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In a significant development, the Pope has made new and unequivocal statements regarding gay marriage.
ROME (Reuters) – Homosexual marriages are part of “a new ideology of evil” that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in a new book published Tuesday.
...The 84-year-old Pontiff’s book, a highly philosophical and intricate work on the nature of good and evil, is based on conversations with philosopher friends in 1993 and later with some of his aides.
In one section about the role of lawmakers, the Pope takes another swipe at gay marriages when he refers to “pressures” on the European Parliament to allow them.
“It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man,” he writes.
“To pit human rights against the family and against man…” He has a point.
No one yet knows what causes gay behavior. It may be genetic, in which case the arguments of gay rights activists have more in their favor.
It may, however, be the same thing—also not as yet identified—that makes people do all sorts of things that happen to be bad for them, like smoking cigarettes, losing large amounts of money gambling, getting addicted to cocaine and heroin, etc. etc. etc.
The mere fact of people doing an action does not in and of itself prove that the action is good for the people doing it.
It may be that in many cases, perhaps in the majority of cases, gay behavior is not genetic and is not in the best interests of those doing it. Should that be the case it is reasonable for society not to reward and encourage it—reasonable not only for society as a whole, but for the individuals in it as well.
Bat Ye’or is on Dennis Prager right now. I had the honor of meeting Bat Ye’or at a private residence this weekend, and I’ll be posting an article on that later.
The subject is Radical Islam’s Penetration of Europe. Europe has permitted and encouraged immigration from Muslim nations. However, due to the teachings of Jihad, many Muslim immigrants are taught not to assimilate into the surrounding society, but to seek to undermine it.
These quotes are live-blogged—typed while the show is running—and are not expected to be verbatim.
Prager introduces Bat Ye’or as one of the world’s leading scholars of Islamic Jihad, and the author of the new book, Eurabia.
Bat Ye’or: ...polygamy is unofficially accepted in many European countries because you just can’t do anything about it. .... In Europe there is now a fight within Islam, within Muslim people, because there are those who want to modernize Islam and take advantage of living in a modern state, and those who are the other way and want to protect the traditional ways of Islam.
Bat Ye’or: ...Many things have to be guarded which is not normal in a country which is not at war. Schools, synagogues, Jewish cultural centers need to have guards. Is there a threat, a danger, a threat to life, to go there to pray in a synagogue?
Prager: How does the average Frenchman think about it that there have to be guards at a synogogue—does he thiink about it?
Bat Ye’or: No, he doesn’t think about it.
Prager is asking if it’s true that Europe will give up without a fight.
Ye’or replies the problem is too wide; concerns the whole society; concerns EU identity. They have lost their identity; because they have been indoctrinated with Jihadist cult which believes root of all evil is Judeo-Christian culture of America. You cannot fight the immigrants because among them are very fine Muslim people who have integrated into our society. You cannot call them all Jihadists. It is the government which must examine this problem. The government refuses to examine these problems and pretends there are no problems.
Caller: Do you feel the Saudi-sponsored Mosques in the U.S. want universal conversion of all people to Islam?
Prager: The problem is not that the Muslims want universal conversion of all people to Islam—Christians want that too. The problem is the means they take to achieve it.
Prager: What would you like Europeans to do?
Bat Ye’or: First of all to stop the continuous demonization of Israel because it is an attack, not just on Israel, but on the roots of European civilization. It excuses terrorism. ... I have to say that Jihadism is a threat to the whole of civilization including Arabic civilizations, because we see moderate Muslims who are also threatened by Jihadism. ... I would like to see the equality of sex imposed into European society. And for freedom of opinion, and freedom of religion, to be a right in Europe. Because now the human rights of Jews in Europe are not being respected, if they cannot go to a synagogue without feeling in danger.
Caller asks why 13 centuries of Jihad is not being taught in universities.
Bat Ye’or says this has been the policy for 30 years in Europe, to not teach the history of Jihadism, which is very sanguinary (bloody). This history has been suppressed and is not taught.
Prager: Do you see this happening in America?
Bat Ye’or: Yes, certainly. I see this happening in universities and in the media. This all happened with the demonization of Israel and of Judeo-Christian values. It is the whole Judeo-Christian civilization which is targeted with the destruction of its values.
Prager thanks Bat Ye’or and wraps up with an example of what’s happening in America today:
Prager: In the name of multiculturalism, which is the great boulevard into which all these anti-Judeo Christian efforts enter, the ACLU in Florida is suing to permit a Muslim woman to have her face veiled on her driver’s license. We feel it’s demeaning to women to have to hide their faces. The ACLU feels, it’s just another culture. I don’t know who will win, but I know what the fight is about.
This Ariail cartoon is via INDC Journal:
‘Nuff said.
