One of the major beliefs about the Muslim Mahdi is that he will act, in effect, as a global, Islamic Robin Hood--taking
from the 1% and giving to the 99%. This belief is enshrined in a number of hadiths (alleged sayings of Muhammad),
such as: "Allah will send a man...[who will] fill the world with justice as it had been filled with injustice;"
in his time "no one will hoard anything" and "wealth will be abundant;" and most pointedly "men will
come to him and say 'O Mahdi! give to me!' and he will load such a one's cloak down unto his capacity to carry.'" [see
my book Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, their Jihads and Osama bin Laden, pp. 14-17, for the specific citations].
By now the hallucinatory trope that Obama is not just messianic but perhaps Islam's Awaited Mahdi has pretty much run its course. But some on the American Left are still addicted to ithe iidea of him as a secular
mahdi, who will take from the Tea Party and give to the Occupy Wall Streeters. And probably Obama's only hope for re-election
is to exploit this atavistic belief--as he did last night, in his State of the Union speech.
Since Obama is, and in many ways seems to want to be, viewed as such a figure--at least in a socioeconomic sense--one
would think he'd be proud of being labeled as the "Food Stamp President," as Dr. Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, did last week in the South Carolina GOP debate. Gingrich's charge "more
people have been put on Food Stamps by Barack Obama than any President in American history," has been disputed in many sputteringly-angry columns by liberals, as well as by Vice-President Biden.
But here are the facts: according to "The New York Times," as of Oct. 1, 2008--the start of the last fiscal year, and last quarter, of Bush's tenure--there were right at 28 million
Americans receiving Food Stamps. As of the latest available data, for September 2011--according to "The Wall Street Journal"--there were 46.3 million Americans on Food Stamps. So unless you think that under the last last three months of the
Bush administration 15 million people signed up for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (as "Food Stamps"
are formally known by the bureaucrats), then it turns out that there in fact are more Americans
receiving federal aid for food under Obama than under any previous adminstration. The facts are indisputable.
What's amazing about this is that 1) anyone would argue the point; and 2) as aformentioned, that Obama and his cult
followers on the Left would argue that this is bad, based on their own skewed view of how to help people. Because if you maintain
that Bush gave out more Food Stamps, then wouldn't that make him--the ostensible Dajjal, or (Islamic) "Antichrist"--more
compassionate?
Tim Tebow's theological status has been upgraded once again, from Bronco mujaddid (renewer) to possible rightly-guided
playcaller, after his evisceration of the (admittedly-suspect) Steeler secondary yesterday. Claims are already being made that Tebow's 316 passing yards are a reference to John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
BUT what if TT's 316
is God's way of calling attention to other Bible verses? Here are some possibilities (for the Biblically-illiterate and, of
course, my Roman Catholic friends who probably don't own a copy of their own Scriptures), taken from the Orthodox Study Bible,
New King James translation:
Genesis 3:16: "To the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply your pain and your groaning,
and in pain you shall bring forth children. Your recourse will be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"
Sounds more like Santorum 3:16....
Leviticus 3:16: "And the priest shall offer these on the altar as a burnt offering,
for a sweet aroma to the Lord. All the fat is the Lord's." Someone pass this on to Rex Ryan.
Deuteronomy
3:16: "Now to Reuben and Gad I [Moses] gave from Gilead as far as the Arnon River, the middle of the river as the border,
and as far as the Jabbok River, the border of the sons of Ammon..." And you thought modern negotiations between
the Israelis and Palestianians were tough!
Judges 3:16: "Now Ehud made himself a double-edged dagger, a cubit
in length, and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh." I think Aragorn did this with his Elvish knife
in LOTR, if I'm not mistaken.
Proverbs 3:16: "She [wisdom] is well known to all who come near her, and no honor
is worthy of her." Unless you're Tim Tebow, because no woman--not even Sophia!--is getting near him!
Wisdom of
Solomon 3:16: "But the children of adulterers shall not reach maturity, and the seed of a lawless bed shall perish."
This proves the Biblical writers were not inspired by God with certain knowledge of 21st century American politicians.
Nahum
3:16: "You have multiplied your commerce beyond the stars of heaven; the locust has attacked and flown away." I
believe the first part of that passage is what Harry Reid accuses Republicans of doing; not sure about the second part, however.
Jeremiah 3:16: "'It shall come to pass that if you multiply and increase in the land in those days,'" says
the Lord, 'they shall no longer say' "the Ark of the Covenant of the Holy One of Israel.' It will not enter their heart,
nor be named of visited; neither will this be done any more.'" Does Jeremiah mean after the Ark gets relocated
to that big warehouse in Nevada?
Daniel 3:16: "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar,
'We have no need to answer you in regard to this thing. For there is a God in the heavens, whom we serve, and He is able to
save us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us from your hands, O King." Just as He delivered Tebow
from the likes of Harrison and Polamalu. Amen.
Luke 3:16: "John answered, saying to all 'I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'" Does this sound
like Elway talking about Tebow?
II Corinthians 3:16: "Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken
away." The producers of "American Muslim" are not fond of this verse, I am thinking.
II Timothy 3:16:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." Exactly--that's
what I'm counting on by doing this exercise!
I Peter 3:16: "Hav[e] a good conscience, that when they defame you
as evildoers, those you revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed." If "evildoer" is defined as "not
being a pocket passer," and mentioning Christ in post-game interviews, then Tebow qualifies in the minds of most ESPN
commentators--who, it must be added, seem not to understand what shame is.
Revelation 3:16: "So, then, because
you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth." Besides being how most conservatives feel
about Mitt Romney, it sums up the attitude of most sportswriters and commentators toward religion in general and Christianity
in particular.
Maybe the fact that Tebow had exactly 316 yards passing is God telling folks to go read John 3:16. Maybe
it's directing them to read some of these passages I just cited. More likely, it means nothing at all except that Mike Tomlinson
got outcoached (for a change), and/or that Tebow is a smart, talented young man who can read defenses and pass better most
analysts thought.
