"Do you believe in reincarnation?" (2008 European Values Study)

Here are some cherry picked results (by country) for what percentage of people answered "yes" to Question 31 on the 2008 European Values Study: "Do you believe in reincarnation?" (Numbers in parentheses are total population for each country.)

Latvia 41.9% (2.3M)
Lithuania 37.4% (3.4M)
Ukraine 37.1% (46.3M)
Russian Federation 33.0% (142.0M)
Portugal 31.4% (10.6M)
Estonia 30.7% (1.3M)
Belarus 30.6% (9.9M)
Ireland 30.5% (4.4M)
Austria 28.8% (8.3M)
Switzerland 28.0% (7.6M)
Finland 24.7% (5.3M)
Hungary 23.2% (10.0M)
Spain 23.1% (45.6M)
Serbia 22.6% (7.4M)
France 22.6% (62.3M)
Bosnia-Herzegovina 22.4% (3.8M)
Romania 21.8% (21.5M)
Armenia 21.5% (3.1M)
Albania 19.1% (3.1M)
Netherlands 18.8% (16.4M)
Germany 18.4% (82.1M)
Belgium 17.5% (10.7M)
Azerbaijan 7.1% (8.7M)

From the website of the European Values Study:

The first release of the 2008 European Values Study is now available. It contains data for 39 countries. In autumn 2010, the complete dataset will be available. Go directly to data and downloads.

This fourth wave of the European Values Study covers all countries of Europe, from Iceland to Azerbaijan and from Portugal to Norway, with a population of 100,000 and more. In total, the fieldwork is administered in 46 countries:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great-Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia Republic, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.

In each country, a random sample was drawn and 1,500 persons were interviewed personally (face-to-face interviews). Almost 70,000 Europeans participated in the European Values Study 2008. This fourth wave has a persistent focus on a broad range of values. Questions with respect to family, work, religious, political and societal values are highly comparable with those in earlier waves (1981, 1990 and 1999). This longitudinal scope of the study offers opportunities to explore trends in time. The data cover a whole generation: almost 30 years. Respondents answered about 250 questions; on average, it took about 70 minutes to complete an interview.

Large efforts were taken to guarantee high scientific quality standards of the survey. First, all existing questions were critically reviewed by a theory group which also proposed new questions and items to be added to the questionnaire. This group also made sure that all questions were standardized between waves and between countries. A serious improvement is the rich set of socio-demographic background variables which was added to the questionnaire, facilitating far reaching analyses of the determinants of values. The council of National Program Directors critically reviewed this process and approved the final master questionnaire. In addition, the translation process, fieldwork procedures and data processing were standardized according to strict guidelines developed by a Methodology Group. More information about these procedures, click here.

The National Program Directors were responsible for the fieldwork in their country. Coordination of the fieldwork was done by EVS at Tilburg University, CEPS/Instead , and GESIS.

Due to the high quality standards, data collection was very costly: almost 6 million Euros. For an overview of the sponsors of the 2008 European Values Study, click here.

Master questionnaire

Methods and sample

Participating countries and country-information

Where to get the data

Geert Wilders To Launch "International Freedom Alliance"

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An anti-Islam lawmaker in the Netherlands is forming an international alliance to spread his message across the West in a bid to ban immigration from Islamic countries, among other goals.

Geert Wilders told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday he will launch the movement late this year, initially in five countries: the U.S., Canada, Britain, France and Germany.

"The message, 'stop Islam, defend freedom,' is a message that's not only important for the Netherlands but for the whole free Western world," Wilders said at the Dutch parliament.

Among the group's aims will be outlawing immigration from Islamic countries to the West and a ban on Islamic Sharia law. Starting as a grass-roots movement, he hopes it eventually will produce its own lawmakers or influence other legislators.

Ayhan Tonca, a prominent spokesman for Dutch Muslims, said he feared Wilders message would fall on fertile ground in much of Europe, where anti-Islam sentiment has been swelling for years.

"So long as things are going badly with the economy, a lot of people always need a scapegoat," Tonca said. "At the moment, that is the Muslims in Western Europe."

Tonca called on "well meaning people in Europe to oppose this."

Known for his bleached-blond mop of hair, Wilders is a shrewd politician who has won awards in the Netherlands for his debating skills and regularly stands up for gay and women's rights.

But he rose to local and then international prominence with his firebrand anti-Islam rhetoric that has led to him being charged under Dutch anti-hate speech laws and banned from visiting Britain — until a court there ordered that he be allowed into the country.

He said he hopes to position the alliance between traditional conservative parties and far-right wing groups, saying that in Britain there is "an enormous gap" between the ruling Conservative Party and the far-right British National Party.

"The BNP is a party that, whatever you think of it, it's not my party — I think it's a racist party," Wilders said.

Wilders, who calls Islam a "fascist" religion, has seen his support in the Netherlands soar in recent years, even while he has been subjected to round-the-clock protection because of death threats.

His Freedom Party won the biggest gains in a national election last month, coming third with 24 seats in the 150-seat Parliament, up from the nine before the election.

However, mainstream parties will not form a coalition with Wilders, leaving him on the margins of Dutch politics for the next parliamentary term.

Wilders is due to stand trial in October on hate speech charges stemming from his short Internet film "Fitna," which denounced the Quran as a a fascist book that inspires terrorism. The film aroused anti-Dutch protests around the Muslim world, and he was banned for several months from entering Britain.

But he is unrepentant and said he now wants to take his message outside the Netherlands.

"The fight for freedom and (against) Islamization as I see it is a worldwide phenomenon and problem to be solved," he said.

Wilders declined to name any of the other founders of the organization he is calling the Geert Wilders International Freedom Alliance. He said he would hold speeches in the five countries where the alliance will first launch in coming months to drum up support.

Wilders has been criticized in the Netherlands for running his party as a one-man show that is shrouded in secrecy because he holds all the reins.

[SOURCE: MIKE CORDER Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press]

Support Haiti. Support Vodou. Buy Barbancourt Rum.

From the Chicago Tribune, Feb. 28, article by Scott Kraft:

Since Haiti's founding, its important institutions have had shortened lives: The presidential palace has been burned down twice and again lies in ruins. Thirty-two rulers have been toppled. One leader was thrown out, returned and was sent packing again.

Over the last century and a half, though, one national institution has survived intact -- Rhum Barbancourt.

The earthquake that struck Haiti last month didn't pass over the venerable distillery north of Port-au-Prince. Walls collapsed, machinery was damaged, and the plant's 800 French oak vats, each holding 2,000 gallons of rum, tumbled into one another like dominoes. About a third of the rum splashed onto the ground.

But the maker of Haiti's best-known export, founded by Dupre Barbancourt in 1862, is an institution that isn't likely to disappear any time soon.

"There's a lot of work to do, and we lost a lot of rum," said Thierry Gardere, the silver-haired 57-year-old who presides over the company. "But we should be back in production in three or four months."

Beyond the distillery itself, the quake took a toll on the staff. Four of the plant's 250 employees died in their homes. The company opened its soccer field to homeless residents of the neighborhood, and its employees are among the 1,400 camped there.

The secret to Barbancourt's survival in the face of Haiti's tumultuous history, Gardere believes, is its steadfast resistance to change. Another reason is the sense of loyalty Haitians have for their national drink and the special place it holds in important rituals, from weddings and holidays to bringing forth the Vodou spirits that appease the dead and protect the living.

Each of the spirits has a favorite beverage. For some it's moonshine, for others Champagne. But for several important spirits, it's five-star Barbancourt. Nothing else will do.

From Cigar Aficionado, Aug. 1 2000, article by Jack Bettridge:

While Barbancourt has as many medals as a Haitian general, perhaps its biggest accolade is that it is--by default, if not "by appointment"--the libation demanded in rituals by the Voodoo spirits, who get famously upset if they don't have their way. (The star on the rum's label is said to be a symbol of a Voodoo god.) Thierry Gardère, the fourth-generation head of the family business, is almost equally as upset at the idea that people would want to drink his rum with mixers. "Some makers don't like people to drink their rum without a mixer­ and I'm not surprised," he sniffs. "[Barbancourt] has a particularity, like a fine Cognac, but you can smell the sugarcane." His disdain for mixing applies to the eight-year-old Five Star as well, although he's prepared to consider the possibility with the four-year-old Three Star.

And here is a description of the history, production, and ritual use of Barbancourt, by "Cornelia" over at the nakedauthors blog ("Well I've Never Been to Haiti, But I Kinda Like the Voodoo"):

The House of Barbancourt was founded in 1862 in the heart of Port-au-Prince. Run today by the sugarers Jean Gardere and Company, this rum is still pot-stilled from fresh cane juice. Barbancourt is thus what is known as an "agricultural" rum, as opposed to the more common industrial rums, which are molasses-based. This rum is produced exclusively from cane grown in the fields of Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. According to the Barbancourt website, "It is common belief that this cane is evocative of its genuine soil, the terroir. A unique wild yeast, originating from this area, probably exists, which proliferates on the cane stalks, thus producing these peculiar esters, taste and aroma of Barbancourt brands, during the fermentation process."

Once this cane has been harvested, it must be crushed and processed quickly, before the cane begins to dry out, allowing the sugars to deteriorate. The cane is cut into small pieces, to ensure proper sugar extraction, before it is sent to the three sets of mills needed to begin rum production. After the first milling, water is added to the cane so that the last of the sugars can be extracted, but the juice is never diluted to less than 14 degrees Brix, at which optimum fermentation occurs.

This juice, called Vesou, is filtered again and mixed with a proprietary yeast before being stocked in vats. After 72 hours, the juice has fermented into a sugar cane wine, known as wort. In the second step, the wort is distilled to remove unpleasantly flavored alcohols, and then aged in oak casks in a manner similar to that employed in cognac production.

This is the technical side of Barbancourt, but it has insinuated itself into the culture of Haiti in remarkable ways, particularly as something of a sacrament in the rites of Vodou, the Haitian hybrid of Roman Catholicism and African animist religions known more widely as "voodoo."

Bottles of Barbancourt are routinely incorporated into the Mange loa, or "feeding the gods," the most frequently performed ritual in vodou. Food and drink offerings are placed on an altar, to nourish and fortify these divine spirits, the vodouin equivalent of saints. The Mange loa is performed to allow a devotee to make contact with a particular loa. Each of these beings has favorite foods and totems, but all are partial to Barbancourt, which is poured three times on the ground for the loa's delectation.

Personally I think that Barbancourt Rhum should now be the default for all Pagans who include any kind of libation or alcohol offering in their practice (and for those who don't: what's up with that?). Offering libations is a very common feature among the many and varied African Traditional Religions, including those that have made a home for themselves in the Western Hemisphere. And, as the above excerpts testify, Vodou practitioners use Barbancourt Rhum for just this purpose.

Instead of giving money to Christian missionaries, Hollywood stars, and jet-set hipster dogoodniks, why not contribute directly to rebuilding the Haitian economy, while also making a show of spiritual solidarity with the Loa and their Haitian devotees, by buying Rhum Barbancourt!

[The beautiful Mosaic Libation Bottle for "Le Siren" is by Johnt T. Unger, from his online gallery here. The libation pouring photo is from the Caruthers-Watson family website. Shown is Valeria Watson-Doost aka Yeye Siju Osunyemi pouring a libation at Watson Cemetery in Irene, Texas.]

Ficinus. Paganus? More on the religious identity of Marsilio Ficino.

The starting point, then, for the soul's ascent is the Platonic anamnesis or remembering its divine origins, and the knowledge that unfolds from this cannot be compared with the human activity of logical reasoning or comparison. It is uncovered through invocation and divination using all elements of the natural world -- including stars and planets -- as 'uspeakable' symbols to attract the presence of the Gods. Here is yet another dimension to the Platonic quest, a philosophical magic which intrigued and impressed Ficino and yet inevitably unsettled his orthodox contemporaries.
[Angela Voss, Marsilio Ficino, p. 15]

There are four competing views concerning the religious identity of Marsilio Ficino. Below are very brief descriptions of each view, followed by the name of a representative proponent:

(1) Christianus: That he was purely and unambiguously Christian. (P.O. Kristeller)

(2) Syncretismus: That his religious beliefs and practices amounted to a syncretic blend of Christianity and Paganism. (Angela Voss)

(3) Paganus: That he was a crypto-Pagan who only pretended to be a Christian. (Yours Truly)

(4) "Ex Pagano, Christi miles.": That he was for much of his life a Pagan, but then (around the age 40 or soon thereafter) had a conversion experience which transformed him into a Christian. (Giovanni Corsi)

Kristeller's argument is really no argument at all. He merely insists that at the time of the Renaissance there only existed variations on the theme of Christianity or a lack thereof. Kristeller's assertion that, in essence, Paganism was somehow impossible has been conclusively demonstrated to be false by one of Kristeller's own students, John Monfasani, in his paper "Platonic Paganism in the Fifteenth Century."

In her 2006 book Marsilio Ficino, Angela Voss clearly describes Ficino as a Pagan/Christian syncretist without, however, ever labeling him as such (which would require her to openly challenge the Kristellerian position). According to her, Ficino sought to "'sanctify' the pagan philosophy whilst confirming the supremacy of the established religion." Also, she writes of Ficino's "determination to reconcile Christianity and pagan philosophy," and she describes how this attempted reconciliation was strongly opposed by the Church. Voss often sounds like Kristeller, even going so far as to insist that for Ficino, "Christianity could never be other than primary and infallible," but she is nevertheless forced to admit that Ficino elevated Platonic philosophy from being a mere preparation for the Gospel (as Eusebius has fantasized) to being on a level "almost equal that of the established religion." And immediately after that Voss nonchalantly declares that "Plato was always Ficino's supreme authority"!!

My own position is that Ficino was a Pagan for whom Christianity was a necessary and uncomfortable disguise. Christendom had never willingly harbored Pagans, and the 15th century was very (!) far from being a time of Christian glasnost. Indeed, the Inquisition was gathering strength, and in Florence itself Ficino witnessed with horror the rise of the world's first fully fledged modern Christian fundamentalist, Girolamo Savonarola (Ficino managed to live just long enough to write his Contra Savonarolum on the happy ocassion of Savonarola's death). Crypto-religiosity is a well-established and, after a fashion, well-documented historical phenomenon of medieval and early modern Christendom, and no one had more reason to hide their true religious identity than Pagans!

Finally we reach the charming compromise struck by Giovanni Corsi, who wrote his biography just six years after the death of Ficino (the complete text of which is here):

Marsilio intended at this time to develop fully the book of Platonic Theology almost as a model of the Pagan religion, and also to publish the Orphic Hymns and Sacrifices; but a divine miracle directly hindered him more and more every day, so that he daily accomplished less, being distracted, as he said, by a certain bitterness of spirit. St. Jerome has recorded that the same befell him over the writings of Cicero.

Indeed, it was to lighten his anguish of spirit, if at all possible, that at that time Ficino wrote the Commentary on Love [about 1469]. He was persuaded to write this book by Giovanni Cavalcanti, a nobleman especially dear to Marsilio, with the aim of countering his anguish and at the same time calling the lovers of empty beauty back to immortal beauty. He attempted, moreover, to refresh his mind in many other ways, but all to no purpose.

At length he came fully to realize that he was suffering these things through some divine influence because he had strayed too far from the Christian thinkers. For this reason, with a change of heart, he interpreted the Platonic Theology itself according to the Christian tradition, producing eighteen books on this subject ["Platonic Theology", written between 1469 and 1474]. Besides this, he wrote his book "On the Christian Religion" [in 1474] and undoubtedly obtained peace and consolation through these studies, completely dispelling all that bitterness of spirit. But now, whilst he was still in his forty-second year from being a Pagan he became a soldier of Christ. He left the whole of his patrimony to his brothers, for he received an adequate living from the two parishes whose care he had assumed through Lorenzo de' Medici.

An outline of my own views, along with the gist of my critique of the other three positions can all be found in the following posts:
On How To Look For Medieval Pagans (Assuming You Actually Want To Find Them)
"Gotta Serve Somebody" Part Deux
"Gotta Serve Somebody" Part Un
Contra Atheos, Part Deux

I have also taken a stab or three at writing down some of my thoughts more generally on the subject of syncretism:
Lady GaGa Prayer Candles (Because We Can, Part Three)
"When you enter a village, swear by its Gods." (Because We Can, Part Two)
Because We Can: Syncretism from a Pagan perspective

I hope in the near future to write more on the Paganism of Ficino, with special reference to two four recent popular works that are very relevant to this subject:
‡ Nicholas Campion's History of Western Astrology: The Medieval and Modern Worlds (2009)
‡ Colin Wells' Sailing From Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World (2007)
‡ Joscelyn Godwin's The Golden Thread: The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions (2007)
‡ Angela Voss' already mentioned Marsilio Ficino (2006).

France Overwhelmingly Says "Non" to the Burqa

The vote was 335 to 1.

That was in the lower house of Parliament. The bill must still be passed by the French Senate. The vote is scheduled for September, and it is expected to pass. (More details at CNN.com: "Burqa ban passes French lower house overwhelmingly".)

Polling has shown that 82% of French people support the ban, according to the Pew Research Center. Comfortable majorities also support such a ban in Britain (62%), Germany (71%), and Spain (59%).

Belgium's lower house of Parliament already passed (unanimously) a similar ban in April (see USA Today article here).

Similar legislation has received strong support in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, but so far those countries have yet to put a ban into law.

Also see the AP article on the French burqa ban here.

[The "Hot Sexy Burqa Action" image is from Levelord's deviantART gallery.]

Iran Human Rights: "Keep Up The Pressure"

Regarding the stoning sentence of Sakineh Ashtiani:
The world must keep up the pressure
Friday 9 July 2010
[from: Iran Human Rights website]

Iran Human Rights, July 9: According to a statement from the Iranian embassy in London, the 43 year old Iranian woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani will not be stoned to death.

"According to information from relevant judicial authorities in Iran, she will not be execut

Publish Post

ed by stoning punishment," the embassy said in the statement carried by The Guardian.

The statement also says: "It is notable that this kind of punishment has rarely been implemented in Iran and various means and remedies must be probed and exhausted [by the judiciary] to finally come up with such a punishment,".

Neither Iranian judiciary or Sakineh’s lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei have confirmed this news.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights, urged the international community to keep the pressure on the Iranian authorities untill the stoning verdict has been removed. He said: "As long as she has a stoning verdict, and as long as death by stoning is part of the Iranian penal law, Sakineh and others sentenced to death by stoning could be stoned to death".

Amiry-Moghaddam added: " Unlike what the Iranian embassy in London claims, stoning has been implemented in Iran every year in the past years. On on 9th of July 2007, exactly three years ago, Jafar Kiani was stoned to death in a village outside Qazvin, two weeks after his stoning sentence was halted due to international pressure. According to the Official Iranian media two people were stoned to death in 2008 and one man was stoned to death in 2009. We have other cases where a person sentenced to death by stoning has been hanged instead".

"The world community must keep up the perssure on the Iranian authorities as long as the stoning verdicts of Sakineh and other people in the Iranian prisons have not been removed" ended Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

[The photo is a still from the movie "The Stoning of Soraya M." I found this particular pic at pingounica.com.]

"Good Witches", according to Frank L. Baum

When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to come farther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice:

"You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage."

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East? Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.

But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, with hesitation, "You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything."

"Your house did, anyway," replied the little old woman, with a laugh, "and that is the same thing. See!" she continued, pointing to the corner of the house. "There are her two feet, still sticking out from under a block of wood."

Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. There, indeed, just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together in dismay. "The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?"

"There is nothing to be done," said the little woman calmly.

"But who was she?" asked Dorothy.

"She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said," answered the little woman. "She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor."

"Who are the Munchkins?" inquired Dorothy.

"They are the people who live in this land of the East where the Wicked Witch ruled."

"Are you a Munchkin?" asked Dorothy.

"No, but I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North. When they saw the Witch of the East was dead the Munchkins sent a swift messenger to me, and I came at once. I am the Witch of the North."

"Oh, gracious!" cried Dorothy. "Are you a real witch?"

"Yes, indeed," answered the little woman. "But I am a good witch, and the people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was who ruled here, or I should have set the people free myself."

"But I thought all witches were wicked," said the girl, who was half frightened at facing a real witch. "Oh, no, that is a great mistake. There were only four witches in all the Land of Oz, and two of them, those who live in the North and the South, are good witches. I know this is true, for I am one of them myself, and cannot be mistaken. Those who dwelt in the East and the West were, indeed, wicked witches; but now that you have killed one of them, there is but one Wicked Witch in all the Land of Oz--the one who lives in the West."

"But," said Dorothy, after a moment's thought, "Aunt Em has told me that the witches were all dead--years and years ago."

"Who is Aunt Em?" inquired the little old woman.

"She is my aunt who lives in Kansas, where I came from."

The Witch of the North seemed to think for a time, with her head bowed and her eyes upon the ground. Then she looked up and said, "I do not know where Kansas is, for I have never heard that country mentioned before. But tell me, is it a civilized country?"

"Oh, yes," replied Dorothy.

"Then that accounts for it. In the civilized countries I believe there are no witches left, nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are cut off from all the rest of the world. Therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us."

The complete text of Frank L. Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is at Project Gutenberg here.
The pic of Glinda from the play Wicked is from here.
The laughing, broomstick riding "Ipswitch Witch" pic is from the Sexy Witch blog, as is the black and white "Studio Witch" (from 1915) who looks a helluva lot like Alyson Hannigan!

What they mean by "dialogue"

"On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate"

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
[Matthew 28:18-20]

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.
[Mark 16:15-17]

"Dialogue is a two-way communication. It implies speaking and listening, giving and receiving, for mutual growth and enrichment. It includes witness to one's own faith as well as an openness to that of the other. It is not a betrayal of mission of the Church, nor is it a new method of conversion to Christianity. This has been clearly stated in the encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II "Redemptoris Missio". This view is also developed in the two documents produced by the PCID: "The Attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Followers of Other Religious Traditions: reflections on Dialogue and Mission" (1984), & "Dialogue and Proclamation" (1991).
[Official history of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue]

The document referred to above, Redemptoris Missio, is subtitled "On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate." It begins with the statement that "The mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is still very far from completion. As the second millennium after Christ's coming draws to an end, an overall view of the human race shows that this mission is still only beginning and that we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service."

Redemptoris Missio raises the following questions:
1. Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant?
2. Has it not been replaced by inter-religious dialogue?
3. Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church's mission?
4. Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts at conversion?
5. Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion?
6. Why then should there be missionary activity?

However, the seriousness with which these questions are posed is given away by the title of the section in which they appear: "Jesus Christ, The Only Savior." But just in case there is any room for doubt, as soon as the these questions are listed, the next subsection is titled: "No one comes to the Father, but by me."

Redemptoris Missio makes abundantly clear the agenda behind all "charity" work, all "social activism", and all "dialogue" whatsoever, from the standpoint of Christianity. These are merely part of the arsenal of spiritual warfare, the end goal of which is, as it has always been, the downfall of all other, false, religions and their replacement by the lurid fantasies of the creed-making fishermen.

In true Orwellian fashion, the Church's project of extirpation is framed in terms of "universalism":

"The universality of this salvation in Christ is asserted throughout the New Testament. St. Paul acknowledges the risen Christ as the Lord. He writes: 'Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth - as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords' - yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist' (1 Cor 8:5-6)."
[from the subsection "Salvation in Christ is Offered to All"]

"The God whom Paul wishes to reveal is already present in their lives; indeed, this God has created them and mysteriously guides nations and history. But if they are to recognize the true God, they must abandon the false gods which they themselves have made and open themselves to the One whom God has sent to remedy their ignorance and satisfy the longings of their hearts. These are speeches which offer an example of the inculturation of the Gospel."
[from the subsection "The Spirit Directs the Church's Mission"]

"The Church contributes to mankind's pilgrimage of conversion to God's plan through her witness and through such activities as dialogue, human promotion, commitment to justice and peace, education and the care of the sick, and aid to the poor and to children. In carrying on these activities, however, she never loses sight of the priority of the transcendent and spiritual realities which are premises of eschatological salvation."
[from the subsection "The Church at the Service of the Kingdom"]

[The very cool Cyborg illustration is by Sean Wang.]

Sharia World: A Brief News Round-Up

Iran: #1 Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43 year old woman, awaits the carrying out of the death sentence placed on her as punishment for an "illicit relationship outside marriage." The method of execution will be stoning. Source: Guardian.co.uk. Also: read this story over at CNN.com: it recounts the mind-bogglingly sadistic details of Sakineh's case, and includes a video-taped plea from her son.
#2 While the stoning of Sakineh has still not been carried out, Iran has moved ahead with the criminalization of the mullet. This story inspired Guy Walters, writing for the UK Telegraph, to ask "Can Iranian mullet-wearers be granted asylum?"

Nigeria: Niger State governor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, has declared that "sharia law cannot be practised unless there exists a shariah penal code", and enforcement of this penal code must have the full backing of the state. In the same speech, Aliyu also insisted that violations of sharia law include "failing to keep promises, coming late to appointments, deceit and telling lies." Source: AllAfrica.com.

Ingushetia (Russian province): "At an Ingush conference for Muslim scholars and elders this week, attended by Yevkurov, the money a groom must pay the bride's family for her hand was increased from 12,500 roubles (265 pounds) to 40,000 roubles (851 pounds), the local government said on official website." Source: Reuters Africa.

Indonesia: Nine Islamic groups have announced that they intend to organize an armed youth militia to enforce Sharia law, and, in particular, to use force to prevent people from choosing their own religion: "so that there is no more room for apostasy." Source: Christianity Today. Also see this long detailed post at the Barthnotes blog -- it contains numerous other links to media sources including Associate Press, the Maylaysia Star, the Jakarta Globe and more.

Egypt: "Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid, a prominent Egyptian scholar once accused of apostasy for his contemporary interpretation of Islam, has died. He was 66." Source: The Canadian Press. The story goes on to explain that:

Abu Zeid came to the public eye in 1995 when Islamist lawyers filed a suit against him, demanding he divorce his wife because his writings insulted Islam. A court ordered Abu Zeid to divorce, and the couple refused and fled Egypt for fear of being attacked by Muslim fundamentalists.

The case outraged secular Arab intellectuals, who saw it as an attack on freedom of expression.

Abu Zeid later appealed the ruling and won, but remained abroad, spending most of the last fifteen years in the Netherlands.

UK: "What isn't wrong with Sharia?" asks Maryam Namazie, writing in the pages of the UK Guardian:

The demand for the abolition of sharia courts in Britain, as elsewhere, is not an attack on people's right to religion; it is a defence of human rights, especially since the imposition of sharia courts is a demand of Islamism to restrict citizens' rights.

Rights, justice, inclusion, equality and respect are for people, not for beliefs and parallel legal systems. To safeguard the rights and freedoms of all those living in Britain, there must be one secular law for all and no religious courts.