Saturday, April 20, 2013

The fruit of interfaith dialogue: 'COEXIST' vs. CHRIST?

Marshall Taylor, "Islam & Being Ecumenically Correct: How It's Driven One Ex-Muslim to Leave the Catholic Church" (Canterbury Tales, March 26, 2013):

Mr. Magdi Cristiano Allam Receiving Communion after Baptism
He has now left the Catholic Church...

I was really impressed a few years back when Pope Benedict baptized a Muslim man. His name is Magdi Cristiano Allam. I thought it was great that the Pope himself would baptize such a convert. It symbolized that Christ is truly the King of Kings and Lord of the whole earth.

Well, Mr. Allam just announced that he is leaving the Catholic Church! That's it. He's done. He's out.

Why?

Magdi Cristiano Allam is leaving the Catholic Church because he thinks the Catholic Church has become soft on Islam. And to be honest, I agree with his assessment of the Vatican's "soft-theology" of Islam.

The new "soft theology" of contemporary Catholic dialogue is not historic, biblical, traditional, Thomistic, etc. We all see it for what it is. The Holy See's increasingly tolerant stance toward Islam is an attempt to appease the future rulers of Europe: Muslims. This approach is not the way of Saint Pius V, to be sure. Google "Battle of Lepanto" for details.

Here is Mr. Allam in his own words:
"The thing that drove me away from the Church more than any other factor was religious relativism, in particular the legitimisation of Islam as a true religion," he said. Mr Allam said Islam was "an intrinsically violent ideology" that had to be courageously opposed as "incompatible with our civilisation and fundamental human rights". "I am more convinced than ever that Europe will end up being subjugated to Islam just like what happened beginning in the seventh century on the other side of the Mediterranean," he warned. {Quote from the Tablet}
I don't agree with Mr. Allam for leaving the one true Church of Jesus Christ. I don't celebrate it or condone it. The apostasy of Mr Allam serves the dead canary in the mine.

We will not convert Muslims to our Lord Jesus Christ if we keep preaching our "ecumenically correct" (EC) public service announcements. Islam is NOT a religion of Abraham. It's not. It's an aberration. Saint John Damascene (Doctor of the Catholic Church) said that Islam is a heresy at best. If Abraham were alive today, he would stand up and curse Islam. It's a religion of the sword. Always has been. Always will be. Any religion that promises sex with virgins as its highest reward is clearly a religion created by man. Mohammedanism does not have a divine origin. Mohammedanism leads people away from Jesus Christ.

"But Dr. Marshall. You don't really understand. I mean have you ever really read the Quran?" Yes, I have the full audible version of the Quran on my iPhone and I listen to it. I read it. I study it. It's bad news.

Think about it this way. The Catholic Church, once upon a time, converted the nations of Europe. These converts had previously practiced forms of paganism and animism.

What if the Pope and bishops back then began glad-handing with the ecumenical heads of the religions they were supposed to be baptizing? What if Pope Gregory the Great were celebrating diversity with the priests of Thor and priestesses of the Frigga? Do you know how discouraging that would be for these new converts among the freshly baptized German tribes?!

I'm going to be transparent with you. It absolutely destroys me whenever I see photos of the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury posing for pictures. Many former Anglican priests made enormous sacrifices to enter into communion with the Pope. I gave up my life and vocation as an Anglican priest to be in communion with the Pope. To see the Pope smiling and celebrating with our "old boss" is very discouraging.

My opinion is that the ecumenism of the last 40 years does more harm than good - when it comes to people who are actually becoming Catholic. Magdi Cristiano Allam is Exhibit A. Here is a man who was baptized by the Pope himself. Now he is gone. How sad.

Now it's your turn. We can agree that there is no excuse to leave the Church, but is the Catholic Church hurting her children who are former Muslim children by being ecumenically correct and overly tolerant? Is this about Christ or COEXIST? Please leave a comment.


[Hat tip to J.M.]

3 comments:

  1. Daniel A.9:48 PM

    I'm confused: What exactly is ecumenism supposed to be, and is it something to strive for?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ibn Warraq on the Catholic Church'e effete ecumenism:

    Nearly ten years ago, I was the guest of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) of Rome. PISAI is dedicated to interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims. But as the director at the time said to me, "There is no real dialogue, since Muslims never reciprocate the goodwill gestures made by the Christians. The result is we sit down together, and the Christians say what a wonderful religion Islam is, and the Muslims say what a wonderful religion Islam is."

    Mahomet, as aptly described by Serge Trifkovic, was part David Koresh, part John Gotti, and the reality the Catholic Church has applied the universal solvent of ecumenism to every single thing in the church increases the chances some adept of Mahomet will blow-up your church or your family if you take then to a sporting event.

    The willful blindness about the well-documented history of our ancient and continuing enemy (which history Nostra Aetate tells us to FORGET) along with such things as Pope Benedict XVI facing Mecca and praying with an Imam inside the Blue Mosque makes me wonder if our Hierarchy is capable of making any distinctions anymore or have they collectively pitched their tent in the desert of Indifference?

    Well, include me out. Mahometans do not worship the same God I do; their false religion is a religion of idiocy when it is not merely menacing and murderous and I am sick to death of the death wish our Hierarchy has.

    Between their succoring of sodomites and their embrace of those who intend us evil, it is a wonder they still have time to continue to destroy the Mass.



    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous Bosch6:58 PM

    The term 'ecumenism' is misused here. Properly speaking, the term refers to 'in-house' matters, as in 'among-fellow-Christians'. Accordingly, talks between Catholics and Eastern-Orthodox or various Protestant bodies could be termed 'ecumenical' talks.

    Muslims, however, are not Christians. The proper term about talks between Catholics and Muslims would be 'inter-faith', as PP uses in the title of this post.

    Are there worthy goals? Depends what the goals are. Traditionally, the goal of 'ecumenical' talks was to bring separated Christians back into the Catholic fold and into communion with the See of Rome, and 'inter-faith' talks were not so much for mutual understanding but for the propagation of the faith and conversion of others to the Catholic faith. These are worthy goals.

    What 'ecumenism' or 'inter-faith' talks mean today, however, is anyone's guess. It probably depends who you ask. If the goal is simply 'mutual understanding' or some such, though, I don't see much point. What are we supposed to be doing as followers of Christ: Looking for the Truth elsewhere, as if he had never told his disciples that he is the way, the truth, and the life?

    ReplyDelete