August 14, 2014 (Thursday)
If I read the news story correctly, the terrorist group known as “ISIS” now claims the name of “Islamic State” instead. Their goal is to have one big Islamic State. I understand their goal is to include in their new state the nations now known as Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and I believe Egypt as well, and their intention is to make Turkey a part of it, too. The ultimate goal is to take over the entire world. With that in mind, a new leader has emerged, claiming sole control of the Islamic world. This group gives people the choice between conversion to Islam (their particular sect) or death. They have already begun. This new leader was imprisoned during the first Gulf War, and, when he was later released, he said to his former captors (Americans), “See you in New York!”
Does this trouble you? It sure troubles me.
Thomas Jefferson was a graduate of The College of William and Mary, which was established before the American Revolution by the Church of England. Students were accepted only if they were members of the Anglican Church. Religion was a vital part of the curriculum, and science was generally subservient to sectarian dogma.
Jefferson and at least two more presidents were alumni of William and Mary. But Jefferson later founded the University of Virginia upon the condition that no church would control the institution. His famous statement, “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man,” reflected the spirit in which he established the new college, which operated for seventy-nine years without a president, its governance given to the faculty, counseled by a “Board of Visitors,” chaired by a rector. (Jefferson was the first rector).
I wonder what Jefferson would say today about the threat of an Islamic world government, established by brute force, under the control of religious fanatics? No, on second thought, I don’t wonder about that–he’s already gone on record. The statement quoted above is inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial in our nation’s capital city.
(Was Jefferson opposed to faith? No. If fact, at times he attended religious services in the Rotunda of the Capitol building. He believed in both church and state. What he opposed was the control of either one by the other).