Muslims Protesting Against Bloggers, Advocating for Anti-blasphemy Laws

Activists of Hifazat-e Islam protesting against Bangladeshi bloggers. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

Many Barbadians make light of the concern which BU has when we share about fissures in our democracy. For many Barbadians democracy is defined by marking and X on a ballot paper every five years as the Constitution requires. And for others it is about aligning with a political party of choice and defending any and all policies even if there is no sensible reason. Bottomline however, Barbadians continue to feel a degree of comfort to exercise our right to make decisions and be tolerant while doing so.

In stark contrast hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi citizens have brought that country to a halt in the last 24 hours demanding that atheist bloggers be executed for defaming Islam. Tension between Secularist and Islamists is nothing new in the ME. Many of the countries in the ME form governments which maybe described as theocratic. Any attempt to compromise Islamic teachings is usually met with violent reactions by so-called fundamentalists.

Petrus Romanus Prophecy; Will The Next Pope Lead To The Apocalypse?

The following by Charles Poladian is reproduced from the International Business Times

Sudden resignation of Pope Benedict XVI

With the surprising and sudden resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, a new pontiff will soon be elected. According to the “Petrus Romanus” prophecy, this pope will be the last and will bring the destruction of Rome as well as the apocalypse.

St. Malachy, a bishop, went to Rome at the request of Pope Innocent II in 1139, according to Catholic-Pages.com. St. Malachy received a vision that outlined a list of 112 popes, starting with Celestine II, who succeeded Innocent, and the last pope, Petrus Romanus, would signal the destruction of Rome as well as the end of the world. The Prophecy of St. Malachy was discovered and published by historian Arnold de Wyon in 1595. Wyon discovered the manuscript in Roman archives.

St. Malachy’s list did not outright spell out the name of each of the 112 popes. Instead, each pope was described in a Latin phrase. These phrases describe a certain feature and are vague, which leads to plenty of interpretation. The last two popes, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, number 110 and 111 in the Prophecy of St. Malachy, are described as “De labore Soli” or “From the labor of the sun” and “Gloria Olivae” or “Glory of the Olive,” notes Catholic-Pages.com.

The Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast…

Submitted by Zoe

The Sam Bacile Muhammad Video Which Led to the Death Of USA Ambassador to Libya

Hear Our Prayer O Lord

Queen Elizabeth stoutly defends the Church and religion

Why does the act of praying become top of mind whenever there is a desire to be comforted? This observation is all the more real when those who invoke and participate in prayer are non believers. Those who watched The Grammys (2012) witnessed host LL Cool J kicking off proceedings with a prayer triggered by the passing of Whitney Houston.  It didn’t matter that we live in a world comprised of believers, atheists, agnostics and God knows who else. The audience appeared to accede to LL Cool J’s request without rebellion.

It should be of interest to many that a debate is currently raging in Great Britain, sparked by a court decision to ban the tradition of saying prayers at council meetings. There is a rising fear among ‘believers’ that centuries old tradition of praying to kick off  public meetings  is under threat by the ruling. To add to the concern for Christians everywhere there was a recent court ruling in the US jurisdiction where ‘a Judge has ruled that churches must stop meeting in school buildings because a worship service is an act of organised religion that consecrates the place in which it is performed, making it a church’. The fight between the secular and non-secular is beginning to take shape. A former Archbishop of Canterbury was prompted to warn that  ‘our faith is under siege’.

God Made Me Lose!

Submitted by Charles Knighton

It has been reported in various sections of the press that Jamaica’s Prime Minister-elect, Portia Simpson Miller, plans to rely on divine guidance in her decisions on government policy, and has strongly suggested other members of government the same strategy. After all, if God is personally providing guidance, how can one possibly go wrong?

How many are aware that four Republican candidates were personally recruited by God to run for for President? Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Michele Bachman each provided detailed stories about where they were and what they were doing when God gave them the nod.  So just what kind of game was God playing? He told four people to run for president, but (barring a miracle, I guess) all four of them are going to end up disappointed. Imagine the situation: God himself told you to run for President. What an endorsement! What a boon to their fund-raising! And what a downer when he fails to deliver!

While I would hope the cognitive dissonance produced by the outcome of this test of faith might serve to disabuse at least these four “chosen ones” of such thinking, there rationalizations, I am sure, will keep them firmly attached to their delusional beliefs.  Should Prime Minister Simpson-Miller persist in governing according to the dictates of divine providence, one wonders what game “God” may play with the Jamaican people. A look at the world’s theocracies may offer some perspective.

Accept Homosexuality Or Else

David Cameron, Prime Minister of Great Britain

In the harsh economic times prevailing there is an understandable focus on the need to make every dollar count. In an environment where there is the perception of rising crime, demon possessed children and groups labelled evil because they dare to question the cost benefit of a government delegation journeying Down Under; should we not encourage equal focus on the direction the moral campus of Barbados is pointing? Given the agenda of this government to build out a society first and foremost, a holistic concern about the kind of society we want to build should be par for the course. Why therefore do we allow the narrative to be led mostly by economic considerations?

A benefit to Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart networking with his Commonwealth colleagues last week is that he heard from British Prime Minister David Cameron first hand, if Barbados expects to get financial aid from Britain in the near future – discrimination against homosexuals will have to cease. To quote theGuardian: Britain has threatened countries that ban homosexuality with losing aid payments unless they reform, David Cameron has said. But he conceded that “deep prejudices” in some countries meant the problem would persist for years. In Barbados we are known to be tolerant of homosexuals although our laws say otherwise.

It is fair to say given the leadership position of Great Britain in the world’s leading financial institutions that in the not too distant future lending agencies like the International Monetary Fund, Inter-american Development Bank and World Bank will be adopting a similar position. Other countries will obviously follow Great Britain which will affect bilateral arrangements with those countries.

Is Islamization Real Or Imagined ?

Click image to watch video

A Call To Arms: Should The Church Play A "Bigger" Part In Influencing Barbados’ Society

Submitted by Yardbroom

It Is best being clear at the outset, to prevent unnecessary distraction and diversion into non-productive debates leading into cul-de-sacs.  There are people – of sober mind and disposition – who do not believe in the Bible and what it teaches.  Some boldly say they are not Christian.  Many others have no interest of any kind in Religion and even think it is not a force for good in the world.

This submission is not a vehicle to facilitate an argument to the above views, as I am aware logic “however” arrived at is limited in changing a belief system.  However, it is a fact that a major section of Barbados society is Christian or go to church regularly and have religious beliefs, even if tenuous.

“Protestant 63.4% (Anglican 28.3%, Pentecostal 18.7%, Methodist 5.1%. other 11.3%) Romam Catholic 4.2%, other Christian 7%, other 4.8%, none or unspecified 20.6%”

Source: Religious Statistics

You cannot change a society by “ignoring” the belief systems of a major section of that society, it is that which has led me to pose the question in this submission.

Author Timothy Aldred Claims The Bible Is Rubbish And Has Dumbed Down The Black Race

Caribbean Radio Show interviewing Timothy Aldred on his new book

Some on BU will find this blog distasteful, you are cautioned that the video is not complimentary of the Bible and religion. In fact the author Timothy Aldred of the book BAMBOOZLED! refers to the Bible as rubbish which should be tossed into the garbage.

It is no secret BU has led discussion on religious subjects in the Barbados space sometimes with emotional effect. We have some individuals who have stopped posting on BU because of opinions and perspectives shared about religion. Those of us with commonsense know that believing in whoever God is a leap of faith and using logic to justify a position is illogical.

Believe in what Deity tickles your fancy and to hell with whoever thinks otherwise!

Gospel Singer Bobby Jones Is Coming To Barbados

World renown Gospel artist Bobby Jones is coming to Barbados

It seems the government is serious about tapping into the religious tourism market. Recently the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) announced the coming to our shores of world renown gospel singer Dr. Bobby Jones. We are told religious tourism is a 10 billion dollar industry and Barbados – by staging the Bobby Jones Concert – has sent a strong signal to the international market it wants a piece of the action.

Barbados has built a good reputation for staging religious shows with Gospelfest a shining example of what is possible.

Does Obeying Scripture Define Followers As Extremists Or Apostles?

Submitted by Charles Knighton

 

The Advocate’s  editorial of July 30th “Extremism, not Religion” attempts to persuade readers that religious extremists “…always distort the truth to their own ends, seeing threats where there are none, and abusing the scriptures to justify their wrongdoing.” I ask:”Are religious extremists abusing scripture or adhering to scripture?

” All scripture is rife with paradoxical conundrums  which allow those we label as “extremists” to see themselves as apostles, literally obeying God’s word. And isn’t that the problem when such mumbo jumbo is revered as truth by billions of people?

Muslims and Christians who both insist that theirs are religions of peace and coexistence find themselves attempting to leap very high semantic hurdles when we read “…wherever you encounter (non-believers),  kill them, seize them, besiege them, wait for them at every lookout post…” ( Koran 9:5). Not to be outdone the Bible offers the following to foster peaceful coexistence: Deuteronomy 13:6-9 flatly states that if anyone —” your very own brother, or son or daughter, or the wife that you love”—introduces you to a false religion, ” you must certainly put him to death.” Numbers 31:17-18 finds Moses telling the Israelites to ” kill all the boys” of an enemy tribe, and “kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.” In Matthew 10:34 Jesus, the Prince of Peace,   warns “do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

“A Light That Is Lit ‘Cannot’ Be Hid”: How The Atrocities Of The ‘Reformation’ Defined Modern Christianity And Why Most Hold No Real True Faith In God

Submitted by Terence Blackett

“The ‘STONE’ which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” – Psalms 118:22

For almost 2000 years, the Bible has remained the most controversial book in all of human history. While today, we take for granted the some 24,000 different translations of the Bible – there was a time when those who read the Book* did so in morbid fear for their lives. Yet we know that the Bible – is the “only” authoritatively-inspired Word of God to mankind and remains “the single, solitary light” through which mankind can past from the darkness of a sin-cursed world into the marvellous light of a world tomorrow ruled by Jesus Christ in utopia and eternal bliss.

It cannot be denied that 2000 years ago, the life and death of this Jewish carpenter changed the world forever. He was murdered by His own people for laying claims to the prophetic “Promise” of the Old Testament that He was indeed Yeshua Hamashiach (‘Jesus The Messiah’).

Following the crucifixion of Jesus, it can be said that the Bible remains the most blood-soaked, blood-stained book since mankind sojourned upon the earth. The atrocities that have been committed in its name and against its true followers are nothing short of patently apocalyptic. Yet many of Christ’s servants have sought to share the Good News of the Gospel while others have sought their destruction and the “trampling underfoot” of their faith as a mean to silence the work of righteousness and the advancement of truth.

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