History is the Key to Understanding

Submitted by Michael (United States), Dec 6, 2006 at 12:04

The key to understanding the war with Islamic jihad can be found in the Protestant Reformation and subsequent 30 years war between Roman Catholic nation-states and countries and those of the Protestants. It was all about religion not ideology. Fundamentalist reform minded Christians, who's battle cry was "Ad Fontes" or back to the fountain head, the sources of Christianity, opposed the Roman Catholic Tradition.

The Roman Catholic practice of exalting Tradition above Holy Writ had over the centuries layered Christianity with extra Christian doctrine, extraneous rules, rites, pomp and ceremony. Christianity became hide bound and had lost the Gospel: the Good News message that all sins past, present, and future from the first man Adam to the last man has been expiated by the God-man on the cross, Jesus Christ. The Salvation of Mankind was an accomplished fact, Man has been Justified before God.

This right relationship before God was free for the taking by faith in Christ Jesus. The Roman Church averred that while man was indeed justified by faith he was not yet saved and must obey the Roman Church, the merits of which alone could save man. There followed 30 years of "religious wars" between Roman Catholics and Protestants. This was a time of extremely bloody mayhem, murder and war in the name of religion. The eternal salvation or perdition of man was determined by which doctrine had been taught by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Heaven and Hell were at stake for every man. Doctrine or Dogma mattered.

Fundamentalist, Reformation Christianity opposed centuries of Catholic Tradition with a capital "T". There are obvious and graphic comparisons and parallels with fundamentalist, Wahabbist Islam and "Traditional Islam", Islam layered over by centuries of differing traditions and ethnic interpretations, expositions, and compromises. World War Four, in which we are now engaged, is a religious war, a continuation of the truly First World War which was Islam against Christianity after a hiatus of five hundred years or so. If the West does not understand this, it doesn't understand its enemy and cannot win. Even the Pentagon is belatedly realising that the Koran is the motivating force driving Islamic jihadists. IN ESSENCE, THIS IS A RELIGIOUS WAR, NOT MERELY IDEOLOGICAL.

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