News Analysis: Mr. Pope, Know Your Limits!

A few days before Pope Benedict XVI’s speech in Germany sparked widespread protest in the Muslim world, a priest friend forwarded a short article to me on the “dhimmitude” of Christians and Jews in Islam. “Dhimmi” describes the cultural prison in which all non-Muslims are held hostage in an Islamic country. When I clicked on a short report on AOL.com about the reaction to the Pope’s speech against religious violence and the marginalization of religion, the above headline was on a large street-wide protest banner.

Pope Benedict finds himself in an ironic position: he faces a problem parallel to Pius XII – say anything that could be construed as negative about Islam and provoke a pogrom. Still more ironic is that the speech apparently repeated a constant theme of the contemporary Papacy in Europe: building a society hostile to religious faith is self-destructive.

The ignorant reactions of religious fanatics are far less to be feared than the systematic elimination of religious beliefs in public life practiced in the “Western” world. And even that may be less to be feared than some of religion’s “friends” in sheep’s clothing – Let us crusade (oops, Mr. Bush) for Secular Democracy!

Yeah, let us make the world think the Christians in the West are fighting for unlimited
pornography, divorce, same-sex unions, abortion and the ousting of religion from the public square!

A Personal Experience

Recently I responded to a communications company employment advertisement for technical support rep. I filled out the online application. Then I was asked to come in to take pre-employment tests. I was then invited to come in for Human Resources and management interviews. During this process I was told two things very clearly: first, I would have to sign an agreement to help provide “Adult” (pornographic) content to subscribers and, second, my request to have time either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning to attend Church was not possible.

When they called today to offer the position I said they were not offering me reasonable accommodation to practice my religion. The HR guy said they could not. I said I could not in good conscience assist in the delivery of “Adult” content. The HR guy said thank you and goodbye.

Mr. Christian, Jew or Muslim - know your limits.

Where is the true, most evil and destructive “dhimmitude”?