OT America is no longer Christian- Obama Speech

for those offended by Christianity you will not wish to read this post.

Contrapoint:

In my humble opinion as a devoted follower of God and Jesus Christ and a Christian when I was baptized at 7 years old and experienced a new life and rebirth.

Quote: President Obama Speech : in June 2008

JERUSALEM – Some have been taking issue with largely unnoticed comments made last year by Sen. Barack Obama declaring the U.S. is "no longer a Christian nation" but is also a nation of others, including Muslims and nonbelievers.

The comments have been recently recirculating on Internet blogs.

"Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation. At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," Obama said during a June 2007 speech available on YouTube.

comment: listen to this speech excerpt to hear this for yourself.

At the speech, Obama also seemingly blasted the "Christian Right" for hijacking religion and using it to divide the nation:

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us," he said.

Asked last year to clarify his remarks, Obama repeated them to the Christian Broadcast Network:

"I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism. Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," Obama wrote in an e-mail to CBN News senior national correspondent David Brody.

As a Christian this send a ripple of warning through me. I am not a prophet, I have seen no angels up close and personal, but I can read the writing on the wall. Our nation was founded upon Christian principles and a belief in God. It is that which made it a strong and the most powerful country on earth. 

It was inevitable given the Muslim background of our highest leader that eventually that part would come forward and could lead to our ultimate fall as a world power. A belief in God is written on our money- In God We Trust. No in Allah- not in worshiping rock and trees and nothing. We have seen this coming for decades. For us who are Christian is a clear declaration of what is soon follow- the coming of the End of Days.

We have watched as a nation who has a foundation on deep Christian values has become a ghetto of socialism, permissive behavior to the point where Ronald MacDonald is more popular than Jesus Christ.

It is one thing to be tolerant of other faiths. From one who was raised a Muslim we should not go in uncharted waters as we open our arms to our now beloved friends - The Muslims.
They don't like us. They don't want to join with us.

Newflash here guys. And nothing personal- but I have read the Q'uran thoroughly, have studied with Mullahs and can partially read and write http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language. I wanted to know and understand that which may threaten our nation. Few leaders have any clue as to the the Arab mindset who are from the Western world. The Kuffar

Mullah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullah

To the Muslim we are Kuffar or Kafir - the unbelievers. All that are not Muslim are Kuffar

so let's get to to the point here-

Kafir (Arabic: كافر kāfir; plural كفّار kuffār) is an Arabic word meaning "infidel," "rejecter," or "ingrate". In the Islamic doctrinal sense, the term refers to a person who does not recognize God (Allah) or the prophethood of Muhammad, while the literal meaning of the term is one who hides, denies, or covers the 'truth'. The word is usually translated into English as 'unbeliever', 'apostate', 'ungrateful' or 'obliterator'.

In cultural terms, it increasingly being seen as a derogatory term^[1] used to describe an unbeliever in Islam, apostate from Islam and even between Muslims of different sects^{[citation needed]}.

The Qur'an has also used the word for Muslims, however in the reverse sense; in Qur'an 2:256, Allah asks Muslims to take upon themselves the 'action of kufr' of all unjust idols, persons or powers.

One of the greatest goals of Muslims is eliminite the "dirty Kufir" from the earth.

With all due respect and submitting to our government:

Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was a radical Muslim who migrated from Kenya to Jakarta, Indonesia. He met Obama's mother, Ann Dunham-a white atheist from Wichita, Kansas-at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Obama, Sr. and Dunham divorced when Barack, Jr. was two.

In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya immediately following the divorce and never again had any direct influence over his son's education.

Dunham married another Muslim, Lolo Soetoro who educated his stepson as a good Muslim by enrolling him in one of Jakarta's Wahabbi schools. Wahabbism is the radical teaching that created the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad on the industrialized world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabi

Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when you are seeking political office in the United States, Obama joined the United Church of Christ to help purge any notion that he is still a Muslim.

note: as an aside- I am a member of the Church of Christ and have been since I was born. No elder, no minister of our church would ever say these things. After 53 years as a Christian and working in missionary work, preaching, baptizing people, and studying comparative religion, I see this - not as a far right extremist "go t hell" TV evangelist shame to our core faith Christian- as dangerous to our nation.

comment: If you will read the Qur'an you will come to quickly know that the Muslim non-extremist teachings are not one of world peace. When the Qur'an was written

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran

It pretty simple. We can lose our country peacefully or eventually be invaded.

There is an idealistic unreal approach we are following in foreign policy which continues to try and be visionary which has gone visionary and lost contact with reality.  There are a legion of spin masters to churn out reasons and why this is okay. It is not okay. We are losing credibility in the world among nations, we are becoming weak, and huge powers are mobilizing to take advantage of this.

If we do not toughen up- these people are going to see this a the weakest period in history of country and step back in awe as we try to reason with people who have been warring for 3,000 years.  You cannot resolve and make Muslim groups that have been fighting for a thousands years at least  This is not a passion of the head, but of the heart.
These guys are going to be at it forever. There will never be a lasting peace between Israel, Muslim, or Christians. It is undoable. Each groups purpose is to rule the world and convert it to their faith. That is the bottom line. There is not a single line in the Bible, or Qur'an or almost any faith that teaches tolerance of other faiths. This is a myth. It just isn't there. If I am wrong about this- show in the Bible where it teaches us to accept Muslims or in the Qur'an to accept Christians. We are in the spirit of love to not make war. But we do make war.

Much of this speech is lifted directly from things I have posted. Yes, ALL OF THE UNREST in the Middle East is caused by one thing. Israel invaded and took Palestine and kept it and won't give it back. The very concept of terrorism and labeling people terrorists is a misnomer. All nations and in all times there have been horrible acts done on others in the name of patriotism and God. None of these are right.

I do not support them (Muslims) , because they seek more than just freedom- they seek to dominate the world and make it Muslim.

Yet this is not a time as we have nukes in Pakistan, our soldiers are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Taliban (not the Al Queda- would someone please things straight about the near fictional organization which is not our real threat) are about to take Pakistan and have nuclear weapons.

We do not even know where all the nukes are Pakistan. Mullahs are mullahs. They are in control in Iran, not the government.

I am reminded in my youth of a group of band members who got together in the studio and recorded an album. Many of band were on drugs. I thought the tracks were really bad. The other guitarist and members of the band thought it was incredible. The next day our mixer guy played the tape. It was gruesome. In some kind of euphoric haze everything sounds good. The words of the speech I heard do not sound good.

1) The Arabs and especially Muslims are shocked. They are stepping back and politely saying this all sounds good but has to be backed up by real action. Iran said that. You just let us do anything we want all over the world, and build all the nukes, and do nothing, and we will be friends- until our armies enter the U.S., put you on your knees, put knife to your throat and say- declare there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.  This is the teachings of the Qur'an. And this is what our young men are dying to protect us from and fight this battle there instead of here.

2) When Iran launches on Israel and makes Tel Aviv a crater (and we have intelligence of stuff that would curl peoples hair- as to what who has. The Hamas can launch a nuke to anywhere in Israel. Why do you think Israel invaded them. Just becaue the border rocket attacks were annoying.

3) The war between Israel and Palestine has been going on for 3,000 years since King David in 1000 B.C. when he decked Goliath.  We are not going to bring these people to peace.

After Solomon, and kings came who began letting them burn their children on the hilltops in sacrifice to Moloch- the prophets warned Israel. If you do not stop the kingdom will fall and Jerusalem will be laid desolate.

Now it is becoming an annoyance for children to pray in school. We cannot say the pledge to flag with so help me God. The foundation of a Christian nation is being ripped from beneath us and that was our strength.

I do not believe in persecuting or doing violence to anyone. If God has not chosen to chastise the unbeliever, it is not in my power nor do I have the right to force my belief on others. But we established a Christian nation which now, starting in the 60s has gradually come to warnings of in the scriptures.

II Timothy 3:1-5,7 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

comment: We are there.  Our movies, our media, our toys and books are consumed with a turning away from the basic morality and truth our nation was founded on.

This is not a popular sentiment. We are a dying breed. More and more have lost the belief in God, heaven - John Lennon said - Imagine there's no heaven- its easy if you try - he basically destroyed the Beatles with his statement -

http://beatlesnumber9.com/biggerjesus.html

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." said John Lennon.

He was, as she reported, reading extensively about religion at the time. It was a small part of the article. No one took notice of it in Britain.

We are no longer a Christian nation. We  are no longer  a whole nation that puts our faith in God. We are now  more interested in being sure those do not believe and hate God or simply do not believe have rights We are destroying ever vestige of what was a strong country by ripping apart the fabric of morality and unity we were found on and the rights which early patriots shed their blood for us to have. "

We are in the minority now. We had fled Europe and come to the New World, so that we could worship and continue in peace without persecution.

Of course- we need not lift a hand, for if we continue to move in the present path of poor judgment and decisions which make a world which already deeply dislikes us and wants only our money and to see the center of industry move from American to South East Asia and India, excited by our new found lack of teeth or the sword, and our weapons have been replaced by words.

There is a plan for China and Russia to even begin a new Nato, a new money system, and to combine China and Russia to become the greatest power on earth.

It is not a conspiracy. It is a plan.

At home, mistake after mistake. The collapse of the family. The rage of horrible divorces and broken families and bitter bitter people whose lives have been destroyed by a permissive society in which marriage has no value, nor does the life of the unborn child. Our economy, the collapse of huge companies, the loss of health benefits, whole states and the country in debt

This is not extremism. Our founding fathers of the Constitution when we had rights were not extremists. There were liberators from the incredible colonialist British Fleet and Spanish Armada types obsessed with world dominance.

Muslims are not our friends. Their different culture and desire to make us all Muslim will not lead to a great America. It will destroy America. Cannot you imagine in the Crusades as we tried to stop the Muslim armies a king going around and telling them to be friends. Things have not changed that much http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade

Yet, we are within days of a declaration of World Wide Pandemic. All the signs are there
and there shall come a time of tribulation.

just two days before His impending crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that one of the signs of "the end of the age" would he "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world" (Matthew 24:21)

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the people round about.. .in the siege against Judah and Jerusalem... .I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces... though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it (Zechariah 12:2-3)... .in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:9). ...For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle (Zechariah 14:2). ...Then shall the Lord fight against those nations (Zecharian 14:3); and his (Messiah's) feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4)... .and the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one" (Zechariah 14:9).

comment: basically the grasshoppers play in the sunshine and laugh and joke and make merry while the ants prepare for the great and terrible days ahead. Many friends tell me
John (my mother chose my name because of her faith in God and Jesus)
you are vexation to us in the spirit for you are like Jeremiah the weeping prophet trying to warn the people.

Guilty.

I don't want to see you guys die by the millions because you aren't ready. I am not trying to convert anyone. Our lives are our sermons and those who can see God in us will come to believe.

Whatever you believe- in whatever faith- we may only have until this Fall or Winter. I believe this deeply in my heart and have suffered much ridicule from friends and families. Some think I am mentally challenged.

Those who have eyes let them see - those who ears.. let them hear.

Now: these sentiments- a country founded on Judeo-Chrisitian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Christian

are now being referred to as right extremist claptrap. As a student of history it is clear what made us strong as a country for 200 years. To deny this is a misperception of reality. The need to take out - example the statement in our legal system - "so help me God" or the words in God We Trust off our money is truly being rationalized with a new permissive society where children have no role models except people singing about expoiting women, killling police, and using drugs, and sex without love. We worship money as a God. Materialism is the core of our constant pumping of advertising.

Is it any wonder.. truly we are where we are? It is no accident. We have been under the protection of a great power as a Christian nation for hundreds of years. When that protection is taken away - we will fall.

I feel that we as a nation are going around building campfires and singing Kumbaya to the Arabs. They like it. No problem with America. We are now friends with Muslims and Christians are just crazy people talking about some mythic event where there is a final battle and given our current path- is likely to be sooner than later

Christians never were that popular. It is said we are in the world, but not of the world. We were lion food for quite a bit. The concept of giving your life for your faith is now considered the sole area of the the Muslim extremist.  If Jesus were here today and walked into modern day churches and Christian networks he would be turning over tables and declaring the "church" a den of thieves- some sleeping with prositutes with money sent in from elderly ladies to feed the starving from their limited incomes in poverty.

It would truly be Dies Irae - The coming of Day of Wrath - http://www.globalserve.net/~bumblebee/diesirae.html

Medclinician

Susan, there is a difference between a nation and a country. Our country was most certainly founded on a secular constitution. But the character of the nation was undoubtably Christian. that being said it was always designed to include differing views of Christianity as well as non-Christians. There have always been self-professed non-Christians as a part of the makeup of our nation. More recently that number of self-professed non Christians has risen.

In response to what President Obama said I cannot see how one can make a case that a nation that had a small amount of non-Christians as members and moved to a larger but still small amount has moved from being Christian nation to a non-Christian nation.

Why if we were able to examine those who are real Christians (if we could know) as opposed to the self-professed Christians, we would no doubt find that among those who claim to be Christian the number that really and truly are Christians has also gone up and down throughout our history. One might even make the case that if those who were never really truly Christians have decided to come out of the closet and declare themselves to be not Christian that the remainder are better off and stronger as well. Any group is better when its members actually believe what they profess. And who knows? Maybe the number of real Christians is higher today than in the past.

Since Christians desire to share their ideas in the free marketplace of ideas it is clearly easier to influence those who know they are not Christians than to influence those who think they are Christians but are not.

SusanT wrote: medclinician wrote: Our nation was founded up Christian principles and a belief in God. It is that which made it a strong and the most powerful country.  It was inevitable given the Muslim background of our highest leader that eventually the part would come forward and could lead to our ultimate fall as a world power. A belief in God is written on our money- In God We Trust. No in Allah- not in worshiping rock and trees and nothing. We have seen this coming for decades. For us who are Christian is a clear declaration of what is soon follow- the coming of the End of Days.     Med, I have always respected you and your posts, however I have to respectfully disagree with your conclusion here. Our nation was founded on FREEDOM of religion. Christians have been a minority on the planet for some time, and the non-christian population in the states has nothing to do with what beliefs Obama has or doesn't have. He mearly recognized that we are a nation with many beliefs - which has been true but unrecognized for many many years. As for the "End of Days" - you can't honestly think that God would destroy the earth because AMERICA has other religions??? We are 310 million people out of 6.7 billion, so it is a bit egocentric to think that America has that much importance. With that said, I should clarify my position. I have been raised with Christian beliefs. However, I do not believe that other religions are WRONG, just different, but equally valid.

Susan, I certainly respect your beliefs and right to express them. Each faith has its teachings. It is of course, as time has passed to modify the original codex of what was written. Christians have a challenge in the sense of a two-faceted God. Yahweh- YHVH- the God of the Old Testament was a god of wrath. The Jews were told to slaughter and kill thousands in his name. The we have the Christian God, the Prince of Peace. Passive resistance- much like Ghandi. YHVH torched Sodom- terrorized Egypt with plagues, ordered most of what is now Israel's genocide. Jesus rebuked Peter for picking up a sword and chopping an ear off.

As per Old Testament- all mankind was destroyed except for Noah's family. So we have a quandry. Much like Qur'an and a thousand years before, we have a God not much different from Allah. The desert peoples needed their own God and their own prophet, their own religion, and so came Islam.

With the passing of the Middle ages and the coming of Science we had a problem. The Bible was not scientific. There were no dinosaurs in the Bible. As a nation we also had a problem. While the Bible taught intolerance of certain groups "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live"- in America we have a Satanic Church. This is considered tolerance.

Yet tolerance has brought us (to the extreme please of some) Playboy magazine which was death to many marriages and women attempted to compete with models and came to hate a standard of beauty being used to seduce males they could not compete with. The permissive society of violence (20-40) people die in many movies with no remorse just for fun of watching them die.

It has desensitized us. Governments have no issue with invading countries and taking their land and butchering their people. America was founded on the blood of my ancestors the American Indians. They came to bring Christianity to the heathens.

So, true, the Spanish Conquistores who slaughtered and wiped out Latin American cultures were about as sensitive as we are to the Muslims.

However -

What ever the religious considerations - we have been protected by the atomic bomb since it went off in Japan. We had no scope of being really vulnerable until 9/11.

Each faith has their holy books. The demons of one nation are the gods of another.

There is a pattern to the rise and fall of nations. The loving God analogy has been much stated - a loving God would not allow -

And yet we die. We all die.

It was no understatement that Jesus in the flesh walking into most churches would not be impressed. The Jewish people never stopped fighitng the Muslims.

There is the ideal and there is the real. The belief.  in God and his protection of our nation existed before the atomic bomb. 

So the differences Codex of faiths teach that all that our not of their faith will be destroyed our should be. The Holy Wars are an example of this.

Now, you see, if all of a sudden America decides that the world should be at peace and the different faiths- who pretty much - whether the religion is communism- which is really a type of religion-should come together in peace and love- we are going to get our tushes whomped.

The realists in the military are really stressing over stuff right now. Serious enemies, terrorists, and really bad people are making really bad plans. A launch of nuke by Iran will send things into a tailspin in the Middle East The back of China to North Korea when we attempt to block them sending nuclear submarines to the U.S. may set off a war.

Biblically, you cannot pick and choose what you like in the Bible. But, as the religions have become impotent- in our society huge parts of the Bible are totally ignored.

Will the Muslims let their faith become diluted and change from their early warlike beginning. Probably not. People are dying as I type because we are trying to defend our country from the Muslims. It is the extremists that will lead the armies. And a call to Jihad will start a holy war in which every Muslim MUST follow or be declared worse than an infidel.

These, as Jesus would say, are harsh sayings.

Would God torch the world by fire and apocalyse the world and save only the Christians?

Read Revalations.

Would God authorize mass beheadings of those that would not become Muslim?

Read the Qur'an.

We have lived in comfy America almost untouched by the threat of war. Yet some nations have gone into other nations and had bitter and non-productive wars.

The barbarians are at the gates. This was the undoing of the Greeks and the Romans. And we have an extra unfun problem. The Pandemic.

We also have the problem of Revalations and the prophets who all told us we are in for a really bad time.

What is the rapture? What is vials? Is that all the delusions of Christian extremists. 

I believe the Bible. And as John said at the end - let nothing be added or taken from this book- Maranatha- what is Maranatha mean-

It means the second coming. It is a blessing- it is a curse. A blessing to the believer- a curse to the unbeliever.

These are the teachings of the Bible. You can dilute them, edit them, ignore them.

Jesus were he alive today, would be teaching them- a likely crucified again- or more likely just taken out by a sniper.

We need to acknowledge the differences and not paint over them.

Different religions can exist together in peace if they are will to live in peace. Are the Jews at peace? Are the Muslims at peace? They even fight among themselves.

I am deeply concerned for our nation. Everyone has so many rights, that soon no one will have any rights.

A philosophic debate is done from a chair and often over computer.

We live in a time of miracles in which few believe in miracles.

If our martyr and saints and even Jesus lived today they would be on Thorazine and deep sixed in a psyche facility.

If someone brought a dead person to life or truly could heal and it was documented.. what would happen to them?

We have organized religions with magazines and leaders and counsels and people rewriting the bible everyday in their own way.

Jesus had God and a robe and sandals and the Holy Spirit. He cast out demons. We don't believe in demons. He healed the lame. He wasn't a doctor- now he would be put in prison. He preached a new way- now he would be put on a list and watched and his cell phone would be monitored.

America is no longer Christian in the sense it once was. With all of our freeing the supressed and giving of rights, or morals as we knew them are thrashed for the most part.

Children have largely forgotten their parents. If you will look at the numbers and do a little research on people in convalescent homes, then look at Japan and how they revere their elderly you will find- we are way way out there.

Personally, my life is short. Those who have little time left can speak truth.

As Christians, and I do speak to my brothers and sisters in Christ, we have definitely strayed a long way from the day of Penecost when the Holy Spirt went forth and the Kingdom of God and Christ began.

We tolerate that which would have been an abomination to early Christians. We do it so we can endure other faiths and lifestyles.

Is this a good thing? Would Jesus coming today find this okay?

Jesus did not advocate violence on unbelievers. 

I warned people on this thread it is Christian oriented.

Jesus spoke of hell. The modern theolgist find hell distasteful and had edited that out of the bible. Hell is - uncool.  A marriage as per biblical type - even with the rampant male overtones - in this society we are erasing the identity of sex altogether. One by one wiping out all sense of polarity.

Jesus would say- this type of society will not last. It will perish.

So would Mohammed. Muslims are horrified by our movies, our morality, and our culture.

I think they are both right.

Medclinician

Legacy wrote: Hey....guess what??? In case you all haven't heard, we're on the verge of a pandemic, here. While, yes. this is the 'general discussion' section of AFT, I am mystified as to why some members continue to insist on inciting controversial (whether extreme right or left) and divisive situations. It just doesn't make sense.

Don't be mystified Legacy. While this is AFT, over time we have discussed many topics besides disease. For one, during periods when there is nothing about Avian Flu these discussions, in the discussion section- have kept the site alive.

Recently meeting with people planning at state level it was determined that those who are religious and have some type of connection would probably do better during the Pandemic.
Aside from the fact, for some groups that this type of event is written in their Codex's as coming- in a Pandemic (if you will look at my post in the religious section about conducting church services) million will seek clergy and others for support as their families are dying.

Mormons are probably some of the best prepped people in the U.S. They have a years food supply. Who do you think will survive a years blackout with no food and only each other to rely on.

There are hundreds of topics. Skip the ones you think are boring. There is pretty much something here for many people.

I recently received a document from the .gov Virginia from the mental health people. They are very very concerned about our lack of prep to assist and counsel scared and confused people when the second wave (even first wave hits).  When they had the shooting in Virginia, one woman I spoke to was the chief coordinator over all the teams including Red Cross, law enforcement, and health. They sent out people to handle students decimated by the killing of life long friends who were PTSing (Post Traumatic Stress) like mad.

People are going to panic and for some, religion is their lifeline. Those who have alternate lifelines, approaches to problem solving base on philosophy or whatever you wish to express can post.

Within reason, AFT is one the most flexible Blogs on the Internet. Unlike many with fixation and constant rhetoric of stay on topic- a wide variety of things are posted- and a large community comfortable with that exist.

If you have an alternate system for dealing with Pandemic psychologically that can reach millions who are already close and share a common bond- post it.  Even if there is something useful in any way to providing mental and spiritual support - just put it up.


Medclinician

To all White people of America
You wanted a non-US-born Black Muslim president from Africa you got it
This is your future under a black rule, see what happens to people with white skin in Africa

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-06-03/Killing_the_colorless_for_luck.html?fullstory

Yahoo StumbleUpon Google Live Technorati Scoop del.icio.us Digg Sphinn Furl Reddit Africa’s market is red because it’s brutal, bloody and fatal. The stock is obtained from albinos—people who are considered unlucky and cursed when alive.

Read more

The slaughter of albinos for magical purposes is not a new phenomenon. But market growth has led to an increased number of murders which have propelled the issue into the world’s view. Now, governments are trying to mop up their images.

Tanzania carries the deepest scars to its reputation.

"They are cutting us up like chickens. Our biggest fear right now is the fear of the living,” said Zihada Msembo, Secretary General of the Tanzania Society of Albinos.

A girl named Mariam, who witnessed her five-year-old albino sister’s murder, provided gruesome details to support the claim.

Mariam said that, in the middle of the night, three men with a torch came into their bedroom. As she peeped from under a blanket, she watched as one man held her sister down and another slit her throat. “They collected her blood in a tin, drank it and then cut both her legs off under the knee and clipped her tongue. They put it all in a bag and ran away.”

Mariam’s sister was only one of at least 50 albinos savagely murdered within a year to supply Tanzania’s market.

As part of an effort to stop albino killings, President Mrisho Kikwete last year appointed Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir as the first albino Member of Parliament (MP).

Kwegyir has begun traveling, under guard, to rural areas in attempts to educate people and to humanize albinos.

In rural areas, the problems are exacerbated by people whose health and welfare authorities are traditional healers and witch doctors, some of whom prescribe various albino potions for luck. These people are believed to be spurring the killing sprees.

“The legs of an albino are the most prized as they are believed to bring more wealth to miners,” says MP Kwegyir.

It is the bones in particular that they seek. Grinding them to dust, some miners wear the powder in amulets around their necks. Others bury the bones where they dig aiming for a wealthy yield.

“Hair attached to fishing nets is supposed to induce a good catch,” Kwegyir adds.

Other parts that are removed and sold include the genitals, the arms and the head.

Earlier this year, Tanzania revoked the licenses of all traditional healers to help curb their influence. The government also distributed a secret ballot encouraging people to snitch on those suspected of crimes against albinos.

However, these measures did not close the market. Tanzania’s demand is held responsible for encouraging the practice in neighboring Burundi.

In less than a month, preceding a March investigation that led to the bust of a murder ring, at least four albinos were slaughtered in Burundi.

Prosecutor Nicodeme Gahimbare led the two-day manhunt that brought down the gang. “They had albino bones with them,” he said. “Some of them still fresh.”

Authorities speculate that the goods were destined to cross the border.

Despite seemingly earnest efforts to reverse the trend of albino murders, around 200 people have been arrested in Tanzania but not a single person has been convicted of murder.

Burundi could rectify that record and set an example for the continent. Last week marked the beginning of an unprecedented trial. 11 people are facing charges of murder and attempted murder of albinos. If convicted, the accused could get life sentences.

A conviction could also pave the way to answer MP Kwegiya’s prayers.

“I know one day the killings will stop,” she says. “I know. God will help us because we are human beings and also because we are praying. God will help us because we are innocent.”

Michelle Smith for RT

 

Obama is simply attempting to unite the people of our world. To cut down the hatred of Americans. To treat everyone equally. To make Peace not War!

Personally I don't mind what your religion is. As long as you don't tell me I'm going to hell for not believing in your EXACT concept of God.

Unite people of the World? Under who’s name and for what purpose .
Maybe under His name?
What he wants? To be a messiah? Saver?  A God?

Let him first unite people of US

Lot's of other religions in the USA...This data eight years ago....

The following three tables comes from the NSRI and ARIS data:

Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001
(self-identification, ARIS)

Religion	1990 Est. Adult Pop.	2001 Est. ADULT Pop.	2004 Est. Total Pop.	% of U.S. Pop., 2000	% Change 1990 - 2000
Christianity	151,225,000	159,030,000	224,437,959	76.5%	+5%
Nonreligious/Secular	13,116,000	27,539,000	38,865,604	13.2%	+110%
Judaism	3,137,000	2,831,000	3,995,371	1.3%	-10%
Islam	527,000	1,104,000	1,558,068	0.5%	+109%
Buddhism	401,000	1,082,000	1,527,019	0.5%	+170%
Agnostic	1,186,000	991,000	1,398,592	0.5%	-16%
Atheist		902,000	1,272,986	0.4%
Hinduism	227,000	766,000	1,081,051	0.4%	+237%
Unitarian Universalist	502,000	629,000	887,703	0.3%	+25%
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid		307,000	433,267	0.1%
Spiritualist		116,000	163,710	0.05%
Native American Religion	47,000	103,000	145,363	0.05%	+119%
Baha'i	28,000	84,000	118,549	0.04%	+200%
New Age	20,000	68,000	95,968	0.03%	+240%
Sikhism	13,000	57,000	80,444	0.03%	+338%
Scientology	45,000	55,000	77,621	0.02%	+22%
Humanist	29,000	49,000	69,153	0.02%	+69%
Deity (Deist)	6,000	49,000	69,153	0.02%	+717%
Taoist	23,000	40,000	56,452	0.02%	+74%
Eckankar	18,000	26,000	36,694	0.01%	+44%

Top Ten ORGANIZED Religions in the United States, 2001
(self-identification, ARIS)

[Nonreligious, Atheist, Agnostic have been dropped from this list.]

Religion	2001 Est. Adult Pop.	2004 Est. Total Pop.	% of U.S. Pop., 2001
Christianity	159,030,000	224,437,959	76.5%
Judaism	2,831,000	3,995,371	1.3%
Islam	1,104,000	1,558,068	0.5%
Buddhism	1,082,000	1,527,019	0.5%
Hinduism	766,000	1,081,051	0.4%
Unitarian Universalist	629,000	887,703	0.3%
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid	307,000	433,267	0.1%
Spiritualist	116,000	163,710	0.05%
Native American Religion	103,000	145,363	0.05%
Baha'i	84,000	118,549	0.04%

Top Ten Largest Religions in the United States, 1990
(self-identification, NSRI)

Religion	Estimated Adult Pop.	Estimated % of Adult Pop.
Christianity	151,225,000	86.2%
Nonreligious	13,116,000	7.5%
Judaism	3,137,000	1.8%
Agnostic	1,186,000	0.7%
Islam	527,000	* 0.5%
Unitarian Universalist	502,000	0.3%
Buddhism	401,000	* 0.4%
Hinduism	227,000	* 0.2%
Native American Religion	47,000	0.03%
Scientologist	45,000	0.03%

* Islam, Buddhist, Hindu figures in table have been adjusted upwards by Kosmin to account for possible undercount.

Technologist wrote: Obama is simply attempting to unite the people of our world. To cut down the hatred of Americans. To treat everyone equally. To make Peace not War! Personally I don't mind what your religion is. As long as you don't tell me I'm going to hell for not believing in your EXACT concept of God.

  Sorry Med - I couldn't agree with you any less on this one. Politics and religion have proved to be the most decisive topics on AFT and this thread has both in copious amounts. I can only imagine what new members must think of us. As has been mentioned, we may well be on the brink of a pandemic and we need to be concentrating on that instead of muddying the water. I don't want to become embroiled in an argument that nobody is going to win, but I have to say my piece before I bow out of this one. This kind of thread invariably brings out the worst in people, and we're seeing it when garbage like this is posted;

" To all White people of America. You wanted a non-US-born Black Muslim president from Africa you got it. This is your future under a black rule, see what happens to people with white skin in Africa".

Talking to unite is ok...  We really don't have to worry about the balance of Christians in the country.... remember the stats on our Hispanic population.  A growing, Christian population.  :)  

If you want to unite people you need to make them equal in all respects
I am white and I don not feel that I am treated equal when it comes to color
Ex: Why is it OK to have B.E.T  (Black Entertainment Television)
  But I do no see W.E.T (White Entertainment Television )
Because it would be called racist 
Ex: Why is it OK to have: black entrepreneurs’ magazine?
 But not White entrepreneurs magazine
Yes you know racist
Ex: Why is it OK to have black scholarships www.UNCF.org
and not have a white only scholarship program
If you look at today’s television programs and commercials
You do not see black man been portrayed as stupid or dumb, but you see plenty of dumb and stupid white man 
Why do we have to mark boxes on any government application for White, Black, Hispanic or other
Are we all  equal ?

Why is that ?

Legacy wrote: Med, we could not be farther apart on the issue of "what keeps this forum valid and running". In my view, it runs in spite of these judgemental, divisive remarks (whether from the right or left) and it runs because Albert and others committed to the cause of preparing do our best to keep it on task. Discussions like this divide and judge, they do not unite and, speaking for myself, I'm simply running out of time and patience with the abuse of this forum. I won't even go into what I believe the God I know would think of one human being judging another, or others, as you have freely done. I tend to leave that task to Him. Do whatever you wish, but I'm quite finished with this subject matter and this is my last post on this irrelevant thread.

Here is Obama's real religious agenda:


Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on Department of Justice’s Outreach and Enforcement Efforts to Protect American Muslims

Thursday, June 4, 2009
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement relating to President Obama’s historic speech today in Cairo, Egypt:

"The President's pledge for a new beginning between the United States and the Muslim community takes root here in the Justice Department where we are committed to using criminal and civil rights laws to protect Muslim Americans. A top priority of this Justice Department is a return to robust civil rights enforcement and outreach in defending religious freedoms and other fundamental rights of all of our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the housing market, in our schools and in the voting booth.

"There are those who will continue to want to divide by fear - to pit our national security against our civil liberties - but that is a false choice. We have a solemn responsibility to protect our people while we also protect our principles."

Sara123 wrote: Obama's homeland security Chief released a terrorist report to all our police across the nation with a new MO - terrorists are not people who own guns, served in the military, are against abortion, and who believe in the Book of Revelations and/or who voted for Ron Paul or Bob Barr (libertarians).

I believe we jumped from the frying pan and into the fire!