Re:The views of a Muslim in NY
on
More WTC News
·
· Score: 1
So... what do you call the crusades, then? These acts of war had *nothing* do to with Christianity?
The Crusades were, initially, a call to the Christian faithful to rally to the defense of the Holy Land, which had been invaded by Muslims who were spreading the word of Mohammed by the sword. They were also slaughtering Christian pilgrims trying to reach the Holy Land. Imagine if the roles were reversed and the Christians had taken control of Mecca? Pilgrimage was just as important in early Christianity as it remains today in Islam.
The Crusades ushered the concept of the "just" war--one fought for a noble or righteous cause for which God would forgive the sin of killing--into Christian thought. Perhaps this was done for political expedience by the Catholic Church, as some here have insinuated. I disagree. The concept of the "just war" goes back deep into the shared heritage of the three religions, when the Israelites asked for God's help defending the Promised Land.
Granted, the later Crusades ended up being more about the commercial rivalries between Constantanople and the Venice/Genoa conglomerate, but none of the Crusades even pretended to be about spreading Christianity, only about defending or reclaiming the Holy Land.
That is true. I grew up near the birthplace of Sam Houston and Ben Salem. As for the lowlanders being more sane, I think that goes back to the predominant ethnic makeup of the moutain settlers. The English and other "civilized folk" stayed down in the rich plantation lands of the coast, while the Scots and Irish were forced by economic pressure to the frontier, where they could own a piece of the American dream. As the frontier got pushed farther back, so did the people crazy enough to call it home.
Today, lacking a frontier that you can get to without a booster rocket, all we can do is channel our pent-up genetic imperative elsewhere. Like shooting at anything that flies, whether it's blimp season or not.
Anyway, I hear that way back in the hills, you *can* mortgage your kids to buy a house...well, a double-wide with a satellite dish, anyway.
I don't think Crazy Texans have a corner on this sort of behavior. I grew up in the Blue Ridge mountains, and I was the target of several bottle rocket attacks (the mouthy kids always were). Although I will agree that Texans exhibit a special flavor of crazy, there is something in the "mountain folk" genome that causes the men to look at every new technology and evaluate it according to two criteria: 1) how can I hunt deer with this; and 2) how can this be used to soup up my '72 Chevelle?
Personally, I think it's the long, hot summers down South that do it. There's more of the year when you can be outdoors and pursue outdoor activities like shooting blimps and burning down the outhouse with homemade napalm. But I digress.
Back to the topic at hand, the best "bazooka" we ever made consisted of an Estes "D" rocket engine, a Daisy "golden bullseye" BB tube, cardboard fins and a large macrame bead. The macrame bead will cause a little instability, but it makes an entirely satisfying whistle as it speeds toward its target.
The email that the government used against Microsoft were freely handed over by Microsoft to an intern/student researcher writing a paper on the growth of large corporations, or something of that nature. As I understand it, they actually archive this stuff--presumably for the Bill Gates Presidential Library or something.
Shirakhan
Slashdot Mirror
The Crusades were, initially, a call to the Christian faithful to rally to the defense of the Holy Land, which had been invaded by Muslims who were spreading the word of Mohammed by the sword. They were also slaughtering Christian pilgrims trying to reach the Holy Land. Imagine if the roles were reversed and the Christians had taken control of Mecca? Pilgrimage was just as important in early Christianity as it remains today in Islam.
The Crusades ushered the concept of the "just" war--one fought for a noble or righteous cause for which God would forgive the sin of killing--into Christian thought. Perhaps this was done for political expedience by the Catholic Church, as some here have insinuated. I disagree. The concept of the "just war" goes back deep into the shared heritage of the three religions, when the Israelites asked for God's help defending the Promised Land.
Granted, the later Crusades ended up being more about the commercial rivalries between Constantanople and the Venice/Genoa conglomerate, but none of the Crusades even pretended to be about spreading Christianity, only about defending or reclaiming the Holy Land.
Today, lacking a frontier that you can get to without a booster rocket, all we can do is channel our pent-up genetic imperative elsewhere. Like shooting at anything that flies, whether it's blimp season or not.
Anyway, I hear that way back in the hills, you *can* mortgage your kids to buy a house...well, a double-wide with a satellite dish, anyway.
I don't think Crazy Texans have a corner on this sort of behavior. I grew up in the Blue Ridge mountains, and I was the target of several bottle rocket attacks (the mouthy kids always were). Although I will agree that Texans exhibit a special flavor of crazy, there is something in the "mountain folk" genome that causes the men to look at every new technology and evaluate it according to two criteria: 1) how can I hunt deer with this; and 2) how can this be used to soup up my '72 Chevelle? Personally, I think it's the long, hot summers down South that do it. There's more of the year when you can be outdoors and pursue outdoor activities like shooting blimps and burning down the outhouse with homemade napalm. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand, the best "bazooka" we ever made consisted of an Estes "D" rocket engine, a Daisy "golden bullseye" BB tube, cardboard fins and a large macrame bead. The macrame bead will cause a little instability, but it makes an entirely satisfying whistle as it speeds toward its target.
The email that the government used against Microsoft were freely handed over by Microsoft to an intern/student researcher writing a paper on the growth of large corporations, or something of that nature. As I understand it, they actually archive this stuff--presumably for the Bill Gates Presidential Library or something. Shirakhan