Nothing original, yet again.

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html


Better atheist than Muslim?


Chad at Cacoethes Scribendi posits that we are in a period of three way
conflict: between Christendom, Islam and the secularist, materialist
West. It's an excellent post and one well worth reading in its
entirety. He then goes on to ask if 'the best thing we can hope for in
the unending war against Islam is for materialism to be successful in
its advance into Muslim society'?

To that I would answer emphatically no. Why not? Well, first, that
given the choice between an ordinary devout Muslim (note: I am not
talking about Salafists and their ilk, who take what is best about
Islamic civilisation and twisted it into a necklace of skulls) and a
Western secular atheist, I would unhesitatingly choose the Muslim. My
suspicion is that God would too. After all, let's just pause here for a
moment and look at what we have in common with Muslims: we believe in
one God, the creator of heaven and earth. We believe in prayer,
salvation, and that we are held accountable for our deeds in this life
in the next. (If only I wasn't so pushed for time at the moment I'd
write something more about the commonalities between Christianity and
Islam as opposed to secularism.)

My second reason for hoping that materialism does not advance further
into the Muslim world is that I believe there are good grounds for
thinking that the cancer that is eating away at the Dar al Islam is the
product of an unholy union between what is worse within Islam and what
is worse within the West. 'Islamofascism' or 'Islamonihilism' are both
good descriptive terms for this union. Further penetration of Western
materialism and decadence into the Dar al Islam is only likely to make
matters worse.

Thirdly, assuming that the current civil war within the House of Islam
is won by the people I hope will win it - and I know that's a big
assumption - , then I believe that Muslims are likely to become to some
extent our allies against the 'culture of death'. Not perfect allies,
but allies nonetheless. For remember we are dealing with degrees of
truth here: there is much that is true and good within the House of
Islam, there is nothing true and good about the culture of death.

Of course, the real problem in future lies with the Muslim minorities
in Western countries. Theodore Dalrymple is exactly right when he says:

'Young Muslim men in Britain-as in France and elsewhere in the
West-have a problem of personal, cultural, and national identity.
They are deeply secularized, with little religious faith, even if most
will admit to a belief in God. Their interest in Islam is slight. They
do not pray or keep Ramadan (except if it brings them some practical
advantage, such as the postponement of a court appearance). Their
tastes are for the most part those of non-Muslim lower-class young
men.'

What these young men don't need is more gangsta rap. I would argue,
rather unusually on a Catholic blog, that what they actually need is
their religion. Only conversion can save these young men from the
nihilist hell that they have plunged themselves into, and given the
situation in which they are, conversion to Islam is more likely than
conversion to Christianity. The problem is, of course, that depending
on the type of Islam they convert to, they may be simply exchanging one
sort of cold consuming fire for another. However, I believe that
ordinary Islam or Islam in its Sufic dimensions provides sufficient
means for God, through the person of Jesus Christ, to lead Muslims to
salvation. I of course realise that this is a personal opinion, and one
advanced tentatively, but my own experience attests to it.

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html


Better atheist than Muslim?

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html


Better atheist than Muslim?

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html


Better atheist than Muslim?

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html


Better atheist than Muslim?


Chad at Cacoethes Scribendi posits that we are in a period of three way
conflict: between Christendom, Islam and the secularist, materialist
West.

entirety. He then goes on to ask if 'the best thing we can hope for in
the unending war against Islam is for materialism to be successful in
its advance into Muslim society'?

To that I would answer emphatically no. Why not? Well, first, that
given the choice between an ordinary devout Muslim (note: I am not
talking about Salafists and their ilk, who take what is best about
Islamic civilisation and twisted it into a necklace of skulls) and a
Western secular atheist, I would unhesitatingly choose the Muslim. My
suspicion is that God would too. After all, let's just pause here for a
moment and look at what we have in common with Muslims: we believe in
one God, the creator of heaven and earth. We believe in prayer,
salvation, and that we are held accountable for our deeds in this life
in the next. (If only I wasn't so pushed for time at the moment I'd
write something more about the commonalities between Christianity and
Islam as opposed to secularism.)

My second reason for hoping that materialism does not advance further
into the Muslim world is that I believe there are good grounds for
thinking that the cancer that is eating away at the Dar al Islam is the
product of an unholy union between what is worse within Islam and what
is worse within the West. 'Islamofascism' or 'Islamonihilism' are both
good descriptive terms for this union. Further penetration of Western
materialism and decadence into the Dar al Islam is only likely to make
matters worse.

Thirdly, assuming that the current civil war within the House of Islam
is won by the people I hope will win it - and I know that's a big
assumption - , then I believe that Muslims are likely to become to some
extent our allies against the 'culture of death'. Not perfect allies,
but allies nonetheless. For remember we are dealing with degrees of
truth here: there is much that is true and good within the House of
Islam, there is nothing true and good about the culture of death.

Of course, the real problem in future lies with the Muslim minorities
in Western countries. Theodore Dalrymple is exactly right when he says:

'Young Muslim men in Britain-as in France and elsewhere in the
West-have a problem of personal, cultural, and national identity.
They are deeply secularized, with little religious faith, even if most
will admit to a belief in God. Their interest in Islam is slight. They
do not pray or keep Ramadan (except if it brings them some practical
advantage, such as the postponement of a court appearance). Their
tastes are for the most part those of non-Muslim lower-class young
men.'

What these young men don't need is more gangsta rap. I would argue,
rather unusually on a Catholic blog, that what they actually need is
their religion. Only conversion can save these young men from the
nihilist hell that they have plunged themselves into, and given the
situation in which they are, conversion to Islam is more likely than
conversion to Christianity. The problem is, of course, that depending
on the type of Islam they convert to, they may be simply exchanging one
sort of cold consuming fire for another. However, I believe that
ordinary Islam or Islam in its Sufic dimensions provides sufficient
means for God, through the person of Jesus Christ, to lead Muslims to
salvation. I of course realise that this is a personal opinion, and one
advanced tentatively, but my own experience attests to it.

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html


Better atheist than Muslim?


Chad at Cacoethes Scribendi posits that we are in a period of three way
conflict: between Christendom, Islam and the secularist, materialist
West. It's an excellent post and one well worth reading in its
entirety. He then goes on to ask if 'the best thing we can hope for in
the unending war against Islam is for materialism to be successful in
its advance into Muslim society'?

To that I would answer emphatically no. Why not? Well, first, that
given the choice between an ordinary devout Muslim (note: I am not
talking about Salafists and their ilk, who take what is best about
Islamic civilisation and twisted it into a necklace of skulls) and a
Western secular atheist, I would unhesitatingly choose the Muslim. My
suspicion is that God would too. After all, let's just pause here for a
moment and look at what we have in common with Muslims: we believe in
one God, the creator of heaven and earth. We believe in prayer,
salvation, and that we are held accountable for our deeds in this life
in the next. (If only I wasn't so pushed for time at the moment I'd
write something more about the commonalities between Christianity and
Islam as opposed to secularism.)

My second reason for hoping that materialism does not advance further
into the Muslim world is that I believe there are good grounds for
thinking that the cancer that is eating away at the Dar al Islam is the
product of an unholy union between what is worse within Islam and what
is worse within the West. 'Islamofascism' or 'Islamonihilism' are both
good descriptive terms for this union. Further penetration of Western
materialism and decadence into the Dar al Islam is only likely to make
matters worse.

Thirdly, assuming that the current civil war within the House of Islam
is won by the people I hope will win it - and I know that's a big
assumption - , then I believe that Muslims are likely to become to some
extent our allies against the 'culture of death'. Not perfect allies,
but allies nonetheless. For remember we are dealing with degrees of
truth here: there is much that is true and good within the House of
Islam, there is nothing true and good about the culture of death.

Of course, the real problem in future lies with the Muslim minorities
in Western countries. Theodore Dalrymple is exactly right when he says:

'Young Muslim men in Britain-as in France and elsewhere in the
West-have a problem of personal, cultural, and national identity.
They are deeply secularized, with little religious faith, even if most
will admit to a belief in God. Their interest in Islam is slight. They
do not pray or keep Ramadan (except if it brings them some practical
advantage, such as the postponement of a court appearance). Their
tastes are for the most part those of non-Muslim lower-class young
men.'

What these young men don't need is more gangsta rap. I would argue,
rather unusually on a Catholic blog, that what they actually need is
their religion. Only conversion can save these young men from the
nihilist hell that they have plunged themselves into, and given the
situation in which they are, conversion to Islam is more likely than
conversion to Christianity. The problem is, of course, that depending
on the type of Islam they convert to, they may be simply exchanging one
sort of cold consuming fire for another. However, I believe that
ordinary Islam or Islam in its Sufic dimensions provides sufficient
means for God, through the person of Jesus Christ, to lead Muslims to
salvation. I of course realise that this is a personal opinion, and one
advanced tentatively, but my own experience attests to it.

http://albertusminimus.typepad.com/albertus_minimus/2005/11/better_atheist_.html

Better atheist than Muslim?

Chad at Cacoethes Scribendi posits that we are in a period of three way
conflict: between Christendom, Islam and the secularist, materialist
West.