when they don't know what they are talking about.' Religion' isn't, necessarily, good or bad. It depends on whether you're talking about a true or false religion. Again, please, forget 'religion'. I'm not a religionist. I'm defending Christianity.

- The Bible makes it clear that death is the penalty for our sin. In other words, it is really our fault that the world is the way it is.

- We all inherit this propensity to evil because of our descent from Adam.

Now bunky, comes the results; If you marked all these as being bullshit, go to the head of the class! If not........... back to the confessional!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

ZEITGEIST (The Spirit of the Times)

I ran across this Internet movie today and was amazed. Lots of the same things as in my book plus stuff on 9/11 and other things that make this film a "Must See!"

Trust me , it will be well worth it! (when it starts go about ten minutes into it since the first few minutes are long and drawn out without too much content. After that, WATCH OUT!)

Here is the web page; http://zeitgeistmovie.com/ or go H E R E.

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

Teach the Bible in Schools…Please!

Since this issue hasn’t gone away yet, I just wanted to register my opinion that the Bible should be taught in public schools.

I’d love that.

In fact, just to help facilitate this, I thought I’d do a favor to any local school board weighing the issue and come up with a course curriculum for them.

The History of the Bible - Course Curriculum:

First quarter: Students will study the historic context of the old testament, including slavery, the inferiority of women, etc., and develop an understanding of how these social attitudes are mirrored by the main character, God, in his rules regarding exactly how slaves should be treated and how best to own your women. Exercises will include female students shutting up and baking pies for the male students, while male students create a deity and decide whether or not that deity approves of the pre-established pie-baking and shutting-up system.

Second quarter: Students will study the historic context of the new testament, including reviewing the history of the gospels; namely the men who wrote them and how they could have done so having never knew Jesus. Discussion will include an exercise known as the “telephone game”.

Third quarter: Students will study the creation of the modern-day bible by the Roman Empire. Topics will include the merging of Christian holidays with Pagan traditions and other marketing techniques employed in the selling of Christianity to the empire’s subjects, as well as a lesson on the books that the Romans omitted from the bible because they didn’t fit with the rest. Discussion will include students presenting ideas on how the Romans might have decided for God which books were His word and which were fiction, as well as ideas on what the Roman’s previous god Saturn might have thought about this process.

Fourth quarter: Students will study the various translations of the bible and learn to draw relationships between the results of translation and the goals of the translators. Discussion will include a review of substantial differences in various translations and students will compare key passages and how they appear in the Hebrew, King James, Good News, Esperanto and Klingon versions of the bible.

Goal: Students will come away from this class with the understanding that the Bible was never handed down to man from the ether, but rather a collection of books written by men, edited by other men, translated by more men and interpreted by even more men, with vastly divergent results and agenda's.

For their final exam they will be asked to write three page essay on why a flawless and perfect being might choose such a retarded method for communicating such important ideas when such direct methods as sky-writing and speaking through flaming shrubbery would be readily available.

(Of course we can also extend the same religious instructions to the followers of the Koran, and especially to the Madrasa of Pakistan and other parts of the Middle-East!

Madrasas provide free religious education, boarding and lodging and are essentially schools for the poor. Over one and a half million children attend madrasas.

These seminaries run on public philanthropy and produce indoctrinated clergymen of various Muslim sects. Some sections of the more orthodox Muslim sects have been radicalised by state sponsored exposure to jihad, first in Afghanistan, then in Kashmir.

However, the Madrasa problem goes beyond militancy. Students at more than 10,000 seminaries are being trained in theory, for service in the religious sector. But their constrained worldview, lack of modern civic education and poverty make them a destabilising factor in Pakistani society.

For all these reasons, they are also susceptible to romantic notions of sectarian and international jihads, which promise instant salvation.)

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

Muslim's forming closed societies in Britain!

I saw a piece in Britain's "Sunday Telegraph" that you should know about!

Islamic extremists have created "no-go" areas across Britain where it is too dangerous for non-Muslims to enter, one of the Church of England's most senior bishops warns today.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester and the Church's only Asian bishop, says that people of a different race or faith face physical attack if they live or work in communities dominated by a strict Muslim ideology.

Bishop Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, gives warning that attempts are being made to give Britain an increasingly Islamic character by introducing the call to prayer and wider use of sharia law, a legal system based on the Koran.

In an attack on the Government's response to immigration and the influx of "people of other faiths to these shores", he blames its "novel philosophy of multiculturalism" for allowing society to become deeply divided, and accuses ministers of lacking a "moral and spiritual vision".

Echoing Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, who has said that the country is "sleepwalking into segregation", the Bishop argues that multiculturalism has led to deep divisions.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, has accused Muslims of promoting a kind of "voluntary apartheid" by shutting themselves in closed societies and demanding immunity from criticism.

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

Saturday Morning Confusion #496

This morning I am so confused that it makes my head ache.

I am reading the Saturday morning paper and noticed an article about the "Religion of Peace," and how a British exchange teacher Gillian Gibbons allowed one of her students in Sudan to name his teddy bear Mohammad.

So what, you say!

Well, "what it is," is that Islam is no more a "Religion of Peace" than I am the King of Bavaria.

The Sudanese people got so upset over this "insult" to Mohammad that they are now holding mass demonstrations calling for the EXECUTION of poor old Gillian.

No slap on the wrist, no comments such as; "that ain't nice," or no "tsk tsk" under their breath, NO! Everyone jumped up and started yelling "KILL THE BITCH!"

This naturally brings us to the question; "Is Islam a religion of Peace?" NO!

Let me give you a quick quote from my book "The Plain Truth About God" where we turn our attention from Christianity to the tenants of Islam!

Islam was born out of war and conquest over 1300 years ago and has remained violent ever since.

(It remained violent, but has not progressed in any way shape or form since. The mindset of the average Muslim in the Middle-East is still firmly anchored somewhere between the eighth and twelfth century.)

Traditional authorities, beginning in the time shortly after Muhammad, viewed holy law as the revealed will of God and subordinated politics to holy decree.

Historically however, it was politics (tribal or otherwise) that invariable shaped Islamic law and led to complex discourse on a subject that was contentious on the surface but at its base rather simple.

The religious precepts are pretty straightforward, but the task of explaining them and choosing a method for their application is left in human hands. This means they are automatically constrained by human limitations.

On top of this, Muslims became politically divided early in their history with the division into the Shiite and Sunni sects and that oriented their respective understandings of the law and its applications.

After Muhammad’s death, Islam also got off to a rocky start when warfare was used to spread the faith and three of the first four Caliphs died by violence.

The fourth Caliph, Ali, was a cousin of Muhammad and his followers then tore the community in two by claiming that Ali should have been the first caliph by virtue of his blood ties to Muhammad.

As we said, Islam became highly divisive right from its inception when it split into the Sunni, Shiite, and Sufi sects. Add to this the fact that Islam was spread through war and conflict as opposed to the philosophy of “love thy neighbor” that was the foundation of Christianity, and we have a religion that is ripe for dissension and conflict.

On top of the divisiveness amongst the practitioners of Islam, we can see how the faith slides still further with the triumph of fundamentalist interpretations of the Koran in the 11Th century.

This resulted in the triggering of major conflicts amongst the population of the region and the gradual decline of Islamic, and then by default, Arab civilization.

As you can see folks, one of the main problems with Islam is it's refusal to adjust to changing times and circumstances and the only way to cure this is through education of the masses.

(Perhaps what Islam needs is a “Reformation” along the same lines as the upheaval of the Catholic Church by Martin Luther.)

AND SPEAKING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH............... don't think they are any better.

Don't forget we are dealing with Religions that started out with the supposed word of God and then became corrupted by human interpretation and hidden agenda's.

Pope Benedict criticized modern day atheism in a major document released yesterday, saying it had led to some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known!!!

Jesus Christ, talk about the kettle calling the pot black!

That is about the greatest amount of hypocrisy I have seen in a long, long time!

Here is a religion that was responsible for the Inquisition, The Crusades, the persecution on non-believers and heretics and all manner of lying, cheating, duplicity and subterfuge that has the audacity to call atheists the villains!


Let me tell ya folks, this is why I love GOD but don't trust any of the people that work for him!

Your humble servant;
Allan W Janssen

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com and the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

Islamic Power Play!

Every few months another story hits the news: Terrorist plot uncovered, Muslims implicated.

Since the tragedy of 9/11, Muslims have remained under intense scrutiny, and more than a few North Americans and Europeans have called the religion "evil."

(The fact of the matter is that it is a small number of the extremist clergy who are "evil." The sheep just follow them like......... sheep!)

People still wonder: Why aren't Muslims saying--or doing--enough to condemn terrorism and violence? Is Islam really a religion of violence?

The truth is, American Muslims are constantly condemning terrorism and religious extremism, unambiguously and in the strongest possible ways.

But, many Muslims complain, their words and actions are not being heard!

So we sought out some of the country's most prominent Muslims, who battle these misconceptions everyday, to get their answers on this question:

What is it about Islam, the Qur'an, and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad that drives Muslims to reject extremism and terrorism?

Shahed Amanullah, Journalist
Amanullah has harnessed the power of the Internet to spread a positive view of Islam. He is one of the country's foremost Muslim journalists. He is the editor of altmuslim.com, a Muslim news website, and founder of Halalfire Media, a network of Muslim-themed websites with more than five million annual visitors. Through his work Amanullah has tapped into a strong force of online activism.

"Islam stresses public order and the rule of the law. Terrorism destroys this social order and decreases the tranquility of life that Islam emphasizes. ... " During the life of the Prophet Muhammad, whenever there was a choice between conflict and social order, he always chose the path of least violence unless forced to do otherwise. The Qur'an has a strong ethical orientation to help people regardless of their religious affiliation and calls people to faith based on reason and spiritual intuition, not force. Terrorism is an imposition of force and fear to change the minds of people. Muslims must show non-Muslims the beauty of our religion, create peace between peoples, and promote justice and the rule of law. Terrorism runs counter to all these values, and therefore absolutely goes against Islam." -- Shahed Amanullah

Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Civic and Social Leader
When Mattson was elected president of the Islamic Society of Northern America (ISNA) in 2006, she became the first woman to lead one of the most powerful Muslim social, civic, and political organizations in the country and America's largest, most inclusive Islamic group. Mattson leads ISNA at a challenging time when American Muslims are struggling to promote their religion, encourage interfaith dialogue, and separate themselves from the views of extremists.

"Americans should turn off the TV and look for opportunities to get to know their Muslim neighbor because it will alleviate a great deal of fear and anxiety. The most important teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on this issue are about the rights of the neighbor, and that the neighbor has rights on a Muslim that are almost as strong as the rights of family. No one can be called a true believer if his neighbor, or anyone in his community, is afraid of him--these are the guiding principles for the vast majority of Muslims. It's these teachings that make those Muslims want to be good citizens and good friends to those people around. Terrorism isn't part of our religion, and never has been." --Dr. Ingrid Mattson

Imam Abdul Feisal Rauf, Religious Leader
One of the most sought-after American Muslims speakers, Rauf is an imam in New York City, a participant in Beliefnet's "Preachers and Teachers," feature, and the chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, a multi-faith organization that seeks to improve relations between the Islamic world and the West. As the author of several books, including "What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West," Rauf is on the front lines of interfaith dialogue.

"The Holy Qur'an teaches us that "Whoever kills a human being ... it is as if he has killed all humankind; and if he saves a human life, it is as if he has saved the lives of all humankind (Qur'an 5:32)." Islam condemns the abuse of religion by fanatics whose purpose is to rouse hate and beget further violence. Nothing is as antithetical to all religion as when wanton violence is wreaked by extremists. Millions of Muslims live in peace with the world around them. They are examples of Islam's true harmony and are fighting against terrorism through dialogue, knowledge, and outreach. And the Prophet of Islam serves as the ultimate example of compassion and love to Muslims. So to sink to violence against innocents serves no purpose in Islam." --Imam Abdul Feisal Rauf

Salam Al-Marayati, Political and Civic Leader Al-Marayati is the man Muslims turn to for guidance in political and civic activism. As the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an organization dedicated to changing public opinion and policy, Al-Marayati has encouraged Muslims to get involved in anti-terrorism efforts like the National Grassroots Campaign to Fight Terrorism, which guides imams and mosque leaders to cooperate with law enforcement in exposing individuals with extremist ideas within the Muslim community.

"Non-Muslims should know that Islam is based on three things: The belief in One God, service to humanity, and the teachings of mercy, compassion, and justice. Islam has no room for terrorism, and Islam obligates us to counter terrorism. The Prophet to me stands for love of humanity, compassion to the stranger, and servant to the people. And the Qur'an repeatedly teaches us not to allow any self-destructive behavior, whether through suicide or through harming innocent people in our surroundings. We have been given a trust as human beings to fight oppression and to care for humanity. The Qur'an states: ... 'It is God's will that you become a community of the middle way.' That has been interpreted by several Islamic scholars as the call for moderation." --Salam Al-Marayati

Daisy Khan, Activist
Khan, the founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, is a driving force behind youth and women's movements in American Islam. She organized the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (which advises youth to reconcile varying ideologies within Islam) and the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity (WISE), a 2006 project that gathered 100 of the world's most influential Muslim women last year to develop a Shura (Muslim law) council to advance gender equality.

"Islam shares the ethical foundations of Christianity and Judaism: To love God and our fellow human being, commit to social justice, diversity, and pluralism, and struggle for moral uprightness....." The Prophet Muhammad cautioned Muslims, ... 'Beware of extremism in the religion.' He is known to have repeatedly emphasized the middle path of moderation and gentleness traveled by most of today's Muslims. The Qur'an continually warns believers against extremism and any kind of excess: 'Do not exceed the bounds in your religion,' and ... 'Commit not transgression therein, lest My anger should justly descend upon you.' From an Islamic perspective, zealotry and extremism signify a tendency away from what is deemed moderate and balanced. So we continue to condemn the violence and senselessness of terrorism and the devastation it wreaks on us all." --Daisy Khan

I personally believe it is the fault of the Muslim (Islamic Extremist) clerics who are no different than their Christian counterparts of five hundred to a thousand years ago.

These guys don't want women to be equal, they don't want to give up their positions of power and importance and most of all, like all of us, they don't want change.

That is the primary reason they see American and Western ideals and lifestyles as a threat to their very existence and will send an endless supply of young idealists to their deaths in suicide bombings.

The poor sons-of-bitches need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the twenty first century. Period!

Your "behind the scenes" scribe;
Allan W Janssen

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 at www.God-101.com

Free Book!

I want to promote my book a little so I am happy to give a PDF copy to the first 50 people that send me an e-mail requesting one.

If you're wondering what it's about: God-101 presents an insight into
the history of religion from the earliest Animism to how the teachings of "Jesus" were overlaid with Greek philosophy, Pagan beliefs and Pauline thought to become the sayings of 'The Christ' and form the basis of our modern Bible.

God-101 also gives an analysis of how the priesthood and priestcraft has corrupted Christianity and the other major religions.

It shows how “religious dogma” has led to the polarization of different sects within the same religion,(Catholic/Protestant – Shiite/Sunni) and how religious strife affects society as a whole, including the upcoming world – wide - clash between Christianity and Islam!

E-mail me at allanjanssen@rogers.com or www.God-101.com

If you would like a paperback or hardcover version, it is available for a nominal fee at Amazon.com; "The Plain Truth About God-101"

<-- <--FREE BOOK ALSO AVAILABLE ON THIS SIDE!


Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) www.God-101.com

Can I get an Ahmen

A Quote:

Christianity, Islam, etc., like all religions, rejects reason as a means of gaining knowledge and guiding action; it holds that all important truths are grasped by faith in supernatural beings and sacred texts.

The other shoe!!!!

With the ongoing controversy over remarks made by the Pope, some of the reasons for his observations are becoming more evident.

Barbara Amiel wrote an interesting article in Canada’s MacLean’s magazine over the weekend and I find her remarks are dead on target.

She talks about how Christianity is now a mild creed that was tamed over the last millennium by European Civilization, starting with two centuries of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, European enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.

Unfortunately, while Christianity has reconciled itself with reason, Islam continues to be a Medieval system that hasn’t. To quote Ms. Amiel:

Christianity was displaced as a political force by the secular state. Exit the sword-wavers attempting to create Christian theocracies or massive conversions.

Today the Pope runs the Catholics and the Lutherans and Anglicans have their head honchos as well.

This is not the case with Islam where self-appointed - so called - clerics can set up shop at the local mosque and start to disseminate wisdom, both spiritual and secular, in any manner they choose.

Islam’s jihadists celebrate when their actions send shivers up the spines of the Western moral elite. As an example Berlin's opera performance of Idomeneo was cancelled last week because it was considered too great a security risk for depicting a scene showing the decapitated head of the Prophet Muhammad, along with the heads of Christ, Buddha and Poseidon.

(By the way, NO Christians, Buddhists or Greeks were making similar threats!)

The Pope dropped the first shoe in a message to Islam that there finally appears to be someone in Christendom who isn’t resigned to Christians being harassed, imprisoned, tortured and even executed in Islamic countries simply for their beliefs.

This Pope has his eye on the beleaguered part of his flock that is living under Islamofascism. No one else seems to care a whit about them!

The United Nations certainly doesn’t give a fig about Christians. (Now I would have said they don’t give a flying fuck, but these are gentle Barbara’s words and not mine!) It is too heavily influenced by third world countries and the Muslim vote.

Its special relationship with human rights groups in occupied Palestinian territories makes it a whiz at stoking up anti-Israel resolutions and their record on freedom of religion is even more dismal.

The list of anti-Christian societies is lengthy. Christians have had their homes attacked or are jailed in Muslim countries across the globe from Indonesia to northern Nigeria, but no General Assembly debates on the matter!

While it’s common knowledge that it’s dangerous to publicly practice Christianity or convert from Islam virtually anywhere in the Middle East except Israel, concerned Muslim intellectuals worry about Islam’s refusal to reconsider the Quran in light of modernity.

However, they are the moderates, and by definition at the movement’s centre, not the steering edge. Instead, direction comes from the far-out rudder.

The extremists steer the Muslim ship and will continue to do so until it rights itself, sinks, or is righted by outside forces!

The Pope has already met with Muslim representatives to attempt a dialogue. The sad part is that such language lessons usually go one way.

Islam is unlikely to learn to talk like the Pope, but the Pope may yet learn to talk like an Ayatollah.

When he does, the other shoe will no doubt fall!

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

A tale of two brothers.

This is the tale of two brothers. Let's draw a rough parallel and say one is a "hippie" and the other is a "punker."

Although they come from the same Father and had the same set of values instilled in them, in the long run they turned out to be two very different people.

The one, (the hippie) walks around with flowers and prayer beads and since he is a Beatles fan preaches, "All you need is love,” in the tradition of John and Paul.

He sees the world as a garden (although it was once a paradise) and himself as its caretaker. His main job is to get people to come into his garden and share in the bounty of pot, chanting and free love!

The other, (the punker) has a much harsher view. He thinks the world is a dangerous place, much like a desert, and the only way to get ahead is to make his own way by his own means.

The world to him is unforgiving and his way of coping is to live by a certain set of rules and then to get as many others as possible to follow those rules as well.

That way they can all live in relative peace and harmony in the neighbourhood.

In this tale there are also cousins around who are skinheads, rappers, jazz buffs, classical musicians, into reggae and country plus all sorts of buskers, freelancers and people from Utah, but that's another story for another time.

Now the hippie has been around a long time and been through a lot of trials and tribulations. He has had his ups and downs and for a while he was even the town bully. Also, due to his drug dealings he was quite well off. But, age and a few appearances before the (secular) courts have mellowed him somewhat over the years.

Becoming a responsible adult with age and experience the hippie has started to become the sort of man his Father wanted him to be. True, he still occasionally listens to the Beatles and rock music. He still espouses his philosophy to his neighbours, and once in a while he even plays his sitar.

Overall though, he has learned many of life's cruel lessons and is becoming an adult who is responsible for his own actions. He got a job, will probably marry and have children one day and for him the world is slowly unfolding as it should.

His younger brother, meanwhile, came from a different Mother and grew up in a totally different neighbourhood. His was a life of conflict and strife and the one rule he learned early is that you have to survive by your wits and strength.

His was not a world of love and peace but rather a test to see who was strongest.

Gone was the concept of "Love thy neighbour" and in its place the family became all-important. To survive he had to rely on his brothers and half brothers and together with them face what life had to offer. In times of crisis, his cousins and uncles were called upon, and as a last resort he would even have to convince his neighbours that a united front was needed.

Instead of “love one and other,” it was a case of “us against them” and he looked inward instead of outward. No “sit-ins and protests” for our punker friend here. No, rather he became a “head banger” and instead of pot he turned to harder drugs, which he had to take 5 times a day.

Under the onslaught of heavy metal and the sayings of people like Curt Cobain, (who by the way, died tragically) the younger brother had a much rougher childhood and adolescence than his older hippie brother.

Unemployment was rampant in the family and many times he had to live on government handouts and the kindness of strangers. Crime was all around him and the struggle to survive gave his life a rough edge.

Early on, the younger brother discovered a drug called “ecstasy” that took away much of the pain of living and replaced it with boundless energy and a feeling of ………well, ecstasy!

Now the days were less cruel and at times even pleasant. The drudgery of life was lifted whenever his pusher filled him with the magic elixir and he began to feel so good that at times he swore he would go so far as to kill or give up his life for it.

His ecstasy was carried as a shield before him and he began to live his life around it, much as his older brother had done before him with his "pot" and “counter-culture.”

So, that’s the way the story sits to this day. Oh, I’m sure that the younger brother will one day follow in the footsteps of his older brother and start to grow up and become the man their Father wanted them to be. But you see the teen years are not easy and I fear junior still has a few bumps ahead of him. Only time will tell.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

Excedrin headache #3

The holy month of Ramadan is being oserved as we speak and while Muslims around the world pray to God they have Christian groups praying right along with them.

BUT, the extra prayers may not be all that welcome.

In a campaign called the "30 Day Muslim Prayer Focus," Christians are asking God to help Muslims realize the error of their ways. They pray that followers of Islam accept Jesus Christ as their personal saviour so that they might follow the TRUE path to salvation.

Meanwhile, Imam Yahya Hendi, a Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University says he believes true followers of Jesus should not pray for the conversion of others to the Christian way of life. They should instead show their faith throught good works much like Mother Teresa. He said; "Mother Teresa did not go out and pray for people to convert to Christianity, but rather selflessly took care of the poor and that's what made people love her and her faith."

But Jamal Badawi, an Islamic scholar and professor emeritus as Halifax's Saint Mary's University, says he prays daily that Christians finally see the light and realize the truth in the teachings of Muhammad and that they embrace Islam. He said: "I know that in many cases people really have that sincere desire in their hearts to pray for other people who cannot see the error of their ways and that is why I pray they realize the truth of Islam."

Well I have news for you, God sent a message by long, long distance.
He said: STOP IT................ you're giving Him a headache!

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

Misogynists to the left! Misogynists to the right!

It is totally beyond me why there is not a lot more International outrage over the actions of Muslim Fundamentalists like the Taliban.

To quote part of my blog called "Enough with the apologies, already" we have to unite, loudly, in our condemnation of violent, unprovoked attacks on churches, elderly nuns, embassies, Christians, different sects of Islam and women in general.

By "we" I mean the White House, the Vatican, the German Greens, the French Foreign Ministry, NATO, Greenpeace, Le Monde and Fox News -- Western institutions of the left, the right and everything in between.

True, these principles sound pretty elementary -- "We're pro-free speech and anti gratuitous violence" -- but in the days since the Pope's sermon and now this poor women being killed in Afghanistan, I don't feel that I've heard them defend freedoms in anything like a unanimous chorus.

(AP)An Afghan woman killed by the Taliban was praised by governments and officials around the world Tuesday for her work improving the lives of women.
Two gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed Safia Ama Jan, the head of a provincial women's affairs department near her home in Kandahar on Monday.
Ama Jan was shot to death while walking to her office. She had led the women's ministry of Kandahar province since 2001, when U.S.-led military forces overthrew the Taliban.
"It was my wife who was working for our survival," her husband, Mohamed Tahir, said through a translator. "We are poor people and did not have animosity toward anyone."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the murder, and have frequently targeted those seeking to educate Afghan women and children.

These people, (Taliban) and others like them are stuck somewhere in the twelfth century and need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the twenty first.

Yes, in their eyes it might be good for their "manhood" and "honour" to treat half the human population as slaves and no better than dogs, but this is not what we as a people should aspire to. Nor condone!

Also, no matter how it is spun, it is certainly not advocated, nor acceptable in the Quran.

The unbeleivable arrogance of people like this, who not only think they can do what-ever they want, but also vow to reduce everyone else to their level must be stopped at all costs.

To grow as human beings we need to eradicate this sort of behaviour once and for all.

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

"Oh Yea! Well so are you!"

A few words about what the Pope said about Islam this week and how it was recieved by the Muslim community.

Basically the Pope quoted from a fourteenth century document that said "Islam is a religion that is spread by the sword!" (Now this is nothing new since that is exactly how is was spread and as an example three of the first four caliphs to succeed Muhammed were murdered.)

Was it just a quote about a statement made six or seven hundred years ago or used as a springboard to address issues that are relevant today? Was it perhaps used as a statement to expose a flaw in Islam that needs to be addressed.

One of the factors to consider in this whole debate is what was the purpose behind the statement. (Look at the church burnings and murders because of it!) Has the Catholic Church changed its direction and started to address issues it sees in need of correction? Will this "change in direction" lead to further friction between the two great religions? How can the Catholic Church raise these issues with its own history of violence and subterfuge?

To "get things into perspective here," (God I love those words!) don't forget we are looking at two religions that are opposite sides of the same coin.

Muhammed and Islam was in an almost constant state of war from 622 c.e. to 661 c.e., had a civil-war between 656 c.e. and 661 c.e., serious episodes of violence in 680 c.e. and 692 c.e., another civil was between 744 c.e. and 75. c.e. and then further expansion by warfare until the Crusaders arrived.

Chrisianity, meanwhile, spread its influence through force and terror during most of its history. (Helped in no small part by the Hapsburgs)
Including that great party they called the "Inquisition."

So there you have it! Although it has not been declared for many, many years, (war) we have two great institutions vying for power by whatever means possible. For one to criticize the other is like the pot calling the kettle black!

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

Funny, you don't look Jewish!

I was watching a documentary on Jerusalem today and they were discussing how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were all prevalent in the city and what sort of effect this has on the three belief systems.

An Israeli being interviewed made a comment that I have heard a thousand times before, but for some reason I suddenly looked at it in an entirely new way.

Before I tell you what the comment was, let me set the stage for what I am about to suggest.

There is a term in psychology (which I can't remember) that says that no matter how beautiful the logic of an argument is, if it is based on a false premise to begin with then it negates the whole argument.

In other words, if I start out with 1. A lie or 2. A misinformed or distorted viewpoint then it doesn't matter how precise and accurate any argument is from then on - it doesn't matter! (I am sure someone will write and tell me what the term is!)

Now, let's get back to what the comment was! The Jew said, "Since we are the chosen people................" and that's when I had an epiphany and said to myself”; Wait a minute! We have gone under the assumption for thousands of years that the Jews are the "Chosen People" but who told us that? Why, the Jews of course!"

I know it say so in the Bible, but who wrote the Old Testament? The Jews!

Now I am not saying that this was a deliberate deception on the part of the Israelis those many thousands of years ago, but rather that they came to believe it over a period of time since they were amongst the first tribes with the cohesiveness of a religious doctrine.

It could have slowly developed from a bit of wistful thinking into something more concrete and finally into a full-blown conviction that was eventually written down as "Gospel!"

This concept of being special or "Chosen" was both a blessing and a curse to the Jews. It is the glue that has held them together for all these thousands of years where many other cultures have disappeared into the mists of time, but it also set them apart from the societies in which they lived and caused them untold grief over being "different" and "outcasts."

A grief that went so deep as to even end in the Holocaust.

The very thing that made these people overcome untold hardships over the millennia is also the very thing that set them apart and ostracized them.

Let me quote from my book "The Plain Truth About God-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!)

** "God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
- - Voltaire (1694-1778)
Or this;
** "The more you complain the longer God lets you live.”
--Anonymous

Your Pondering Pal - Al

Till death us do part; which could be sooner rather than later!

My wife’s best friend has a son that is getting married in Toronto on the 27th of August and we are invited to be in the wedding party.

So far my wife has talked about nothing but the ramifications of this marriage and how it will affect the wedding.

You see, he is Jewish and she is Muslim!

Now I should be quick to point out that neither one of them is a devout Jew nor Muslim, plus Johnny (we still call him that even though he is a grown man now) is paying for the wedding himself, so there is not much the relatives can say.

Nevertheless, you can bet your ass that there is going to be a LOT said behind closed doors. As a matter of fact there is even the possibility that some of the relatives (or a lot of them) will not be coming to the wedding or the party after!
Since I have been asked to say something during the reception I decided it would be a appropriate to share this quote from my book “The Plain Truth About God-101.”

It is said that once upon a time a King gathered together a few men who had been born blind. They were asked to describe an elephant, but each one was presented with only a certain part of it.
To one was presented the head of the elephant, to another the trunk, to another its ears, to another the leg, the body, the tail, tuft of the tail, etc.
The one who was presented with the head said, "The elephant is like a pot!” The one who was presented the trunk answered, "The elephant is like a hose.” The one who touched only the ears thought that the elephant was a fan, the others said that it was a pillar, a wall, a rope, a brush, etc.
Then they quarreled among themselves, each thinking that he was the only one right and the others were wrong.
The obvious truth is that the elephant is a unity of many parts, a unity that they could not grasp in their ignorance.

According to the pattern suggested by this tale, it is often said that world religions form a unity, and only this total unity provides the right perspective on ultimate truth. This is encouraged by the suggestion to consider the various world religions as alternative paths to the same goal.

Therefore, one option is that Christianity, Judaism and Islam, (as well as their individual sects) will each claim to be the only right path to God.

Although this vision is arousing a lot of enthusiasm amongst their adherents, it is important to know that these are not the only views. We also have to look at the Eastern religions for a counterpoint.

Therefore, another option is that all world religions are pieces of the same puzzle.

Theoretically, two possibilities exist. A proper evaluation of such opposite views as Eastern and Western Religion must be done before we decide on a course of action.

If the first is true (all religions lead us to the same goal), and we choose the second (only one of them is right), we have not lost anything. Despite our ignorance, we will arrive at the same happy end as the other travelers who have chosen different spiritual paths.

A less happy situation would be given by the second possibility, that a single spiritual path is valid and we have chosen the wrong one. In this case, we are courting a spiritual disaster.

(A third possibility, that all spiritual paths are wrong, is denied by the nature of our spiritual quest itself. This search demands a real fulfillment, otherwise our hunger for ultimate truth could not be justified and all religions would be nothing but fantasy.)

By default then, because one option is so unpalatable, (that there is nothing after life) we would have to choose the view that all religions lead us to the same goal.
Now this is not meant merely to generate rational proofs for justifying one or another alternative.

No matter how complex and logical the proofs of one or the other causes might be, it is possible to find counterpoints of the same nature. At a rational level, these disputes could fill many books with no benefit to anyone.

No one can be persuaded or converted to one or another religious perspective only through rational proof and logic. This may be possible in science, but not in religion, otherwise everyone would already be of one faith.

However, rational proofs have to be considered because we are rational beings. Reason should not be rejected and faith proclaimed the only way of knowing truth. No divorce between reason and experience should be accepted because they are complementary and work together. Neither should exclude the other.

As a result, we do not have to reject the proof of reason in our spiritual quests, whatever their nature might be. The comparative analysis presented here is focused on Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the major Eastern Religions because they play a major role in defining today's world spirituality.

Some may believe that a comparative analysis like this may fuel religious hatred and intolerance, but this is wrong. Religious tolerance and freedom cannot be built on ignorance but rather should be built on the understanding of commonalities. Therefore, as the prophet Jesus said: "Loving the person is possible even if one rejects his or her religious convictions!"

So it should be with all of us!!
Your ever-faithful scribe;
Allan W Janssen

Christianity is Idol worship!

At the end of the first century C.E. The Alexandrian School of Thought, of which Origin and Clement of Alexandria were part, taught that there were three possible approaches to be taken to the scriptures.

(That there were already discussions of this magnitude and significance tells us a lot of the early Christian movement.)

The first approach was the literal translation, the second was symbolic, or allegorical, and the third was spiritual.

The first (the literal) was described as simplistic and solely for the un-educated. The second (symbolic) was the use of parables to convey a deeper meaning, and third (spiritual) was to transcend the mortal plane and bring us closer to God.

Unfortunately at that time, as now, the un-washed masses cried out for a ready-made, simplistic, popular faith. A faith that can best be described as closer to a romance novel than any serious attempt at theology and philosophy.

This is also the reason that the "Resurrection" was proclaimed as the basis for Christianity.

This version of the "Faith", when combined with the Roman gift of organization and brute force, led to the "Christianity" that has been handed down to us.

If the sayings and parables of "Christ" are examined closely with the purpose of separating those words that were actually uttered by “Jesus” from those that were later attributed to him, we see a vast difference in the context, meaning, and purpose between the two. The biblical words of "Christ" were indeed a direct reflection of their place and time, just as today we are all products of our time and age.

However, the actual sayings of the historical "Jesus,” which upon close examination shows only a handful of thoughts and parables, are so simple and basic, with such underlying truth, that they can be applied to the human condition of any age.

Your Scribe
Allan W Janssen

The true message of salvation!

To get a better handle on exactly what Jesus meant in the sermons to his followers we can look back to the Gospel of Thomas.

Thomas represents a Jewish "Wisdom" philosophy that was embraced by Jesus and the Gnostics. - “That the kingdom of God is not something we must await for - but is in fact already here, if only we can become spiritual enough to see it”.

One of the documents found at Nag Hammadi begins with a note in the margin, "The Gospel According to Thomas." The first sentence of that document says, "These are the secret words which the living Jesus taught and which Judas Thomas Didymos wrote down." Then they start over 110 sayings, each introduced with "and Jesus said."

Now this is very reveling since some of those sayings have parallels in the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, and some not. However, we can state that sayings or parables that are repeated two or more times in any of the early Gospels have a much higher chance of being an actual utterance by the historical Jesus.

These sayings may go back to a very early period of Christianity; some of them may have been added later. The document itself comes from the fourth century and as with all gospel text, we have to remember that these texts were fluid.

Remember, scribes could add, could leave things out, or could add comments and even their own interpretations.

They not only could, but also did!

Now what is typical about these sayings is that in each instance, they tell us that if you want to understand what Jesus said, you have to first recognize yourself. You have to know yourself, know who you are.

It begins with a saying about the Kingdom of God, which is probably one of the most important, and reveling proclamations.

"If you seek the Kingdom of God in the sky then the birds will precede you, ad if you seek it in the sea, then the fish will precede you, but the Kingdom is in you, and if you know yourself, then you know the Kingdom of the Father.”

However, if you do not know yourself, you live in poverty, not knowledge! That which is understood to be the knowledge of one's divine origin. “The fact that one has come from the Kingdom of the Father”.

What does it mean really to know oneself? To know one is to have insight into one's own ultimate divine identity.

"Know yourself" is a very old Greek maxim... That is, you have to know that your own soul is divine, and then you know that you are immortal. Whereas, the body is the mortal part of human existence.

Now this is radicalized in the Gospel of Thomas into saying that everything that is experienced physically and through sense perception, everything in the world that you can perceive in this way is nothing. It is, at best, chaos and, at worst, it does not even exist in reality. The only thing that really exists is your divine spirit or your divine soul, which is identical in its quality with God himself.

This, in many ways, exactly reflects the philosophy of the Eastern Religions. (There is even a lot of conjecture about the lost years of Jesus, between the time when he was in his late teens until he began his ministry at about the age of thirty. There are unsubstantiated reports of his having visited a monastery in India and studied Eastern Philosophy!)

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book "The Plain Truth About god-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!)