It looks to me like a co-operative relationship may be developing among two of the world’s large religious groups.  I may be wrong here, but if one group seeks religious domination and one group signals meek submission, that should minimize the conflict as we transition to an Islamic world.

The word Islam means submission.  Islam is a political movement as well as religious. Many of its leaders openly seek and predict total world domination where all people submit to Islam.  Islam is therefore the enemy of those who wish to live outside of Islamic domination.

Though it does not receive much coverage in the press, Christians are being slaughtered and persecuted around the world by Muslims.  Here is a list of violent atrocities against Christians in this century.  The long list may seem sterile in its chart-like format, but remember that each incident involves real-life people who were tortured or murdered for their beliefs.  They had not submitted to Islam and they were tortured and killed as a punishment….  as suggested here.

In some countries, Islamists have achieved their goal.  In Afghanistan, the last Christian church has now been destroyed.  And it’s not just Christians being persecuted.  Islamists are persecuting Buddhists in Thailand and Hindus in India.

So if you are a Catholic and your goal is to minimize conflict, you should be pleased that the new Pope is signalling his submissive intentions.  In his March 29 sermon, Pope Francis supported the sentiments found in Matthew 5 and Luke 6, saying, “Christians must respond to evil with good”.

Matthew said, “resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also….  Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

So if we have people who want to do some smiting and people who want to submit to smiting, that should make for a compatible relationship….  like a good bondage relationship with a dutifully submissive partner.

Let’s see how this turns out.  My guess is that this strategy will have all the effectiveness of a gun free zone.  That’s where nearly all the mass shootings are.

Let’s be honest with each other about biblical ethics.  Consider these moral rules:

If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives.”  (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)

A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortune teller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death.  (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)

All who curse their father or mother must be put to death.  They are guilty of a capital offense.  (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)

If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.  (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)

We don’t kill witches and gay people and disobedient children any more because we are better than that.  We are smarter than that.  We should be smart enough to see that advice like, “resist not evil” and “judge not, that ye be not judged” are the negation of ethics. 

Killing people who do not share your religious views is evil.  Our choice is to resist such people….  or submit.