A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


September 14, 2012

Differing World Views Lead To World Chaos

     As it is becoming quite clear, the violence in the Middle East the past few days has been systematically coordinated to incite the flames of anti-Western sentiment.  If you look behind the curtain  you will find that the internet played a huge part in fanning those flames.  Just as we in America are experiencing "flash mobs", social media (via cell phones and email) is being used by radical jihadists to coordinate angry groups into violent protests.  Groups like Al Queda search the internet for any perceived insult they can use to spread their hate and further their cause.  The Youtube video played right into their hands.  A few well-placed tweets and text messages help to manipulate the anger, and the hate goes viral.
     The point of my post today is not to point out the obvious --- that the relations between the West and the Middle East are at an all-time low; but to show the differing world views among all the players and how these dissimilar philosophies and conceptions of the world create such conflict.
      First of all, we must define what a world view is.  The best definition I've seen is by author David Noebel:  "A world view is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. [It's] any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world, and man's relations to God and the world."  OK, so in layman's terms, and for the purpose of my post, we'll agree that world view is a combination of all that we believe is true; and this system of beliefs influences everything you think, feel and do.  It also affects your response to everything around you; from your personal affairs to world events.  So let's take a look at the different world views we can identify.
     Christian World View -  Ideally, this should be synonymous with a Biblical world view.  Unfortunately, the two are often world's apart, but that's another post for another day.  However, for this Christian, they are one and the same, and so I will give you my world view based on the Bible.  This is how I relate to the world.  My faith is at the center of how I live my life and these factors affect all of my decisions and actions.  I believe in the One True God, Jehovah, and the following principles: 1) There are absolute moral truths that exist, i.e. I believe that there is Good and Evil in the world.  2)  I define what is Good and Evil based on what the Bible has revealed to me.  3)  I look to Jesus Christ as my example of the perfect sinless life; I try to live my life by following His principles (failing miserably, but continually making the effort.  4)  I view what happens in my life and the world from the perspective that God is the Creator of the Universe and still in control of it.  5)  I believe there is more to my existence than this earthly life; in accepting Jesus as my personal savior and knowing that he died for my sins, I know that eternal life is possible.  So I do not live my life focused on the ways of this world.  6)  I believe that pure Evil exists in the form of Satan.  No ifs, ands or buts.  He is the Enemy.   7)  I have a responsibility to my fellow man to share the Good News of my faith and to give everyone the opportunity to know the Grace I have received.  7)  I believe in the Truth of all the teachings in the Bible, and it is my guidebook.  My world view gives me the freedom to be all I can be, accomplish anything I desire, and live in harmony with my fellow man.  I want to stress that what I've expressed in this world view is an ideal representation.  It can be distorted, perverted and misused, as can each of them.
     Islamic World View - Like Christianity, the Islamic faith believes in one God, Allah.  The pillars of their faith include:  1) confession of faith,  2) prayer,  3) fasting during their holy days of Ramadan,  4) charity to others,  5) a pilgrimage, at least once in their lifetime, to the holy city of Mecca.  The Islamic worldview, like the Biblical, believes in the absolute moral truths of Good and Evil, that God creates the world, and a form of existence of the "soul" after the death of the body.  Islam believes in the importance of the family and the worship of God.  Some would include a sixth pillar of faith,  jihad, which can mean either  a) the battle against temptation and sin for the sake of self-control, or b) the battle against any and all who oppose Islam.  Those that have the Islamic world view find both of these definitions applicable.  And it is the latter that has become radicalized and dangerous to any other world view.  One aspect of this world view that contributes to the authority of Islam is the lack of separation between the social aspects of the faith and governmental control.  The law of the land is religious law, applied to the public and private lives of Muslims within Islamic states. Shari’ah law governs many aspects of day-to-day life—politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, social issues, etc.  So when you combine radical, hate-filled Islam with Shari'ah law, you get a combination that is lethal to any other faith or philosophy of life.  It's their way, period!
     Humanism World View -  A humanist's world view is difficult to pin down.  It can be as simple as a system of thought in which human values, interests and dignity are considered particularly important.  Heck, who doesn't agree with that viewpoint?  But taken to a more defined position, it follows these principles:  1)  Science and Reason should apply to all areas of life.  No beliefs should be considered off-limits, all should be considered rationally.  2)  Humanists are usually atheist or agnostic.  Their rational scrutiny makes it difficult for them to believe that a god or gods exist; and they are skeptical about angels, demons or spiritual beings.   3)  There is no heaven or hell; this life is it.  Once again, rational scrutiny has found these considerations lacking.  4)  They believe in moral Good, but do not think you have to know God in order to discern what is right and wrong.  Man is capable of defining that just fine on his own.  5)  We are individually responsible for making our own moral judgments.  We don't need an outside authority to guide us or set boundaries.  6)  Our lives have meaning without it being bestowed by a God above.  Your life can be rich and significant without any relationship with God.  7)  While humanists are very careful to make sure governments do not support forms of religion, they are not so concerned about governments who coerce their peoples into atheism (such as Stalin or Mao).  Most importantly, Humanism world view is for freedom of thought and expression and an open society.  This is why Humanists are often accused of being for everything, while not standing for anything.
    So you can see that while these world views have some things in common at their core, they are often at bitter odds with each other.  So is it possible for us to find some level on which to co-exist?  Is it possible for individual men to find common ground and respect the beliefs of each other; at the same time not compromising the tenets of their own ideals?  It is easy to see that religious or ideological fundamentalism can quickly become all about power.  It can be used by fanatics or extremists of any group to gain political and economic control.  Once that happens, it is nearly impossible to put the genie back in the bottle.  And all it takes is one group to tilt the balance of harmony towards hostility and man's true nature takes over.
   And that is what we are seeing across the globe today.  There are those who see the opportunity to establish a united Islamic caliphate across the Middle East; a return to a fundamentalist religious control of society and state.  Any other world view cannot and will not be tolerated.  Is it too late to turn the tide?  Can cooler heads apply the brakes?   Unless the ideas or influence of more moderate leaders prevail, then I fear that we will see more images like those coming out of Cairo and Benghazi.  And I don't see anyone like that on the world stage.  Stay alert and be vigilant!

Romans 3:15-17        "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. "  

8 comments:

  1. Great post.
    You touched on this, but I will state it plainly: of the three world views outlined, only the Christian world view does not allow (or require) for others to be forced to accept it.
    Ultimately in Christianity, the choice for faith and behavior is up to the individual. Jesus never said you MUST believe in him. He said salvation could be a gift to all people IF they only believed in him. And we show the fruits of that gift by living good lives as examples to be followed.
    Islam's core function on earth is to spread, by word, by deed, or by the sword if so desired. Allah commanded all people, through Muhammad, that we MUST believe in him and MUST do exactly as he says. If we don't, other Muslims are obliged to kill us. In his mercy. And he says to spread Islam across the world without stopping until it is all Muslim. In the spread of Islam, all else is ultimately excusable. Death in the cause of Allah is the highest aspiration, and rewarded with supernatural blessings above all others. Ultimately in Islam, there is no individual choice, just conforming to Allah's commands in faith and behavior as specified in Shar'ia. There is no permanence except in the dictate of Allah.
    Secular humanism also allows for forcing others toward their world view, based on the "logic" of the humanists and no one else's. Conforming to a humanist's view point doesn't give supernatural blessings, but it does "benefit" society. If you don't understand the logic and conform, then you must be stupid, bigoted, or criminal. You must be corrected. And the "better" the leaders of secular humanistic communities, then necessarily the "better" their decisions on what everyone should do, say, eat, wear, think, or be. Ultimately, the "society" will remove all individual choice in favor of what is best for the group. What is best will be determined by the enlightened leader in charge. There is no permanence except the enlightenment of the leader.
    The last two world views are ultimately anathema to Christianity. They remove choice. The remove human Free Will. Christianity encourages it. Islam and Humanism do unto others because they can. Christianity does unto others as Christians would want to have done to them. Christianity's permanence is achieved through the freedom of the individual and charity offered to all who want to receive it.

    PS Get a copy, or peruse on line The Reliance of the Traveler (Umdat as-Salik). This is the codified Shar'ia law as accepted by virtually all Sunni Muslims (Hanbali and Hanafi legal schools), and pretty much most of it parallels the Shari'a of the Shi'ites (their Jaffari school of jurisprudence). The English language version is specifically approved by all the major Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, Egypt (al-Ansar University), Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, etc. to be true to the original Arabic. Then look up Jihad. THAT is the full definition of Jihad -- not some dissembling excuses of "inner struggle" you'll hear the CAIR folks trot out in their Public Affairs releases. Once you understand Jihad, as defined in their own law, you'll quickly see why the mobs riot, how money is moved, how their world view aligns, and why they hate the West. It's really quite simple. I believe what they say about themselves. And I oppose them.

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    1. I'm so glad you contribute to this blog! Your insight offers so much more truth than my opinion, and it is what people need to hear and need to understand! You obviously know your subject and I appeal to you to keep educating us! Thank you for finding this blog worthy of sharing your expertise.

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  2. Oops, typo: Reliance of the Traveller. Mrs. Frye back in 3rd grade would disagree about just how 'educated' I might be...

    And here's what it says on Jihad: (Chapter 9)
    The scriptural basis for jihad, prior to scholarly consensus (def: b7) is such Koranic verses as:
    (1) ``Fighting is prescribed for you'' (Koran 2:216);
    (2) ``Slay them wherever you find them'' (Koran 4:89);
    (3) ``Fight the idolators utterly'' (Koran 9:36);
    and such hadiths as the one related by Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
    ``I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and perform the prayer, and pay zakat. If they say it, they have saved their blood and possessions from me, except for the rights of Islam over them. And their final reckoning is with Allah'';

    ...and read the rest of its definition and requirements. You will be quickly aware of why Muslims seem to be so quick and so overwhelmingly reactionary to anything that opposes their religion. The ones with weapons in their hands are easy to recognize. The others are still just as opposed to you, but not so obvious.

    Note: the hadiths (a-hadith) as recorded by Bukhari are considered to be "Sahih." That means to be most certainly true and derived from the true revelations, life, sayings, and examples as demonstrated by Muhammad during his life. They may NOT be denied without grave offense to Islam.

    I literally kept a copy at my desk when I was teaching. I never asked a question about Shar'ia of a Muslim without looking it up in the Umdat as-Salik first. You would be amazed at the candor of the answers once they realised you were looking at the law (oh, I'm a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the "proper" ways to beat a wife!). The really funny thing was some honestly couldn't understand why I wasn't already a Muslim convert since I "was so educated" about the revelations of Allah. Like that was ever going to happen...

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    1. So the way I see it is this ..... the increasing violence occurring today at our embassies throughout the region will serve to embolden them that Allah is on their side, and the Great Satan CAN be defeated. I don't see any signs that moderate voices will have any effect on quelling this insanity. Nor do I see that we have the leadership with the desire to protect us or promote our values. God help us!

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  3. OK, trying again...

    It's all down to Insh'allah. God's will. If they see success, they will take it as Allah's blessing. If they see defeat, they will see it somewhere not so good. And maybe that is Allah's will.

    Islam respects power. Pure power. While I can't make a tactical decision for our Marines at the embassies, I can tell you that anybody attacking our embassies will respect some well-placed automatic weapons fire, some well-timed claymores and some well-thrown grenades. I'm not a subscriber to the idea that the "crowd is too big" as long as the grenade case isn't empty and you have solid object to take cover behind. Islamic military history is full of example where they will not back down until they know they cannot win. See: recent operations in Afghanistan. See: Battle for Fallujah, parts I & II. See: hmmm...Battle of Kosovo, Crusaders' Battle for Jerusalem, Charles "The Hammer" Martel and the Battle of Tours... From 2010 back to 732, the story is pretty clear. Oh, and the Muslim imperative for expansion by the sword is clear, too.

    I am a BIG believer in the original Jeffersonian response to threats against America sovereignty. Send the Navy. Send the Marines. And nowadays, we send the Air Force and the Army, too. The plan is simple: knock 'em flat, destroy their military capabilities and make THEIR leaders acquiesce from the business end of a rifle. Then make them pay damages and restitution.

    For Libya, get NSA to find the chatter and ID the phones/media used by the attackers. Then use USAF drones to surveil their compounds to get positive ID. Then bomb them flat. And for good measure, hit 'em again an hour or two later -- the first responders will likely be al Qaeda, too. (but that's me being culturally insensitive) The Libyans have already told us they're not trained or equipped well enough to maintain their own security. Take them at their word. We can do this one.

    For the Egyptians, tell them that the first islamist over the Cairo Embassy walls will be shot down. And anybody else that follows him. Tell the Egyptians they MUST provide security or they will be considered part of the problem; with no second chances. Ditto in Yemen, Tunisia, et al. Say that plainly to their leaders candidly in private. Announce our position in "diplo-speak" on overall security publicly via the Mainstream Mouthpieces. Do any less, and this madness will continue.

    I'm actually offering advice to the Obama Administration if they'll only take it.

    There is literally a part of Islamic faith that addresses declaring a truce with your enemy. It's actually covered in Umdat as-Salik (Shari'a Law). Islamic forces will agree to a truce if they know they can't win and the truce is in their interest. And they will hold it only so long as it remains in their interest. Keeping overwhelming force ready against them will convince them of their best interest.

    This all goes back to your analysis of world views. Theirs is NOT ours.

    I'm all happy to respect their religion, culture, heck even their camels. But only AFTER they respect ours.

    Honestly, Barry has really stepped in it. He was supposed to be the oh-so-enlightened and intelligent guy. Well, he must have been a bad student while at that madrasa in Indonesia, because he sure has forgotten the lessons and tenants of Islamic history and law.

    I also think the story about the Marines in Cairo not being allowed to carry ammo for their side arms is TRUE. I've been on the receiving end on similar orders. Yeah, well we've seen exactly what happens when we let islamists inside the wire and exactly why the Americans all need to keep "Front Towards Enemy" and keep a round in the chamber. I just heard the radio announce 2 more Coalition troops killed in Afghanistan. Too sad.

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    1. You sum it up better than any talking head on any channel, blog or "official" mouthpiece. And I'm glad to hear someone say that it's time to stop playing nice. It's so plain, to anyone who wants to see it, that they will take advantage of our weaknesses as long as we let them. And this Administration shows no sign of stopping the hemorrhage. Thank you for enlightening this audience and I REALLY appreciate your insight. And God Bless our troops who continue to stand between us and Evil.

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  4. I'm listening to NPR right now, and they're all navel-gazing about why the Arab Spring has turned out so badly. The Secretary of State has just told me that "The people of Libya and Tunisia did not trade Freedom and Liberty for the Rule of the Mob." REALLY? Gosh, pre-planned attacks by al-Qaeda or not, the mob was a tool and cooperator with the islamists. I don't think Hillary has any idea what damage to her reputation will be done in following our current Administration's agenda in the Magreb (Northern Africa). In fact, as the investigations go on, she may be the one thrown under the bus before the election comes.

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    1. If she's not smart enough to get out front of this and position herself by telling the truth, then she deserves to be the sacrificial lamb.

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