the rise of england and france

At the start of the 8th century, the whole of western Europe was literally in the Dark Ages. Its leaders were totally immersed in theology, personal enrichment, murder and self-aggrandizement and were oblivious not only of the rising Arab threat but also of the deep misery of the people they ruled.

Emperor Justinian II and the Roman Pope Constantine -- a Syrian, as was the former pope -- met for mutually enhancing discussions at Nicomedia in 711. Emperor Justinian dutifully kissed Pope Constantine's feet and took communion -- only to be murdered soon after, as was his successor.

The new Emperor Leo III (717-741) and the new Pope Gregory II (715-731) were not so cosy, but were equally neglectful of the people they ruled. Leo III imposed enormous taxes on Italy and ordered Pope Gregory II to break all images of worship. Pope Gregory II was having trouble at home with the Lombards and Emperor Leo III's impositions acted to draw the Lombards and the pope into an alliance against imperial rule.

In Britain, at the same time as the Lindisfarne Gospels were being written the Venerable Bede wrote 'The Ecclesiastical History of the English People' in 731 from a monastery in Jarrow of the River Tyne which, while religiously based, does take note of the ordinary English people -- the Angles and the Saxons -- as well as their conversion to Christianity.

Bede was put in a monastery at Wearmouth when he was seven, became a deacon at 19 and a priest at 30. Being a soldier or a priest -- or both -- was the only occupation open to most young men without a farm to inherit, and he was perfectly aware of the comfort of his life compared to that of others.

Previoulsly, in 725, he had written 'On the Reckoning of Time' arguing that the Church should not rely on the pagan system of dating according to the accession dates of the Roman Emperors. Instead, he suggested a new way of dating by the birth of Christ -- AD anno domini. So, we have an Englishman to thank or curse for our current dating system -- and that it came about shows how much lack of prestige the Roman Empire held at that time, and how influential England had become.

It was Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People of 731 that gained him the honor of becoming the 'the Father of English History' as it was the very first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written.

Starting with Julius Caesar's invasion in the 1st century BC, it goes on to tell of the kings, bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop government and convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.

But, far more importantly, he also describes the landscape, the customs and the terrors facing ordinary people -- such as famines where starving South Saxon families, hold hands and jump off white cliffs in tragic suicide pacts. He also includes a famous analogy comparing life in Anglo-Saxon Britain to a sparrow's experience of flying out of the darkness into a great hall. "After a few moments of comfort the bird vanishes from sight into the wintry world that he came from."

Early western civilization, though, was about to suffer worse problems. By 750 the Ummayad caliphs were finally overthrown by the Abbasids who moved their capital to Baghdad, shifting attention to the east and splitting the Islamic empire. At that time, Persia had reasserted itself and North Africa came under the rule of the Aghlabids, Egypt was taken over by the Tulunids and Spain had been invaded and conquered by the Ummayad exiles.

During the Arab invasion, the Christian nobles of Spain rapidly converted to Islam but many Spanish scholars fled to other parts of Christian Europe, enriching their new countries with the texts they brought with them.

The Arabs were eventually checked from expanding into France in 752 by Charles Martel, a Frank, who was at the time the Mayor of the palace at Poitiers. Were it not for the actions of this man, Islam would have spread throughout western Europe in much the same way that Christianity had -- by forced conversion -- and in view of the fact that Spain flourished under Islam while the rest of Europe languished under Christianity for centuries after, one must ask whether early Islam provided a better way of life than early Christianity.

Because both the Roman Popes and the Roman Emperors were totally incompetent during this period, the resultant power vacuum was quickly filled by two rising nations -- France and Engand -- and these two countries formed the backbone of western civilization (in its Christian form) from then on.

why was judaism demonized last century?

Down the centuries, the Jews have always been treated with suspicion and sometimes downright bigotry with various pogroms -- far more so by the Christians than the Moslems -- but the real hatred of the Jews only started in the 1900s with the new ideology of communism -- thought up by two German Jewish intellectuals, Marx and Engels -- which envisaged the world as a worker's paradise devoid of opiate religions and decadent aristocrats.

Marx and Engels wanted to end what they considered to be the unholy alliance between the Church and Germanic Royalty that had formed after the death of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno in 491 and plunged Europe into the Dark Ages, and in doing so they were attacking what most people considered to be the two pillars of western civilization.

Communism spread in popularity among the terribly oppressed people of Russia and China who overthrew their ruling dynasties and started an internationalist movement that became so threatening to both the Protestant and Catholic states that they finally stopped fighting each other and joined forces, expending a whole century in an effort to defeat it, bringing incredible prestige to the Roman Pope and terrible retribution upon the Jews who, rightly or wrongly, were blamed for supporting communism against Christianity.

Christian churches distanced themselves from their Jewish roots; generations of western children were raised in the 20th century without knowing that Jesus himself was Jewish; Jews were portrayed as ugly, twisted, black and venal people; Jesus became a blue-eyed blond; and communism was reviled as being a Jewish plot when, in fact, it was a means by which ordinary people could unshackle themselves from their religious oppressors and slave-driving masters.

Hatred of the Jews in Hitler's Germany was particularly inflamed by the Catholic Church, and it was accompanied by blatant promotion of white supremacy. Western civilization had now become not only European and Christian, but also white and capitalist!

Because few Christian nations would accept the Jews fleeing from persecution in Germany, Poland and Italy -- even the USA turned their refugee ships away -- they were eventually given part of the British Protectorate of Palestine that they claimed as their traditional homeland, but trouble immediately erupted with the native Moslems. The Palestinian objection was not so much because the new arrivals were Jewish -- as a Jewish enclave had always lived around Jerusalem -- but because they were mostly white Europeans bringing an alien European culture into their midst and, by virtue of their close ties to Europe, the possibility of foreign rule. How right they were!

By the time communism had fizzled out in Europe, the Christians reconciled with the Jews and western civilization once again embraced its Judaic ancestry -- this time going all the way back to Abraham of Ur in Iraq where the oil fields reside -- and with this reconciliation the Moslems became the group to be demonized.

Why is Islam being demonized this century?

After centuries of relative peace between the Christian and the Moslem world, the whole world became focused on Islam after 9/11 but the rise of Islam in Europe, particularly, has worried a lot of people for a long time.

The rise of extremist or Jihadist Islam has parallels between what happened 2,000 years ago when radical Jews broke away from Judaism and formed the new religion of Christianity. The early Christians left their Middle Eastern homelands and made the heart of the Roman Europe -- Rome itself -- their base for conscripting converts and preaching what was, in fact, sedition. Being radical Jews, the early Christians wanted to rid their homeland, Judea, of Roman rule and to this end they worked from within, right under the noses of their Roman masters, in Rome itself.

Last century, while the Western nations were turning against the Jews, fighting against communism and, indeed, fighting each other for control of the worlds resources they stepped upon a lot of Moslem toes -- just as the Romans did to the Jews in Judea. At the start of the 20th century, there were very few Moslems in Europe or any western nation -- and certainly no mosques dominating the suburbs -- but by the end of the century every European capital city had been populated by radical Moslems acting in the same manner as the early Christians in Rome.

Like the Romans 2000 years ago, nobody paid much attention to these new people and their strange religion until a calamity happened. The Great Fire of Rome in 64, was like our 9/11 in 2001.

Like the Christians in Rome supported the uprising of their Judaen brothers against Roman rule two years later in 66, so the Moslems of Europe supported the uprising of their Moslem brothers against the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Extremist or Jihadist Islam is similar to early Christianity, the adherants of both being happy to give their lives to the cause. And it is political cause they are fighting for. The early Christians were Jews who wanted the Romans out of Judea, and they were willing to enlist unclean Gentiles into their fold -- just like the Jihadists are enlisting vulnerable western converts into their fold even they it is the west they are fighting.

Like the Christians in Rome multiplied their numbers and grew stronger, repelling all attempts to make them assimilate into the Roman culture, the Jihadist Moslems in Europe are behaving in a similar manner

Islam is being demonized this century because the parallels between the behavior of the early Christians and the Jihadists is clear for all to see. Eventually, a western leader will convert to Islam -- like Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 330 -- and the new religion will become enforced throughout the West.

will islam or judaic-christianity prevail?

If history is to repeat itself, then one religion will prevail in the West and it will not be the Judaic-Christian faiths. Jihadist Islam, like early Christianity, will sweep through Europe and the western nations and will be enforced by new leaders who have seen the 'light' of Islam.

Sounds far-fetched? Well, the Romans and their Emperors probably thought the same thing 2,000 years ago when the Jewish Peter, the disciple of Jesus, arrived in Rome and started preaching the virtues of his Abrahamic God in relation to the the depravities of the Roman Gods.

It took about 300 years and much pain and anger on both sides to convert an Emperor -- Constantine -- but once that momentous event had been accomplished the whole of the Roman Empire would later fall into line with the new religion of Christianity.

This time around, the conversion will not be so profound because, after all, Islam believes in the same Abrahamic God as the Christians and the Jews. It was for worse for the Romans in 330 because they had many Gods -- Jupiter, Zeus and Venus being the most well known -- and they worshipped at many temples dedicated to each God.

This time around, too, the conversion may not take as long as 300 years but assuming it does, the following is the likely scenario for how it will happen.

The Christians caused the Great Fire of Rome in 64 and the Islamists caused 9/11 in 2001. Like the Christians in Rome supported the uprising of their Judaen brothers against Roman rule two years later in 66, so the Moslems of Europe supported the uprising of their Moslem brothers against the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Sixty-five years later, in 2068, another Moslem revolt against the West will take place in the Middle East, possibly Jerusalem, led by a Moslem similar in character to Simon Bar Kokhba who led the second Jewish revolt against the Romans in 131. Its brutality will result in a great Moslem Diaspora in 2069 and a long period of persecution of both moderate and extremist Moslems during which the ideology becomes even more entrenched.

By 2230 the west will be so big and diverse and strife ridden that a leader like the Emperor Diocletian will divide his rule between an eastern and western emperor and attempt a policy of SOCIAL UNIFORMITY by imposing upon everyone -- Jews, Moslems, Hindus and Buddhists alike -- the observance of Christian traditions. His attempt fails. The Moslems revolt.

In 2267 a western leader like the Emperor Constantine will confound all by not only converting to Islam but also establishing a new state of power in Iran -- far away from Europe and the western nations. In doing so, this leader, like Constantine, will give the Islamic Mullahs more power in relation to the existing Christian Priests and precipitate the decline of the West's prestige which will make it more vulnerable to Russian invasion.

The old Christian West's neighbors, the atheist Russians, had always been troublesome -- just like the Pagan Germanic tribes had been troublesome for the Romans. Once the seat of the new Islamic Empire's power moves to Iran, a new threat emerges -- China -- just like the Pathans became a threat for Constantinople in Turkey. The Islamic Empire comes to rely more and more on Russian soldiers to fight its wars against the Chinese, and inevitably the Russian generals gain so much military power that they usurp the emperorship for themselves -- just like the Germanic generals gained control of Rome.

By 2327, the new Russian leader of the Islamic Empire, like the Germanic Emperor Theodosius, converts to Islam under the influence of the Mulla of Rome -- someone like Ambrose -- and attempts a new policy of SOCIAL UNIFORMITY by imposing upon everyone the observance of Moslem faith and traditions. The Christians revolt.

By 2347, an atheist Russian leader like King Alaric of the Goths sacks Europe and both the Christians and Moslems are terrified.

By 2428, with the death of the Islamic Mullah of Iran, the Islamic Empire ceases to exist, just like the Christian Roman Empire ceased to exist after the death of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno in 491.

With the complete economic and social breakdown of the West under Moslem rule, the atheist Russian conquerors make a deal with the European Mullahs. In return for agreeing to the conversion of all Europe and Russia to Islam, the Mullahs would keep the natives pacified and give temporal control to the Russian conquerors. The deal also included mutually beneficial ways in which the spiritual and temporal rulers would enrich each other.

Just like Christianity was spread and enforced throughout Europe by an alliance between the Roman Pope and the Pagan Germanic conquerors (the current European kings and queens), the Mullah of Rome will succeed in spreading Islam via Russian conquest and rule -- and a similar Dark Age will befall Europe for the next 1,000 years.

why is judaism less popular than christianity and islam?

Unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism never developed into a proselytizing religion. Formed from the 12 tribes of Israel, Judaism is a 'family' religion. It does not urge its 'family' members to reach out to the far corners of the Earth and convert non-believers to its creed, and indeed even the early followers of Christ were only interested in converting Jews.

Jesus believed he was the son of God and the rightful heir to the Kingdom of Judah - for which he was sentenced to death by crucifixion by his own people - but even his own family did not believe in him, thinking him crazy, during his lifetime. It was only after his death that his family, seeing a multitude of people mourning him, that his family - particularly his brother James - took up his cause, appealing to the tribes of Israel to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah.

For this, James, too, was sentenced to death. He was stoned to death by the Jewish Sanhedrin in c 60AD - making Jews less likely than ever to accept Jesus as their Messiah. Faced with this fact, the early Christians eventually decided, with much heartache, to break with the Jews and win, instead, the hearts and the minds of the pagans that they had previously despised as being 'unclean'.

If Christianity and Islam are more popular today than Judaism then it has a lot to do with the aggressive way both of these religions developed into organizations bent upon mass conversion of non-believers, but there is another 'popular' force within these religions that differs markedly from Judaism and makes conversions palatable.

Basically, both Christianity and Islam promise a 'paradise' after death that Judaism has no need to dwell upon. To be the Chosen People of God is 'enough' for the Jews. Their religion does not need a 'carrot' in the form of: behave well in this life and you will be rewarded in heaven (with young virgins, or whatever).

Judaism is a 'here and now' religion. God takes care of His Chosen People - the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Isreal) - by ensuring their prosperity on Earth, and the Jews take care of God by following the Covenants. When awful calamities befall the Jews - and there have been many calamities throughout history that have directly affected them - there is an acceptance that God has punished His Chosen People for a good reason.

Christianity and Islam are not exactly 'here and now' religions. Because both rely heavily on the pleasures of paradise after death, they are extremely attractive religions to the multitudes of poor and afflicted people whose lives on Earth are hellish.

Simply put, whereas a wayward Jew may be chastised by a threat that 'God will strike you, make your business go bankrupt or deprive you of children', a wayward Christian or Moslem is more likely to be chastised by a threat that 'God will send you to Hell when you die'. Also, whereas a Christian or Moslem visiting an African refugee camp is likely to hand out bibles or religious tracts, a Jew is more likely to hand out contraceptives (to prevent more Africans from being born into misery.)

It can be surmised by this that those in control of both the Christian and Moslem religions - who have traditionally lived in luxury in Rome or Mecca - have a vested interest in both maintaining the hellish lives of their flocks on Earth and creating more hell on Earth in order to 'save' the new generation of converts. Hence, the Dark Ages, marked by deliberate withholding of knowledge from ordinary people by religious leaders; promotion of endless wars creating endless misery; the practice of tithing of earnings by which poor families were further impoverished; and strict religious laws promoting the creation of far more children than any poor family can sustain.

Being popular religions, therefore, does not necessarily make Christianity and Islam better or more truer than Judaism or any other religion.

When the popularity of any religion in the world - assessed by census statistics - can be directly correlated with the incidence of poverty and affliction, it is more an indictment against that religion than an accolade.

will the european union save western civilization in europe?

The EU is developing as a major geographical region, but geography may not be enough to distinguish Western civilization from, say, Islamic civilization - particularly when Islam is fast becoming a major religion in Europe and the largely Islamic non-European nation of Turkey is in the process of joining the Union.

Far from saving Western civilization, the EU may, in fact, be in the process of creating a new civilization; or, more likely, it is in the process of becoming absorbed into the Islamic civilization in much the same way as Australia is in the process of becoming absorbed into the Chinese civilization.

Drop someone in the middle of Paris or London and they wouldn't know where they were - Baghdad, Cairo or Beirut; but drop someone in the middle of Tokyo and there would be no doubt of the location.

France is one western nation that is doing something tangible to protect its western culture; but, like the Maginot Line, the steps it is taking to protect itself are far too late and are doomed to failure.

Furthermore, for a nation like France which is politically secular but essentially Christian to prohibit all appearance of religious dress or icons in public school children - Islamic, Jewish and Christian - is as ridiculous as India forbidding sacred cows in the street in deference to the growing number of Indians who eat beef.

Hinduism and sacred cows distinguish India from other cultures. Similarly, Christianity distinguishes France from India, and if Christianity is no longer a distinguishing feature of French western civilization then what is? Surely not the Eiffel Tower!

How can the EU save western civilization in Europe when western civilization no longer exists in a racially and culturally pure form?

Bearing in mind that the EU was never set up to protect western civilization, it should come as no surprise that it has shown little interest in preserving it.

how did Islam affect early western civilization?

Right from the start of the birth of the new religion of Islam in 622, the Arabs that espoused it were perceived as being bent upon destroying Christianity and thus Western civilization most definitely took shape as a reaction against Islam.

By 638 the Arabs had invaded and conquered Jerusalem - creating much angst for the Christians as well as the Jews - and when the Arabs headed for Europe via Spain, there was real concern that the whole of Europe would fall under Arab rule and Christianity would die out in Europe.

The Pope in Rome was in peril. Not even the island nation of England was seen as being a safe haven for the Christian church - and Roman power - and that is why Rome chose far-away Ireland to be the last bastion of Christianity.

Actually, the Arab conquerors - unlike their Christian counterparts - were far more interested in acquiring wealth and power than converts. Wherever they conquered, Jews and Christians were heavily taxed and treated like second class citizens - like all subject peoples are, whoever the conquerors - but the Arabs did not force subject peoples to convert to Islam. Until Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Arabs at the end of the 15th century, the Arab kingdom of Cordova in Spain lasted for almost eight centuries and was highly civilized.

It was therefore not so much Christianity that was in peril by the advancing Moslem Arabs but Roman power and wealth.