Typically, the religious affiliation of a President doesn't affect his ability to do his job.....with separation of Church and State, et. all. However, in the Presidential Election of 2012 that may not be the case.
Read on if you're interested in connected dots. Scroll to the end of this post if you'd like to jump to a current video of how our current Presidential contender views the future of life as you know it.
Connected Dots
President John F. Kennedy was Catholic and many American citizens were up in arms that he was a "liberal" Catholic. (I'd say not literally but after all, he was assassinated). People wanted to be sure that the United States would not become governed by the laws of the Catholic Church. It turned out to be a non-issue.I was reminded recently of how close we came to nuclear war with Russia via Cuba during the Kennedy presidency; Bay of Pigs. If you don't remember this event, it would pay to read up on it. It could happen again.
And, if it does happen again, it will likely happen over issues in the Middle East. The Middle East is and has been a hot bed of hot head religious fanatics for more than 8000+ years.
Yes, Man and the Earth are older than 6,000 years old and the conflict is likely not to let up anytime soon. And, you'll be interested to know it wasn't so different THEN than it is NOW. After all, uncovered graves in Egypt have revealed bones of pyramid workers with traces of bread and beer in their graves. Yes, they ate pizza and drank beer back in the day, too.
Ancient History of Israel and Palestine
Palestine has been settled continuously for the better part of 10,000 years when Man (and Woman) were just "babes in the woods" at that time. Remains and fossils have been found in this area for early homo erectus and neanderthal, as well as, hybrids of the neanderthal and modern man. In fact, archaeologists have found verifiable evidence of hybrid Emmer wheat at Jericho dating before 8,000 B.C.E.
This makes this area one of the oldest agricultural sites on Earth. Other people including Semetic, Amorite and Cana`anite people related to the Phoenicians of Tyre entered the area about 2000 B.C.E - and so the conflict began.A struggle for control of the land began due to its lush agricultural value, as well as, its abundance of wheat. Therefore we discover in many historical documents about the Earth's first "resource wars". I mean, a girl's gotta eat to pump out the "begats" as listed in the Torah and Bible and replenish the Earth, right?
In a nutshell, the Jews and Arabs, descendants of Abraham, BOTH consider the land now known as Israel and Palestine to be hallowed ground. Why? The simple answer is food - the Holy Land is rich, fertile land where food can be grown to sustain us. Period. We can look at it 7 ways to Sunday, we can read the "blah blah blah" in historical documents including the King James Bible, but the bottom line throughout history is; if land is coveted, fought over, revered or sacred and ordained by God, Jesus and all the Angels in Heaven, it's because we, as humans, can grow food on it, live to greet another day and say "Thanks, Mom"
So what does that have to do with the price of gas in the U.S. in the year 2012 and the upcoming Presidential election? The answer may interest you.
Rome
Forward wind to Rome, Italy. Its inception could go back as far as 2800 B.C.E. but records date it to approximately the 9th century. It began as a small village and grew into a massive metropolitan mecca which dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries and eventually the World, thanks to the Roman Catholic Church.AND, as home of its sovereign state, the Vatican City which rules the World through christianity and is touted as the most effective marketing icon in today's global society, it lives on.
At first look, Rome is in ruins and its ancient society has fallen. However, the baton got passed on through the Church when it fell, and they were successful in continuing their ability to conquer, and did conquer most of the main cultures in its day. Ultimately, they converted the World to Christianity.
Ancient Rome was a force to be reckoned with and had its leaders not been so progressively aggressive and crazy it may still thrive as a World power to this day. However, in an underlying way, it still does, through religion.
Jerusalem - the Promised Land
Cana'an was the older name of Palestine, the area of land we know now that lies between Syria and the coast. Cana'anites were Phoenician traders and exchanged their wares, primarily a red/purple dye extracted from murex shells found on the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean coast.
Realizing that the Cana'anites lived in both the eastern and western part of the country helps us understand where the grand conflict began between east and west Palestine, now known as Palestine and Israel.
Hebrew was a primary dialect but equally as common was Phoenician and Moabite. And, realize, at this point in history/time, Palestine encompassed both Palestine and Israel as they are known today.
In 636 C.E. Palestine joined the Islamic Empire. In 691 C.E. the Dome of the Rock (shown below) became the first great work of the Islamic culture.
(PAY close attention to this statement - you'll see how this connects to the video at the end of this post).
Over subsequent centuries, Palestine and Israel became controlled by various countries including Egypt, Fatimids (Tunisia), Crusaders (Roman Catholic Church conquerers) and ultimately by the Turks in 1518. Forward wind....
In 1832, Egypt took over the land. Ten years later Briton intervened, then the Turks took it back. Briton took it back over in 1917 then gave it up after a revolt in 1922. Back and forth, back and forth - Resource Wars continue....
After WWII and the holocaust, Briton decided to give it up and a civil war began between the East and West regions, now known as Palestine and Israel. At last, the state of Israel was declared in 1948 by the U.N. Egypt captured the West Bank, and in the course of the 7-day war in 1967, Israel captured the territory from Jordan to Egypt.
In 2000, Israel built a barrier separating itself from the Palestine region. To this day, there is discord.
Dome of the Rock
Remember, the Dome of the Rock was the first great work of the Islamic Culture in 636 C.E. (or A.D. as you'd like to think of it)
The prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam accompanied by the angel Gabriel, is traditionally believed to have ascended from this site. And, this is the site where modern day religions believe Jesus Christ, descendant of Abraham, on the non-Islamic side of the family, will return. And, his return is anticipated soon.
Christians believe that 6,000 years ago or so Adam and Eve played in the Garden of Eden. 2,000 years later the floods came and Noah rescued two of each animal on Earth. And, that coming soon, will be the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Here's what Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., the founder of the Mormon religion has to say about all of this:
"Before the Lord Jesus descends openly and publicly in the clouds of glory, attended by all the hosts of heaven; before the great and dreadful day of the Lord sends terror and destruction from one end of the earth to the other; before he stands on Mount Zion, or sets his feet on Olivet, (the Dome of the Rock) or utters his voice from an American Zion or Jewish Jerusalem; before all flesh shall see him together; before any of his appearances, which taken together comprise the second coming of the Son of God -- before all of these......there is to be a secret appearance to selected members of his Church. He will come in private to his prophet and to the apostles then living."
Reference: As Quoted by Bruce R. McConkle, The Millennial Messiah, pp. 578-579
Does Mitt Romney - former Bishop and Leader of the Mormon Church - as he states in this video below - believe that he is one of the elite that will be visited by Jesus Christ himself, prior to his return to the Dome of the rock in Jerusalem? And, that Israel should be protected no matter what regardless of its views and politics of other Countries in its region - including Iran, Iraq (old Babylon), etc.?
Do you want this man and his Church to govern the United States of America? Do you want this man to have access to our Nuclear weapons? What if JFK had allowed his religious beliefs dictate his response to Cuba?
Watch this video, then ask yourself.
