It is supposed to be Peace on
Earth, Good Will Toward Men. Treat others like you would like to be
treated. There are hundreds of sayings giving the same message that we have
heard over and over again yet there continues to be a human decision to give
pain and suffering for political or religious reasons. Why? When each year
politics go on and people find the need to pray or worship something. It is
ironic that politics made one world leader feel
the need to kill another world
leader who just happened to be the leader of a place where Christianity is as
old a place on earth.
I am talking about Iraq and
George Bush and Saddam Hussein. Christians there trace their history to the
first century. Today their existence is threatened by the terrorist group that
calls itself Islamic State. More than
125,000 Christians, men, women and children have been forced from their homes
over the last 10 months. During Saddam’s reign of almost 30 years as dictator
he never allow such terrorism to exist in his own country. ISIS stormed into
Iraq’s second largest city, Mosil last summer and pushed their way to
neighboring cities and towns across this region known as the Ninnvin
Plains. It is a vast areas that has been
home to Christians since the first century after Christ.
Much of which took 2,000 years to
build has been lost in a matter of months. Putting aside your cheer leading need
to take sides with certain religions, history has been lost. Beautiful buildings
have been destroyed. Even through the World Wars, somehow soldiers on any side
had the common sense to miss the targets of some of the most historic and
beautiful structures on earth. Is this what the human race has become? Ignorant
worriers that seek and destroy? No wonder they kill reporters. They don’t want
to be scolded for their bullying bad behavior. How did Saddam keep order in
that region? The Monastery of Saint Matthew in Mesopotamia is one of the oldest
on earth.
Their services are done in Aramaic
which was the language of Jesus and have been doing it since the 4th
century. The monks are among the last people on earth to still speak that
language. Should even ancient languages be torn from civilization? All cultural
aspects removed to terrorists? As it is
there are only 7 monks left there. The Monastery was founded in the year 363.
It has survived the Persian and Ottoman Empires, Mongol Invaders and Kurdish Conquests.
Today it is threatened by ISIS who seem to be the most ignorant and barbaric of
all and wave their flags only 4 miles away. They are expecting the worst. Where
is the United Nations Intervention in this?
ISIS has taken over all the
neighboring towns. For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, there are no Christians
left inside Mosul. 10,000 people fled the city. ISIS is bombing buildings that
contain books that have been preserved for thousands of years. ISIS seeks to erase Christianity from the
landscape. Can they really succeed and pretend such a religion never existed?
They are working quickly in their quest. Crucifixes are being torn from
buildings. They have attacked Sunni Muslim Shrines that they consider
idolatrous. In recent months they have accelerated their campaign to destroy
more ancient sites, like the 3,000 year old ruins of Nimrud. They shattered
artifacts in Mozul’s Museum and burned
hundreds of ancient books at Mozul’s Library and University.
Like the Nazi’s marked Jewish
homes these terrorists have a symbol they mark on Christian homes. When they
put the ancient symbol on your home in red, you either convert to Islam, pay an
extortion tax or be killed by a sword. Some convert and then their daughters as
young as 10 years old are told to leave the family to be married. Someone
please somewhere make these terrorists spend their time doing good for someone
rather than dictate their beliefs on others. Should we pray?
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