The King, the Pope, And the Sword

[MugenOne]

The King, the Pope, And the Sword

By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
November 8, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Saudi+Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s king visited the pope at the Vatican this week, and the leader of Catholicism expressed grief over the draconian discrimination experienced by Christian minorities in some Muslim lands.
During the unprecedented and historic encounter, Benedict XVI gave the Saudi monarch an old painting of the Vatican. The king’s gift to the pontiff: a sword.
As a gift from from a leading Islamic fundamentalist nation, a sword is about as clear a symbol of intolerance as there can be; and indeed, swords are used for public decapitations in Saudi Arabia on Fridays.

nysun.com/article/66106

Me says, Indeed, non-verbal communication!

But Benedict is the first pope in the past century to draw a bright line between Islam on one hand and Judeo-Christian revealed religion on the other, and that may destine him “not to send peace, but a sword”, like his predecessor. This makes Benedict the most indispensable man of our times, and the Catholic Church, the founding institution of the West, its still-indispensable institution.

The distinction between Pope Benedict XVI and the secular west could not be brighter. B16 stands on uncompromising principle rooted in the idea that God is love and stands opposed to the capricious Allah, the God of Power. He has no interest in the sword but knows at some point the chips must fall where they may. He prays for peace but will not sacrifice His soul for this.

The secular west on the other hand stand on a principle that can be summed up rather crudely: no balls at all.

They are meek and malleable in the face of their enemy. And this has nothing to do with a willingness for violent means. They drop every principle and completely capitulate in the face of this mediocre, even pathetic threat.

 

[FCEGM]

. . .
The distinction between Pope Benedict XVI and the secular west could not be brighter. B16 stands on uncompromising principle rooted in the idea that God is love and stands opposed to the capricious Allah, the God of Power. He has no interest in the sword but knows at some point the chips must fall where they may. He prays for peace but will not sacrifice His soul for this.

The secular west on the other hand stand on a principle that can be summed up rather crudely: no balls at all.

They are meek and malleable in the face of their enemy. And this has nothing to do with a willingness for violent means. They drop every principle and completely capitulate in the face of this mediocre, even pathetic threat.

That bore repeating!

 

[birdsong]

As a Christian who is sick and tired of all the BS that is political correctness, I am so happy :extrahappy: that Ratzinger seems to be more upfront and confrontational towards one of Christianity’s declared enemies: islam. I am actually of the thinking that this century will be humanity’s last, and that in the next few decades a Pope who will lead Christianity in a fight against the forces of evil, including islam, will appear. :knight2: As the OP correctly says, no political figure in the western civilisation shows any kind of courage to lead us during these most crucial of times, so it will fall on the leader of the catholic church to do this!

Blessed are the people who resist the forces of evil !

Viva Cristo Rey!

The King, the Pope, And the Sword

By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
November 8, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Saudi+Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s king visited the pope at the Vatican this week, and the leader of Catholicism expressed grief over the draconian discrimination experienced by Christian minorities in some Muslim lands.
During the unprecedented and historic encounter, Benedict XVI gave the Saudi monarch an old painting of the Vatican. The king’s gift to the pontiff: a sword.
As a gift from from a leading Islamic fundamentalist nation, a sword is about as clear a symbol of intolerance as there can be; and indeed, swords are used for public decapitations in Saudi Arabia on Fridays.

nysun.com/article/66106

Me says, Indeed, non-verbal communication!

But Benedict is the first pope in the past century to draw a bright line between Islam on one hand and Judeo-Christian revealed religion on the other, and that may destine him “not to send peace, but a sword”, like his predecessor. This makes Benedict the most indispensable man of our times, and the Catholic Church, the founding institution of the West, its still-indispensable institution.

The distinction between Pope Benedict XVI and the secular west could not be brighter. B16 stands on uncompromising principle rooted in the idea that God is love and stands opposed to the capricious Allah, the God of Power. He has no interest in the sword but knows at some point the chips must fall where they may. He prays for peace but will not sacrifice His soul for this.

The secular west on the other hand stand on a principle that can be summed up rather crudely: no balls at all.

They are meek and malleable in the face of their enemy. And this has nothing to do with a willingness for violent means. They drop every principle and completely capitulate in the face of this mediocre, even pathetic threat.

 

[zagjames]

In Arabian Countries being given a sword by the King/Sherif/Ruler is a great honor. Or at least that is how I have always understood it. But I dunno. I do like the stance B16 is taking on Islam though

 

[swariffin]

The King, the Pope, And the Sword

By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
November 8, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Saudi+Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s king visited the pope at the Vatican this week, and the leader of Catholicism expressed grief over the draconian discrimination experienced by Christian minorities in some Muslim lands.
During the unprecedented and historic encounter, Benedict XVI gave the Saudi monarch an old painting of the Vatican. The king’s gift to the pontiff: a sword.
As a gift from from a leading Islamic fundamentalist nation, a sword is about as clear a symbol of intolerance as there can be; and indeed, swords are used for public decapitations in Saudi Arabia on Fridays.

I don’t know what a sword means in Saudi Arabian culture. But, a sharp weapon is not necessarily a message of war. A Javanese/Balinese “Keris” although physically a weapon, it is more as a symbol of political power. A gift of a Keris is indeed a high respect to the receipient.

 

[MugenOne]

Well, that’s correct. When I left Saudi Arabia, I was given a plaque with a dagger with picture of President FDR and King Somebody. It’s a common practice. The Pope might look at this is as a threat.

In Arabian Countries being given a sword by the King/Sherif/Ruler is a great honor. Or at least that is how I have always understood it. But I dunno. I do like the stance B16 is taking on Islam though

 

[Kadaveri]

Thankfully Pope Benedict seems rational enough to not perceive every gesture from a Muslim as some kind of veiled threat to kill everyone.

 

[Booklover]

Why a sword?

Reuters explains in a story about the meeting:At the end of the meeting, the king gave the Pope a gold and silver sword studded with precious jewels, in keeping with a bedouin custom the Saudis also follow when foreign leaders visit their country.An ironic gift, yes, in light of the furor in the Islamic world over the Pope’s remarks at Regensberg, but not one meant to be insulting. Indeed, it is, as Reuters tells us, a traditional gift. But it does reveal something about Abdullah’s self-image as the leader of an Islamic state – a state which, after all, has a sword on its flag, right underneath the Islamic profession of faith. To Abdullah, such a gift is clearly not inconsistent with his view of Islam or of himself as an Islamic leader.

But just imagine Pope Benedict XVI giving anyone a sword. He wouldn’t, because such a gift would be inconsistent with his own self-image as a Christian leader, and with his view of Christianity. He views Christianity as a religion of peace. At his meeting with Abdullah, the contrast between the two religions, so controverted and controversial elsewhere, was plain, and taken for granted.

jihadwatch.org/archives/2007_11.php

Vickie

 

[mercygate]

Think about it. Would you give someone you consider your enemy a SWORD? It’s all just diplomatic window-dressing anyway but a fine ceremonial sword (that you could slice the giver’s throat with) seems to be a repectable and honorable gift.

They would still be cutting people’s heads off on Fridays, even if he had given the Pope a cote of turtle-doves.