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 Letter to the Central Council of Muslims
Universal Life's Letter to the Central Council of Muslims in Germany concerning the utterances of Pope Benedict XVI to the topic Islam and Christianity:
Mr. Ali Bardakoğlu
Diyanet İşleri Başkanliği
Eskişehir Yolu 9. km.
Çankaya
ANKARA – TURKEI
September 21, 2006
Dear Mr. Ali Bardakoğlu,
We are turning to you at this time because of the current debate taking place on the statement Pope Benedict XVI made to the topic “Islam and Christianity.”
We are Original Christians, people committed to the original teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who rejected every kind of violence. As such, we find it a great scandal when the head of the Vatican Church presumes to speak in judgement of other religions in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Particularly the Vatican should presume so much! It isn’t the fact alone that Pope Ratzinger quoted a Byzantine Emperor without clearly dissociating himself in the same breath from this completely negative judgement of the Islamic faith. For this, he has already expressed his regrets.
From our viewpoint it is just as unacceptable that the Pope give the impression that his religion has a monopoly, so to speak, on non-violence. This non-violence does not hold true for the Eastern Orthodox Church, whose protectors in the person of the Byzantine emperors, were often conquerors who, for example, bloodily suppressed Early Christian minorities like the Bogomils in the Balkan states. But above all, it does not hold for the Vatican Church itself, whose extremely bloody past was not in the least referred to by Mr. Ratzinger. Crusades, Inquisition, witch-burnings, the conquest of America … For centuries, war and terror in the name of God was brought into the world by the representatives of the Roman Church. And in the 20th century, they continued along these lines, whether with the genocide of the Orthodox Serbs in Catholic Croatia (1941-1943), or the genocide in Rwanda (1994) or the bloody cleansings of Argentina (1976-1983). Aside from which, it is noteworthy that until today the Vatican Church has not erased “justified war” from their Catechism.
It is just as smooth-talking, or rather, hypocritical, when the highest representative of the Vatican makes the claim for his church to be preaching a religion of reason. In ancient times, the Church of Rome fought against ancient Greek philosophy as “pagan,” and killed many of those who embodied this philosophy. The doctrine of the Catholic Church is bursting at the seams with irrational elements. As Original Christians, we also believe that God’s law is not in contradiction to reason. But it is precisely because of this, that we cannot hold true, for example, the doctrine of the trinity, whereby God-Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit should be one and the same “person.”
During the first centuries after the death of Jesus, the Vatican Church turned practically everything Jesus had left behind into its opposite. Jesus founded no church institution and installed no priests. But the Church of Rome has established itself as a hierarchical church of power with a person at its head, who adorns himself with pagan titles and insignia. “Pontifex maximus,” is more or less the title of the highest Roman pagan priests. All this is not by coincidence.
As Original Christians, we keep the Ten Commandments and the original teachings of the Nazarene, above all, the Sermon on the Mount. For this reason, we consider it Christian when those who want to criticize other religions would begin by analysing their own faults.
Above all we want to make clear that Pope Joseph Ratzinger may very well speak for the Vatican Church, but not for Christianity or for Christ. For his church betrayed and sold out His teachings already 1800 years ago.
You will find more on this topic in a book we are preparing that answers the question: “Who Is Sitting on the Chair of Peter?” Enclosed, is a copy of the excerpts to this book, the first volume of which we expect to publish in October. We would be very happy to send you a copy then.
Sincerely yours,
An Enlish translation of this letter was sent to: Mr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, The Muslim Council of Britain, Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford, London E15 1NT
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