The 14th century theologian, hesychastic monk, and for a long time Archbishop of Thessalonica, Gregory Palamas (canonized as a saint shortly after his death), one day in approximately 1355 was sailing on a ship on his travels when Muslim pirates attacked it and abducted those they did not kill -- among them, Gregory Palamas.
Palamas later wrote a letter in which he recounted many details of his kidnapping and subsequent interrogations by the Muslims. One particular quote stands out, speaking truth to jihad. Note: when he says "nation" he refers to the Caliphate, and Islam:
For this infidel and god-hated and all-abominable nation boasts that they have overcome the Romans on account of piety... God has delivered them unto a lascivious mind, passions and vices, so that they live shamefully and inhumanly and in a way hated by God ... they live by their bows and swords, rejoicing in enslavement, murder, raiding, looting, wantonness, adultery, sodomy. And not only do they indulge in such practices, but (O madness!) they think that God approves of them. This is my opinion concerning them, now that I know their ways more accurately.
Source:
"Gregory Palamas among the Turks and Documents of His Captivity as Historical Sources", G. Georgiades Arnakis, Speculum, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jan., 1951), p. 106.
12 comments:
In the Muslim mind, Allah more than merely approves immorality: Allah literally exhorts immorality!
Here's your Church of England now. Can anybody spell Chrislam?
http://www.steynonline.com/7437/hair-today-gone-tomorrow
Christian radio calls it 'friendship evangelism' and points out that it is high on friendship with Muslum and non-existent on evangelism of Muslims.
The dhimmi pastors are unaware that the Muslims are the ones 'evangelizing' them for Islam!
"In the Muslim mind, Allah more than merely approves immorality: Allah literally exhorts immorality!"
Yes Egghead; but more than that, Allah calls what is immorality, morality. That's what distinguishes the Mohammedan from the elementary barbarian: the latter revels in his immorality, knowing and not caring it is immoral; the former has through an elaborate culture & paradigm of inversion come to believe he is following piety & ethics by following what is in fact impiety and evil (though that can only be seen by affirming an applying an objective standard).
Yes, except that the human spirit inherently knows right from wrong - which is WHY Islam only succeeds via empowering psychopaths to torture and murder those who would choose to leave.
Except again, the above is the PC MC argument in favor of importing Muslims (loudly proclaimed to be the greatest 'victims' of Islam, or poverty, or something like that - hey, isn't Islam the religion of peace?): Muslims in the West will be 'different' (better?!) because the West is 'freer' than the East.
I feel a twitch coming on....
DP111...
I'm going to go against the flow here.
The response of these vicars and fathers is correct from the Biblical POV. Paul writes in many of his letters, that he will do anything to bring a person to Christ, except deny Christ. The person's soul is what Paul is interested in. So he will eat or not eat meat, change his looks or dress, so he does not offend some person, and that person then misses out on Gospel truth.
As long as these ministers or vicars do not deny Christ, they are following Christ's commands.
Will they succeed? From the historical perspective, NO. But if they change one Muslim, they will have succeeded, as they will have saved one soul.
As for the large scale, we do not know the future. It all depends on circumstances, and most of all, God's will.
Hi DP111,
I am so grateful that you are willing to have thoughtful conversations.
There are several important points regarding the topic of Islamic beards worn by Christian clergy:
1. The status of souls is always in play. Souls must be maintained as well as converted - even - and perhaps especially - the souls of clergy.
2. Christian clergy must consciously and actively avoid and combat Islamic dawah directed as themselves and their Christian flock.
3. Christian clergy must avoid becoming part of Islamic dawah that seeks to convert (revert) Christians to Islam.
4. Christian clergy must avoid becoming part of Islamic peer pressure for Christian people to submit whereby Christian men wear Islamic beards and Christian women wear Islamic clothing (scarves, etc.).
5. If Christian clergy are indistinguishable on the street from devout Muslims, that is a very destructive development to Christian culture.
6. God views the human body as a temple. If the temple appears as a Satanic mosque, God is displeased.
7. There is a definite movement to create one world religion. The idea that we all worship the 'same' God is part of that movement. My God is different and condemns polygamous marriages, six year old wives, and sex slavery.
8. There is a movement to create Chrislam as a combined religion. Christian clergy wearing Islamic beards contributes to Chrislam, and God is displeased by false idols and false religions.
" Paul writes in many of his letters, that he will do anything to bring a person to Christ, except deny Christ. The person's soul is what Paul is interested in."
This is irrelevant to defending the lives and property of men, women and children. If a Christian's stance is that he has no interest in defending the lives and property of men, women and children -- or worse, that he would jeopardize this even to monstrous lengths of endangering the lives, dignity and property of untold numbers of men, women, and children in order to pursue evangelism, then he becomes an enemy of civilization. His best defense would be analogous to the driver who was so elated with his thoughts of how much good he had done that day helping the homeless and sick in hospitals, that he took his eyes off the road while driving home and tragically killed an entire family with his reckless driving.
I.e., "Ethical Narcissism" isn't only a tendency of the modern secular; it can also afflict the Christian.
Hi Hesp,
Here is an article about the regressive left:
http://legalinsurrection.com/2016/02/the-regressive-left-in-israel-and-the-west/
So, can we speculate that this Eastern man would be unswayed (more likely emboldened) by an Islamicly-bearded cleric - and that this Western boy will now doubt the goodness of God?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3434708/Iraqi-migrant-raped-10-year-old-boy-swimming-pool-Vienna-told-police-sexual-emergency-hadn-t-sex-months.html
Paul was a missionary who PREACHED the word of God to FOREIGN pagans.
Modern English clerics are ordered under pain of arrest from the English government - and threat of death from Muslims - to be seen but NOT heard. Thus, dressed in beards as Muslim men, modern English clerics would lack the key defining characteristic of Paul which was his PREACHING (rather than his appearance).
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8330
DP111...
Egghead & Heperado
Have spent the last decade educating our church, vicar included, of the dangers of Islam. Most if not all the congregation now see Islam as a threat, which they didn't had they been following the BBC line.
But now I'm asked what they should do. All I can say is to educate all they know, and pray.
I accept the points you make, but what are we to do as lone individuals?
Love conquers all, so all we now have, after the massive betrayal of our rulers, is to trust in God.
Thank you both for responding with so much thought, and in a civil manner
It appears from past Islamic genocides that love is going to be an inadequate self-defense to the predations of conquering Muslims.
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