JAMES MADISON and the Struggle for the BILL of RIGHTS
By Richard Lubinsky
The above titled book was published in 2006, so you are already ten years behind if you have not read it. But if you get it now, it will be worth your while if you cherish the Bill of Rights like I do. From the opening page to end of the Epilogue there are 264 pages packed with details about James Madison’s work on the Constitutional Convention and the ratification in Virginia and other states, plus the election of Madison to the First U. S. Congress and his more than two year effort to pass the Bill of Rights.
Remember that the Continental Congress was meeting in New York City for several years during the Revolutionary War. James Madison was from Orange County, Virginia, a several day trip to New York and a trip that Madison dreaded because of his long-time illness that comes to light in this book. Madison had a gastrointestinal problem that frequently caused diarrhea and other discomforts that were embarrassing to him during long trips on a stage coach or other conveyance with a couple of other people. For me this was the first glimpse of the personal fortitude that Madison had in dealing with his personal health problems while he was the instigator and daily shepherd of the assembly of the Constitutional Convention, the adoption, the ratification, and the struggle to adopt a Bill of Rights.
The advance praise for the book comes from James Madison organizations and individual historians like Garry Wills, Philip Bigler, Charles F. Bryan, Jr. and David B. Mattern on the book cover. I am confident that if you read this book it will open your eyes to the divergence of views about adopting the Constitution in the first place to the switch by Madison from opposing a Bill of Rights to being the only real champion of adopting the Bill of Rights. This took Madison over two years of meticulous letter writing and personally speaking to hundreds of people.
You will learn that Madison was not a dynamic speaker like Patrick Henry. Madison was a soft voice of reason who preferred to work behind the scenes, but if called upon to address a legislative body, he could hold his own with detail after detail. Madison was particularly good in legislative committees where a few people often recognized his intelligence and deferred to his solutions for the problems under discussion.
The beginning of the book was somewhat dull to me, but essential to understand what was happening during the constitutional developments. I began making notes at page 174 when Madison’s election to the first U.S. Congress was described. Madison detested having to give up his work with the Continental Congress in New York and come home to Virginia to run for office to the House of Representatives. He did not like to ask for votes or do things like make promises. He thought everyone should know what he stood for and accept him for those characteristics.
There were secret political goings-on that prevented Madison from being nominated for the U.S. Senate from Virginia. Some people tried to get Madison to run for Congress in a district where he did not live because those people want him to represent them. Patrick Henry, a former governor of Virginia and an ardent Anti-Federalist, had succeeded in designing districts for the ten Virginia House seats (Virginia was the largest state in the Confederation at the time. Remember it included today’s West Virginia and Kentucky) that would place Madison in a district that Henry thought Madison could not win. Henry was against the adoption of the new Constitution because he thought that the document took too many powers away from the individual countries, such as Virginia. This is the first book that I have read that shows the people of the time flat-out described the states as “countries” and it is obvious to me now that all of the thirteen colonies thought of themselves as individual countries at that time.
But finally Madison was persuaded to come home four or five weeks before the election to campaign in ten inches of snow in the hills and hollers of Virginia. Madison managed to show up in county seat after county seat and talk to the people. Madison was frost bit a little during his travels in the counties of Orange, Louisa, Culpepper, and others, but he won the election over his friend, James Monroe, another individual who needs to be explored more by serious constitutional learners and scholars. Only 44% of the eligible voters came out in Madison’s district that first Virginia election, and in his district Madison was the victor.
Madison and Monroe were so close that they invested in land together and invited Thomas Jefferson to join them in a venture at one time. Madison made more money in land, perhaps, than he did from Congress or his estate at Montpelier. This was another interesting discovery in the book.
In that first election the Sheriffs of each county took down the voters’ preferences orally and made a record. Because of the bad weather, some Sheriffs took votes for three days because it took some hearty souls that long to get to the county seat to vote at considerable risk.
Think of this and contrast it with how easy it is to vote in the 21st Century. We are now coddled, one might say, with our voting machines and fraud prevention systems that sometimes allows double voting, false registrations, and other devious election irregularities.
Another item that piqued my interest was the beginning of Chapter 8 where it is disclosed that New Yorkers wanted to make that city the permanent capital of the United States. I live in Florida in a district where most of the voters are from a single ethnic group who used to live in New York, mostly New York City. My neighbors are democrats and I am a republican, so this struck me as especially interesting. Also my family and I lived in the Philadelphia area for five years during which time I accompanied my three boys and other Cub Scouts to the Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was debated and signed on several occasions. The place still has the ability to produce memories and dreams of the 1770s.
Here is some detail about this time period that I learned from the book that will give you a good example of Labunski’s writing style:
“Even the state’s Anti-Federalists, many of whom had wanted to prevent ratification at the New York convention in July 1788, agreed to approve the Constitution only because Federalists had strongly hinted that the city would likely become the permanent seat of government. Anti-Federalists knew that if New York did not join the union, its largest city would have no chance of hosting the new government.
“New York officials worried with good reason, that Philadelphia would persuade lawmakers to return to that city, which was the home of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and where the Confederation Congress had met for nine years. Representative John Page of Virginia said that New York ‘is not so half as large as Philadelphia; nor in any manner to be compared to it for Beauty & Elegance.’ Benjamin Rush, a prominent Philadelphia physician, who wrote a long letter to John Adams in early spring to remind him of his home city’s many amenities and virtues, including ‘Philadelphia is the centre of the State of the Union: she is wholly & highly Federal.’ Another Pennsylvanian Timothy Pickering, said that ‘In Philadelphia, the Congress will find convenient lodgings & public buildings – provisions good, elegant, plenty & cheap -- & the most extensive libraries adapted to the use of public bodies, that are to be found on the Continent.’ Those libraries appealed to John Adams, who as vice president would be expected to be involved in the selection of a permanent capital. He told Benjamin Rush that “I love Philadelphia quite as well as New York, and the noble Libraries there [in Philadelphia] would be Strong temptation to me.” [footnotes omitted.]
Around page 180 I was interested in the reference to Representative Elias Boudinot from New Jersey as he is another founder I have recently studied and written about in regard to his religious beliefs. Boudinot, earlier under the Continental Congress he was the second president of the Congress when the country only had officers of the Congress. We only had three of those presidents as I understand it. Boudinot told his wife in a letter that when they arrived in this “dirty city [New York City]” -- “The difference of the wholesome Country Air, from the Stench of the filthy Streets was so apparent, as to effect our smelling Faculties greatly.” My own visits to New York City from the 1960s to present day did not exhibit what Boudinot found upon his arrival, so the years have allowed New Yorkers to make appropriate improvements.
I cite Boudinot for another reason at page 220 of Lubanski’s book where it is disclosed that Elias Boudinot was the chairman of the House Committee of the Whole when Madison was introducing the Bill of Rights in August. Someone raised the issue of whether the committee of the whole had to recommend the Amendments to the full House by a two-thirds vote. “The chairman, Elias Boudinot of New Jersey, ruled that a simple majority was sufficient, and his decision was upheld by a vote of the members.” [Footnotes omitted.]
This book covers the complicated story of the adoption of the Bill of Rights from 40 or more amendments to the twelve submitted to the states by President Washington to the final ten amendments ratified and adopted as additions to the Constitution. There were complications throughout the debates over the amendments as to whether they would be incorporated into the Constitution or appended to the end of the document. We know now that the ten amendments were added to the end and the Supreme Court is still interpreting what the founders meant by each Amendment.
You will not waste your time or money reading this story that can lead you to many other wonderful tales and happenstances about the Bill of Rights. If we let our children graduate from college, perhaps even high school, without knowing what is in this and similar books, we have to accept a degree of blame for letting them down.
Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN: 13: 978-0-19-518105-0 and ISBN: 10: 0-19-518105-0
William J. Skinner, Revised 9-3-2017
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich
Book Review by William J. Skinner
First,
this book gives the Newt Gingrich group’s insight into potential positive
changes in the way the executive department of U.S. government can be reformed
to better serve the people. These
improvements are primarily dependent on the GOP and President Donald J. Trump
(PDJT) working together. The book should
give hope to anyone who has doubts about whether these ideas will ever be
achieved. Readers can learn how PDJT thinks and works and it is not as scary as
some main stream media writers slant the outcomes using their creative
non-fiction rubrics.
Second,
the first draft was assigned to two writers and then Newt Gingrich began organizing
the book with his first-hand knowledge of the way candidate interacted with him
and others from meetings beginning in 2015.
The entire Trump family seems to have participated in proving data for the
Gingrich team. Gingrich and Callista became friends of PDJT and the Trump family. Eric Trump wrote a forward. Other family members are quoted or described
as having favorable input.
Gingrich
synthesizes the military’s OODA-loop method of working with Nassim Nicholas
Taleb’s description of IYI (Intellectual, But Idiot) in his book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly
Improbable, and a forthcoming book, Skin
in the Game, with Charles Murray’s ideas in his book, Coming Apart: The State of White America, with security expert
Dennis M. Gormley’s concept similar to IYI, with Phillip Howards’ legal
concepts of how to rewrite regulations in outcome terms rather than formulaic
instructions to follow into new ways of doing government business on Federal,
State and local levels.
PDJT
is a businessman who follows the military principles of Observation, Orientation,
Decision on action, and Loop back to Observe again as a way to get things
done. Taleb’s essay will explain why
government is focused on following the ideas of very smart people who are
unable to accomplish results. Gormley
talks about the difference between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge about
the threat of proliferation and development of land-attack cruise missiles
abroad. All of these ideas strengthen
Gingrich’s ideas of how PDJT and the GOP can succeed in improving government performance. Ideas from others are incorporated as well.
The
book contains three parts with a total of 15 chapters. Two of the chapters lean on Gingrich’s back
and forth written discussions with Allen C. Guelzo, the Lincoln scholar at
Gettysburg, who tells Gingrich that the challenges faced by PDJT are similar to
those faced by Lincoln. For example,
when Lincoln was elected the southern states newspapers were writing about
destruction of the Republican Party and resistance to Lincoln’s government.
Gingrich writes, “Today’s Left resembles Charlestonians about to secede in
defense of slavery.”
Part
Three of the book contains six chapters each discussing how PDJT and the GOP
can Make America Great Again. Gingrich
writes about a “Four-Box Model for the Trump Agenda” in much detail which
either means PDJT has not heard Gingrich out in their one-on-one discussions or
Gingrich wants to recruit more of us to help him convince PDJT and the GOP to
get with the program. Either way, if you
do not read the book, and you favor changes, you will be on the sidelines.
The
Safety Box is about safety at home, the border, outlaw cities, safety abroad,
restoring America’s reputation, reviving the military, and eliminating radical
Islam. Gingrich says PDJT has a great
team put in place to accomplish these goals.
The American Competitive Box is about tax cuts for business, how a
border adjustment tax will help create jobs, eliminating the capital gains tax,
repatriation of US money hiding in foreign countries, cutting the income tax,
regulations, jobs, training and
education, immigration, and competing for the future.
The
Health Box is about incorporation new scientific discoveries into health care
more quickly than we do now, but he cautions that passing laws for a new way to
do health care will take three and a half years of Congressional hearings,
speeches, rallying the public by PDJT, committee votes and a conference
committee to put the parts together.
There are three main Strategies set forth here. One focus is changing
topic from reforming health insurance to reforming health care. This chapter
must be read now so you can discuss it with your members of Congress. As a former Speaker of the House, Gingrich
knows more than the IYIs on this subject.
The
Making-Government-Work Box says the “ahead of schedule, under budget” plan can
work if we do the Federal changes with the same determination as Wisconsin and
Governor Scott Walker did to change the laws in that state. Issues include government performance,
unaccountable bureaucrats, and balancing the budget.
Once
we change the Federal laws and see improvement, we have to push the same
winning ideas to the states and local communities. Bold, big and wonderful is how I would
describe the plans Gingrich tells us about.
He says Republicans have government cornered in at least ten states, so
they are turning out some successes already.
Gingrich sets forth 23 guiding principles showing how these will box in
the left more. As people rethink modern
government and society, more principles will be adopted. Then Gingrich lists 35 separate projects we
can all work on to make the changes we want.
PDJT
is an extraordinary figure to Gingrich who says that as the president learns
more and more about the problems he will begin to solve them. Maybe Gingrich is getting big consultant fees
for saying all these nice things about PDJT.
If he is, I hope he charged enough, because there are many good ideas in
this book. Part of our problem will be
to elect members of the House and Senate who will be smart enough to read and
study the ideas in this book. Some
members of Congress seem satisfied to have arrived in the District of Columbia
and never plan to leave.
The
Trump speeches should be read again to see how they fit together. Gingrich complements Steven Miller and a
couple of the campaign speech writers now working in the White House for their
good work.
Every
book, no matter how many people work on it, will have a flaw. I only found one in this book. In a listing of early US presidents, the book
lists Franklin. This is new information
to me. If you read the book tell me
where you found this listing and I will know you are a careful reader.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
PROPOSED ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
TO QUALIFY FOR TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE
FOR HEALTH CARE
By William J. Skinner
Almost everyone knows healthcare cannot be
provided for free; but many people assume or believe healthcare is their
right. Many people are being pulled in
this little red wagon and fewer people are making the payments. Meanwhile politicians promise to take more
from wage earners and pass it along to others who will not work or are
unqualified for available jobs to get votes.
Americans are a generous people, but there are limits.
Can we get
more folks to participate in controlling the need for healthcare? Chronic diseases are very often caused by
lifestyle choices – over eating, drinking unhealthy beverages, eating the wrong
foods, and failure to exercise. Generally
taking good care of oneself would be a good start to health. Good health is ignored by not washing the
produce before eating it, neglecting to wash hands, and not knowing how to
recognize common medical conditions or symptoms. Medical costs are driven up by going to the
emergency room (ER) to get colds, sore throats, cuts, bruises and rashes
treated. And because we over exercise
our petition rights too much to make laws, Americans now need help at the ER
for over eating marijuana cookies.
One of our
problems is we do not have all of the people with skin in the game or a dog in
the hunt, as politicians say. If it is
not too late to get our elected representatives to address this critical
factor, we could still get more people in the fight to bring down health care
costs. We need to try to achieve the attention of every American, young and
old, in the next plan. How can we do
that? Start by thinking outside of the
traditional box and use our human resources is one way to describe our
solutions to this effort. Those who have
read Alexis de Tocqueville may
remember he wrote: “The health of a democratic society may be measured
by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” He did not say by government run health
programs.
Use the Education Techniques and Resources of Voluntary Associations
Youth Organizations
Some of the
most obvious providers of health education are youth organizations and disease
organizations. In the area of youth, for
example, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) incorporates first aid and health
education throughout its program for boys from ages six to 18 and beyond. Each rank
advancement has some health component as a requirement for an award. There are specific individual requirements,
like using a tourniquet, and there are groups of issues combined in Merit
Badges for many areas, like First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, Personal Fitness,
and many others.
Special provisions will be needed for those who prove to be too lazy or adamant about doing nothing to improve their personal situation. Some will be mentally or physically challenged and will not be able to participate in such programs, but this is a small number that most Americans will be ready to help because of their situation. Waivers or equivalent certifications can be granted by government bureaucrats after the standards are written into law and regulations are properly promulgated using the Administrative Procedures Act to allow the population to learn about the program. But the basic idea is that if you have not earned First Aid Merit Badge or the equivalent, you cannot get ER soap and water with bandages applied.
This is not
a time for government to start dictating how voluntary youth organizations should
operate, but only a time for government to get some assistance from what
Americans have always done – they help each other. This is not a time to assign the task to
government run schools and throw money at the problem so that politicians can
have something else to control. America for several years has been spending more and more on
government/union schools and its students are fast losing rankings in educational
levels among other nations of the world.
I was
personally involved in the BSA from 1948 through 2014 – a period of 66 years
and the only time I was paid was the few weeks I worked on a camp staff during
three summers in my high school and college years. Thousands of volunteers would be willing to
gear up to help other youth and adults learn what they need to know to improve their
health care.
The
American Heart Association does a great job teaching adults and youth about cardio
pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), they even do it with an online program. AHA has an instructor program already in
operation and could take on larger groups that need such training. AHA is a leader in resuscitation science, education, and training, and
publisher of the official AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC. More than 10 types of instructional programs
are offered, and many of these would be useful for affected individuals and
families to learn about.
Specific
disease associations that specialize in diabetes, lungs, kidneys, cancer, feet,
skin, and you name it often have educational programs for professionals, family
members and individuals. Use their programs to help educate patients and
families how to care for their illnesses.
Some of these voluntary associations have magazines offering advice and
information. These groups could develop
certification programs to qualify for eligibility for taxpayer funded health
care.
Pharmacists
should be consulted for advice about the use of prescription drugs, vaccines,
drug interactions and side effects, over the counter drugs, health resources,
and devices. If pharmacists were
reimbursed for their time, patients would learn more about their health needs
from this easy to reach professional resource in every American town.
Many
patient disease-related support groups have participating social workers,
physical therapists, and other health professionals. For example diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and
movement disorders, weight management and other conditions often have support
groups available to orient patients and family care givers.
What To Do Now
Everyone receiving taxpayer funded healthcare should be encouraged to participate in these various volunteer certification programs to show they understand what they can do to help themselves. Let your state and federal legislators know how you feel about this general idea. Urge them to consider it. Think about how these kind of programs could help you with your health care or that of a family member or friend. Let us work together to solve these problems. Do not give up and just ride in the little red wagon.
4/4/2017
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Sanctuary Leaders May Be Term Limited
Sanctuary
Leaders May Be Term Limited
Unbeknownst to some
mayors, city and county officials and governors, they may be prohibited from
running for any other office because of their promotion of sanctuary cities,
counties and states. Apparently they
have not read Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U. S.
Constitution stated below:
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an
oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member
of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state,
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove
such disability.
It would appear that more than 300 sanctuary movement leaders
who are elected officials could be kept off the ballot for another office, by
asking them for a copy of their Congressional waiver of disability. Citizens could accuse these people of
insurrection or rebellion against the United States for failure to obey the
immigration laws. They may be required
to produce their waiver from Congress to election officials before they are
allowed to run for another office.
Section 3 is generally not thought of when the 14th
Amendment is discussed, but it is still part of the Constitution and will be
subject to little court interpretation. This
was not a partisan bill passed by a bare majority. This is an amendment to the United States
Constitution passed by two thirds of both the House and Senate and ratified by three fourths of the states on
July 9, 1868. Who will be the first person to challenge Section 3 as not being
constitutional?
For more information on
election law get my book:
SOUTH FLORIDA ELECTION LAW
HANDBOOK:
How Voters Can Prevent Election Fraud and Make Elections Fair
Lake Worth, FL
BillSkinnerLW@aol.com
http://bill-skinner.blogspot.com
How Voters Can Prevent Election Fraud and Make Elections Fair
Lake Worth, FL
BillSkinnerLW@aol.com
http://bill-skinner.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
TIME LINES OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
TIME LINES OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM:
How Much Time Do We Have Left for the United States of
America ?
By William J. Skinner
Ancient books
and documents contain some surprising information. Scholars in languages,
archeology, history of war, religion, and other areas have studied these old
sources for many years. Recently I read several books and viewed some
college level and advanced lectures on early Christianity and early
Islam. For over 40 years I have read about Biblical archeology and
history.[1]
This article
is an attempt to boil these topics down to the essentials, to get everyone up
to speed, because I have become convinced now more than ever that we in the USA
could lose everything if certain newly laid plans of Islamic leaders are
carried out as the Muslim Brotherhood has desired for several decades.
Anyone who
says Islam is a religion of peace is ignorant of the facts of life and
death. Islam started as a deceitful massacre of Jews (the “Reds”)
and a tribe of Arabs (the “Blacks”) at the first hijra under the
leadership of Mohammad to Medina. Those Blacks who helped the
multiple-year takeover of Medina were the next to be disposed of by Mohammad
who consolidated his gains with the property of the Jews and other opponents
and their successors.
The
expansion of land and people under the control of Islam is the purpose of
Islam. Preaching love to these people does no good because their system
teaches them to take generations needed to achieve their goals. Islam
teaches to take the easy way and lie, but stay away in enclaves until the
Muslims can overwhelm the current occupants of a village, town, county or
state.
The Islam
ideology grows because some future disturbed or disgruntled grandson or great,
great grandson will learn he has not followed the plan and then try to carry it
out. Some call this “self-radicalization.” This and other techniques and
strategies have kept alive the sinister flame of Mohammad since 618 CE. A
small (139 pages) reference for more details about the hijra is
perpetuated can be found in Modern Day Trojan Horse: The Islamic Doctrine of
Immigration, accepting Freedom or Imposing Islam? by Sam Solomon and E Al
Maqdisi[2]
We can see
that in the Sudan and Nigeria, for instance, during that past 20 years, the
Islamists are organized primarily at the culture level of tribes (if they want
to have more children for the next few battles, they go kidnap 300 school girls
and rape them) and they want us to all to experience the 600 CE lifestyle under
their leadership. Never mind that the president of the Sudan was indicted
for war crimes by the World Court but still enjoys unrestricted travel to and from
other countries.
In the
United States we are witnessing the first president who promised to transform
the country into something other than what it was at the founding and other
than what it was in 2008. A growing number of Americans suspect that we are
witnessing a political ideology in the Obama Administration that is directed to
support more than equal treatment for Islam than it does for Western or Eastern
religions. But our Congress seems powerless to do anything about this
favoritism.
Many groups
have compiled lists of dozens of official acts of the Obama Administration that
somehow benefit the advance of Islam while making it more difficult for the
American defense forces to stop ISIL or to stop other related tyrannical
Islamo-facists in their quest for power. The U.S. is allowing or actively
importing immigrant refuges, some of which have backgrounds that cannot be
vetted.
Lawyers for
the U.S. Justice Department are lying to a Federal Judge about actions taken by
the current Administration to waive deportation and grant work permits.
All of the above concerns are troublesome, but another major change is
occurring under our noses. The Muslim population is growing by leaps and
bounds with the support of the taxpayers.
Muslims men
are obtaining various welfare payments to help them maintain four wives and
they are producing lots of children. For many years I have been active in
civic and political associations. A Muslim man followed me as president
of one civic association. We became friendly. He told me that one
day Muslim will have produced more votes that the regular Americans and Muslims
would take over all elected positions. The longer I live, the more this
prediction looks like it might come true.
Pew Research[3] says:
The world’s
Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years,
rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to new
population projections by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion &
Public Life.
Either way,
these factors make a conquest more probable than just possible.
The Timeline
Background
Christianity
The Christian
Church started slowly in about 30 to 34 CE (for Common Era for nonbelievers) or
AD (Anno. Domini) upon the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth,
son of Joseph and Mary, of the New Testament. Jesus started his ministry
of about three years duration with John the Baptist in the area of Galilee at
the age of about 30. Jesus did not leave writings.
Biblical
scholars say that Saul of Tarsus, an educated Jew and prosecutor of Christians,
became converted as a Jesus follower during a trip to round up Jesus adherents
for prosecution. Saul had a vision and discussion with Jesus and was
diverted to Damascus to restore his sight. This event happened about two years
after the resurrection of Jesus. Saul became Paul the Apostle and later
wrote the first book of what is now the New Testament, epistle to the First
Thessalonians, in 50 CE. For later writings see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_epistles.
Paul wrote many letters in the New Testament and there
are other documents attributed to Paul or his small group. All the works that
eventually became incorporated into the New Testament are believed to have been
written no later than around 150 AD, and a small minority of scholars would date
them to no later than 70 AD, 80 AD, or at 96 AD [footnotes omitted.] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament.
Christians also relied on the Old Testament Torah, the
Prophets and other early writings of the Jews attributed to Moses that predated
the New Testament. Prof. Bart D. Ehrman of the University of North
Carolina says that Christianity was both missionary and exclusivistic.
That is, early Christians promoted Christianity and they believed this was the
only true religion. But there were several competing theologies that
occupied leaders of different Christian churches in separate places.
Christianity
struggled under several theological banners for about 367 years until Bishop
Athanasius of Alexandria put forth a letter setting forth a list of the books
found acceptable for the cannon of the New Testament.
The history
of the early Christian Church was not written until Eusebius, the Bishop of
Caesarea, described many events in ten small books, now combined in a modern
English translation, Eusebius The Church History[4]
by Paul L. Maier, covering the period from the crucifixion and
resurrection up to 324 CE. Maier describes the Christian relationship
with the Roman Empire and other detractors, and writes about “internal attacks
by renegade religionists who tried to seduce the saints through arcane
distortions of doctrine or coral them into schismatic groups that foreshadowed
contemporary cults.” Maier at 9.
Islam
Islam
started small and grew fast. Mohammad (spellings vary) was born about 570
CE and died in 632 CE. The beginning of the movement to Medina from
Mecca, called the hijra, was in 618 CE.
Uthman ibn
Affan ordered the writing of a standard version of the Qu’ran book for
Islam in 650 to 656 CE. This was done because pockets of Islamic
settlements relied on different parts of the writings. Mohammad claimed
that the angel Gabriel appeared to him in visions over many years and the
Qu’ran was made up of these various writings and assembled in different
orders. Some of these writings were made before, during and after the hijra.
During the
second Caliphate, Umar I, between 633 and 643 CE, conquered the Levant, Eqypt,
Cyrenka, Tripoliania, Ferran, and Eastern Anatolia. In a few more years,
Islam became the dominant political power in Spain, Italy, Gaul, the Greek
coasts and islands. Christians served in the Muslim navy to defeat the
Byzantine navy in the Battle of Masts in 655 CE. The Islamic State
expanded using war power and fear. This kind of expansion continued
until the turn of the millennium when the Christian Pope began recruiting
fighters to counteract the Muslim gains.
Islam was both missionary and exclusivistic.
They promoted Islam and they believed Allah was the only true God.
In the chapter on Lessons from Muhammad’s Migration
Migration[5], Solomon and Maqdisi described how
“migration is ultimately a conquest and not a migration,” writing:
To understand the point of ‘conquest’ as opposed to
‘migration’ please refer to: “The Islamisation of Britian and what must be
done to prevent it by Colin Dye (Pilcrow Press Report September 2007). This
report gives practical example of how Muslims have implemented the principles
of tamkeen and I’dad in the conquest of the U.K. with gradual
progression towards the establishment of an Islamic supremacy, while the host
society has remained unaware and all the time thinking that requests have only
been for a few religious and cultural needs. In a democratic society the types
of requests are seen as valid and legitimate and are ultimately granted.”
Religions are All the Same
A primary question this topic should confront head on is
the argument that all religions are the same. Christianity fits the definition
of a religion, but Islam is different because it has multiple goals. Down
deep can one answer the question, “Are Allah and Jesus the Same God?”
This is a question that is raised again and again by some
of the reference books appended to this article. The debate is sometimes
like the debate about how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.
My reading has convinced me that Allah is much different
than Jesus. My conclusion is to have faith in Jesus. Muslims may
argue immediately by pointing out a counter argument that the calligraphy on
the Dome of the Rock[6] states: “God has no Son” among
other things[7] The sameness argument continues
that if a Christian cannot read the language of the Muslims, they cannot
possibly understand Islam.
The same God argument recently appeared in the Wall
Street Journal in 2016 in an article by Stephen Prothero, professor of
religion at Boston University. He summarized:
“Islam and Christianity both affirm that there is one
God, creator and judge, who speaks through prophets, whose words are written
down in scripture.
Everyone is not on the same page. Malaysia is one
of the largest Muslim countries. The Islamisation of Mayalsia started 42 years
after the death of Mohammad.[9] The Wall Street
Journal reported[10] in 2013 that “worries
over the religious freedoms of minorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia are
growing after Malaysia’s appeals court ruled … that a Roman Catholic
publication can’t use the term ‘Allah’ to refer to the Christian God, despite
the widespread use among Malay-speaking Christians.”
The three-judge panel ruled “to allow the Herald
newspaper to use the word “Allah” would have been unconstitutional, said Haniff
Khatri Abdulla, one of the lawyers of the six Islamic State Councils that
oppose the use of the word by non-Muslims.”
Summary of Time Lines
Christianity was founded first. Jesus worked with
12 disciples, 70 special followers and 500 others to spread his messages for
about three years. Jesus was crucified on a cross by the Romans after
instigation by some of the Jews in Jerusalem.
Paul directed his attention to the gentiles around the Mediterranean
Sea. The New Testament was written by many people who were said to be inspired
by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a religion of faith, hope, and love.
When asked by a lawyer, the Jesus summarized the greatest
commandments this way:
Matthew
22:35-40 New International Version (NIV)[11]
35 One of them, an expert in the
law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the
greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’[a]
38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And
the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.”
Footnotes: Matthew 22:37
Deut. 6:5 Matthew 22:39
Lev. 19:18
Holy Bible, New International
Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Christianity does not advocate killing wars against
others to expand the faith, but it does accept the duty and responsibility to
protect vulnerable people from cruelty and acts of terror.
Islam was
founded about 300 years after the New Testament contents was settled. Mohammad
fought battles against other countries to subdue tribes and cities to control
more territory and make slaves for Islam. Mohammad died in 632 CE
and was succeeded by several Califs, some who died killing off one
another. Thus, Islam is a system of political power that uses
terror and fear to grow. Islam is not what Americans and other Westerners
think of as a religion. Establishing Shariah Law will wipe out citizens’
right under the U.S. Constitution and leave all questions for Islamic courts of
so-called experts.
These two competing organizations each have founders,
doctrines and books, but they have wholly different purposes.
Both are missionary and exclusivistic. But look
again at the timelines. What else happened in the 300 year gap?
"Christians and Jews in the First Six Centuries" is the title of a chapter written by James H. Charlesworth, now a professor at Princeton, in a composite review by nine authors. It describes how the early Christians and Jews were together on many issues and how and why they moved apart in their religious practices. Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development, 2nd Ed. ISBN: 978-1-935335-52-8. (2011) Biblical Archeology Society.
Was Islam patterned on Christianity with a left-hand
twist? Does history tell the truth?
My answer to the question in the title of this article is
Americans have as little as 30 years if we do nothing and as many as thousands
of years if they become educated and follow established moral and governmental
principles as the Founders did in the middle of the 18th century.
Keeping a Republic where personal rights matter requires better educated
voters than we have on June 8, 2016 when this article was posted here.
[On March
31, 2017, the Wall Street Journal at
A2 reported on the Congressional Budget Office annual report on long term
federal spending. CBO said the federal
debt has doubled since 2008 to about 77 percent of gross domestic product and
this would reach 150 percent of GDP in 2047 – thirty years from now. This means this financial factor will culminate
at about the same time as the growth of the world Muslim population and the
growth of the number of Muslims in the United States reaches the voting factor. Turning back ruinous spending will require
the current government to clamp down on spending starting soon.]
Another
small book that gives points of view on this subject.
The Next Nightmare: How Political Correctness Will Destroy
America by Peter Feaman, Dunham Books, 2012, Amazon.com
Other Books on Muslim Terrorism Read By William J. Skinner
Winter 2003- Summer 2004 Year
Terror in the Name of God,
Jessica Stern, Harper Collins, 2003
Persecution,
David Limbaugh, Regnery, 2003
Ghost
Wars, Steve Coll, Penguin Press, 2004
Holy
War, Peter Bergan, Free Press, 2001
American
Jihad, Steven Emerson, Free Press, 2002
American
Dynasty, Kevin Phillips, Viking, 2004
The
Islamic Threat, John Esposito, Oxford, 1999
Unholy
War: Terrorism in the Name of Islam, John Esposito, Oxford, 2002
What’s
Right With Islam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, Harper, SF 2004
Preachers
of Hate, Kenneth Timmerman, Crown Forum, 2003
9/11
Commission Report, 2004
Fall
2004 to Winter 2005
Intelligence
Matters: The CIA, Bob Graham, Random House, 2004
Against All Enemies:
Inside America’s War On Terror, Richard Clarke, Free Press 2004
Shadow War: The Untold Story
of How Bush is Winning the War on Terror, Richard Miniter, Regnery
Publishing, Inc. 2004
The Islamic Invasion:
Confronting the World’s Fastest Growing Religion, Robert Morey, Harvest
House Publishers, 1992
Islam &
Christianity: The Koran vs. The Bible, A comparison of the Christian
Scriptures with the Teachings of Muhammad, Diane S. Dew, 2001, http://dianedew.com/islam.htm
Countdown to Crisis: The
Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran, Kenneth R. Timmerman, Crown Forum,
2005
Who Is This Allah, G.J. O.
Moshay, Dorchester House Publications, 1994
Islam in the Crucible: Can It
Pass The Test?, Riccoldo da Montecroce & Martin Luther, Trans. By
Thomas C. Pfotenhauer, Lutheran News, Inc., 2002
Is the Father of Jesus the
God of Muhammad? Timothy George, Ph.D., founding dean of Beeson Divinity
School at Samford University and an executive editor at Christianity Today,
Zondervan, 2002
The World of Byzantium,
Prof. Kenneth W. Harl, Tulane University, 24 lectures, The Teaching Company,
2001
The Life and Religion of
Mohammed: The Prophet of Arabia, Rev. J. L. Menezes, Roman Catholic Books,
originally published 1912 (no copyright notice in this edition)
More Than A Prophet: An
Insider’s Response to Muslim Beliefs About Jesus & Christianity, Emir
Fethi Caner and Ergun Mehmet Caner, Kregel Publications, 2003
The Quranic Treasures,
Khurram Murad, The Islamic Foundation, 1997
What Every Christian Should
Know About ISLAM, Ruqaiyyah Maris Maqsood, The Islamic Foundation, 2002
Fall
and Winter 2006
Blood from Stones: The Secret
Financial Network of Terror, Douglas Farah, Broadway Books, 2004
The Truth About Muhammad:
Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion, Robert Spencer, Regnery, 2006
Religion of Peace?
Islam’s War Against The World, Gregory M. Spencer, World Ahead Publishing,
2006
Spring
and Summer 2007
Feaman, Peter, Wake Up,
America!, Woodmont Publishers, Inc., 2007
Answering Islam: Countering
Terror with Truth, Nadira, Wahlid Phares, James White & Robert Reymond,
Coral Ridge Ministries, 2007
Fall
and Winter 2007
The Fight for Jerusalem:
Radical Islam, The West, and the Future of the Holy City, Dore Gold,
Regenry Publishing, Inc. 2007
The Enemy at Home: The
Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, Dinesh D’Souza, Doubleday, 2007
Honor Killing, Kenneth R.
Timmerman, Middle-East Data Project, Inc, 2007
Winter
2009
The Mystery of Islam: A
Christian Perspective, Gene Little, Crown of Life Ministries, 2003, 332 pp
The Founders on Religion: A
Book of Quotations, James H. Hutson, Ed., Princeton Univ, Press, 2005,
244 pp
Winter
2012-2013
St. Peter’s Bones, Kenneth R.
Timmerman, Caseopia Press, 2011, 266 pp and annex
ISBN: 978-0-9797229-1-2
Spring
2015
Shariah: The Threat to
America – An Exercise in Competitive Analysis, Report of Team B II, Center for
Security Policy, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9822947, 351 pp
The Secure Freedom Strategy:
A Plan for Victory Over the Global Jihad Movement, The Tiger Team, Center for
Security Policy, January 16, 2015, www.securefreedom.org. In March 2015 this was
available on www.amazon.com
Refugee Resettlement and the
Hijra to America. Ann Corcoran, Center for Security Policy, March 30,
2015, 78 pages, this is available on www.amazon.com
[1]
Biblical Archeology Review, Biblical Archeology Society, Washington, D.C.
[2]
ANM Publishers, Charlottesville, VA, ISBN: 978—0-9794929-5-2, 2009
[3]
http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/
[4]
Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI. 1999, ISBN 0-8254-3328-2
[5]
Footnote 2, Ibid, p. 73
[6]
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine
located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially
completed in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the
Second Fitna. The Dome of the Rock is now one of the oldest works of Islamic
architecture. It has been called "Jerusalem's most recognizable
landmark," and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with two nearby
Temple Mount structures, the Western Wall, and the "Resurrection
Rotunda" in the nearby Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Its architecture and
mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces. The
octagonal plan of the structure may also have been influenced by the Byzantine
Church of the Seat of Mary built between 451 and 458 on the road between
Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=dome+of+the+rock&form=PRUSEN&pc=EUPP_UE07&mkt=en-us&refig=a7f35ebd7a524ff5b78cd272e749269f&pq=doe+of+the+rock&sc=8-15&sp=-1&qs=n&sk=&cvid=a7f35ebd7a524ff5b78cd272e749269f
[7] The
inscriptions on the Dome - with a great amount of repetition - are quotations
from the Quran that attest to the unity and supremacy of Allah and repeatedly
attack the concept of the Trinity of Christianity.
These inscriptions are seven hundred and thirty four feet
long in all, amongst the lengthiest inscriptions in the world. In fact it acts
as an important item of propaganda - both politically and theologically - for
the newly formed Arab/Muhammadan polity. It declares the supremacy of 'Islam'
over that of its rival Christianity. http://inthenameofallah.org/Dome%20of%20the%20Rock.html
[8]
WSJ, January 8, 2016, p A9
[9]
ANM Publishers, Charlottesville, VA, ISBN: 978—0-9794929-5-2, 2009 at p 86.
[10]
WSJ, October 15, 2013, p A13
[11]
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22:35-40&version=NIV
Revised March 29, 2017 and April 5, 2017
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