Category Archives: News
Picture of the Day
Roussanou Monastery sits isolated on a rock in Meteora, Greece, in the central area of Thessaly. Founded in 1545 by Maximos and Ioasaph of Ioannina, the monastery’s name is of unknown, but may reflect the name of a hermit who occupied the rock. Photograph by Reiner Harscher, National Geographic.
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Quote of the Day
“Given the choice between a Christian like Barack Obama, who embraces non-Biblical principles like abortion, and a Mormon like Mitt Romney, who embraces Biblical principles, there is every reason to support Mitt Romney in this election.”
– First Baptist Dallas Church Pastor Robert Jeffress – who last year called Mormonism a “cult” – now offering his support for Romney.
Is anyone as surprised by this as I am? A Baptist preacher called President Obama a Christian?!
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Justice for Justice
This story has been at the forefront of the news in the Dallas / Fort Worth area for the past several days. Justice was a pit bull puppy who was hung from a wrought-iron fence in an apartment complex in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas, doused with lighter fluid and set on fire last week. The animal actually survived the initial blaze, but suffered such severe external and internal burns that he passed away the other day. A reward for information leading to a suspect or suspects has reached $25,000.00; the highest amount for an animal cruelty case I’ve ever seen. A woman came forward recently, however, and identified a culprit. Dallas police now have a warrant out for the arrest of 18-year-old Darius Ewing. Dallas Animal Services is asking that any other witnesses, or anyone with more information, call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-8477. All calls will be confidential.
Personally, I’d have no problem seeing whoever burned Justice suffer the same fate, but civil liberties groups might get a tad bit upset.
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In Memoriam – Oklahoma City – April 19, 1995
Visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial
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Picture of the Day
A glacial torrent pours over a 40-foot-high ledge at Gođafoss, “waterfall of the gods,” in Iceland. After the Icelandic assembly adopted Christianity in A.D. 1000, its leader threw his pagan idols into the falls. The mossy island in the foreground, notes geographer Guđrún Gísladóttir, “is protected from sheep.” Photograph by Orsolya and Erlend Haarberg, National Geographic.
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“Breivik Is No Knight Templar”
Fellow blogger The Templar Knight takes umbrage with a claim by Norwegian mass murderer Andres Behring Breivik that he’s part of the “Knights Templar,” the legendary religious crusaders of medieval Europe. Giving a Hitleresque salute in court the other day, Breivik admits he set off a bomb that killed 8 people and then shot 77 more to death last summer as part of his personal crusade against Norway’s Muslim population. It was the worst political attack in Europe since World War II and shattered the calm demeanor usually associated with Norwegian society.
The original “Knights Templar” first appeared in France in the 12th century. Hugues de Payens, a French nobleman, gathered 8 of his knight relatives and began what he called the “Knights of the Temple of King Solomon.” Their mission was simple but direct: protect pilgrims on their journey to visit “The Holy Places,” mainly Jerusalem. They became an elite fighting force; highly-trained, highly-motivated and well-equipped. Even their horses were trained specifically for battle and shielded by protective armor. One of the Templars’ earliest and most noteworthy battles took place in 1177. The famed Muslim military leader Saladin was attempting to invade Jerusalem from the south with a force of 26,000 soldiers. With only 500 men, the Knights Templar ambushed Saladin and forced him to retreat.
Breivik first described the Knights Templar in his 1,500-page manifesto “2083: A European Declaration of Independence,” in which he called the group “a nationalist military order and military/criminal tribunal.” He designed and modeled uniforms, badges and other insignia for the military. In his proclamation, which was distributed to about 1,000 people immediately before Breivik detonated a car bomb in Oslo, he also tried to recruit “Justiciar Knights” for the crusade. “As a Justiciar Knight you will go into history as one of the most influential individuals of your time,” Breivik wrote in “2083.”
As horrific as Breivik’s crimes are, his views are nothing new. Europe has seen a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in recent years. A 2010 survey in the United Kingdom found that 52% of respondents believe Britain is divided sharply along religious lines. In Malmö, Sweden, in November 2010, a man was arrested in connection with a dozen unsolved shootings of immigrants, including 1 fatality. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel told fellow Christian Democrats in October 2010 that multiculturalism “has failed, utterly failed.”
Officials haven’t determined whether Breivik acted alone, as he claims. But, this case is destined to be the subject of much attention and scrutiny in both Europe and the Muslim world.
Read the rest of The Templar Knight’s blog post here.
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Quote of the Day
“I acknowledge the acts, but I don’t plead guilty, as I claim I was doing it in self-defense.”
– Anders Behring Breivik, responding to a judge in an Oslo courtroom on April 16. The 33-year-old Breivik is charged with killing 77 people last July at a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utøya. Breivik also has denied being insane and has dubbed himself a contemporary “Knight Templar.”
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