The Muslims are not the only people whom we fear will overrun us; Ben Franklin had this to say about the Germans:
"Those who come hither are generally of the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation…and as few of the English understand the German Language, and so cannot address them either from the Press or Pulpit, ’tis almost impossible to remove any prejudices they once entertain…Not being used to Liberty, they know not how to make a modest use of it…I remember when they modestly declined intermeddling in our Elections, but now they come in droves, and carry all before them, except in one or two Counties...In short unless the stream of their importation could be turned from this to other colonies, as you very judiciously propose, they will soon so out number us, that all the advantages we have will not in My Opinion be able to preserve our language, and even our Government will become precarious."
"Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion."
http://www.dialoginternational.com/dialog_international/2008/02/ben-franklin-on.html
There is only one cure for this type of fear: Learning about that which is unfamiliar.
Definitions:
ag·nos·tic One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
a·the·ist One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
Ba·ha'i Of or relating to a religion founded in 1863 in Persia and emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind.
Con·fu·cian Of, relating to, or characteristic of Confucius, his teachings, or his followers.
Study Questions for the Analects of Confucius
1. In Analect 6.18, Confucius says, “When one’s basic disposition overwhelms refinement, the person is boorish; when refinement overwhelms one’s basic disposition, the person is an officious scribe. It is only when one’s basic disposition and refinement are in appropriate balance that you have the exemplary person.” In what way is this similar to Aristotle’s idea of the mean?
2. In Analect 7.1, Confucius says, “Following the proper way (dao), I do not forge new paths; with confidence I cherish the ancients…” But in Analect 15.29, he says, “It is the person who is able to broaden the way (dao), not the way that broadens the person.” How can these two statements be reconciled?
3. In Analect 15.24, Confucius says that if there is one expression which can always be relied upon to direct proper action, he replies that it is, “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not want.” This has been referred to by some Western scholars as the “Negative Golden Rule.” In what way does this edict differ from the Golden Rule with which we are more familiar? Is the content of the principle significantly altered?
4. Confucius often speaks of social harmony as a primary virtue and uses musical analogies to make his point. What do these analogies tell us about his conception of harmony? Consider Analect 13.23, “Exemplary persons seek harmony not sameness; petty persons, then, are the opposite.”
5. Early translators of the Analects rendered the Chinese word “yi” as “right,” “duty,” or “morality.” Recently, some scholars have suggested that “appropriateness” is a more faithful translation. Consider the differences between these terms. How might one’s interpretation of Confucius’s thought be substantially different when contemplating the new translation, as opposed to the older versions? What does this tell us about the differences in Western conceptions of morality as opposed to those prevalent in East Asian traditions?
Chris·ti·an·i·ty The Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Hebrews 1
The Son Superior to Angels
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
Catholic
Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church.
Lu·ther·an
- Of or relating to Luther or his religious teachings and especially to the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
- Of or relating to the branch of the Protestant Church adhering to the views of Luther.
French-born Swiss Protestant theologian who broke with the Roman Catholic Church (1533) and set forth the tenets of his theology, known today as Presbyterianism, in Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536).
An·gli·can
- Of or characteristic of the Church of England or any of the churches related to it in origin and communion, such as the Protestant Episcopal Church.
- Of or relating to England or the English
Meth·od·ist
- A member of an evangelical Protestant church founded on the principles of John and Charles Wesley in England in the early 18th century and characterized by active concern with social welfare and public morals.
- methodist One who emphasizes or insists on systematic procedure.
- A member of an evangelical Protestant church of congregational polity, following the reformed tradition in worship, and believing in individual freedom, in the separation of church and state, and in baptism of voluntary, conscious believers.
- baptist One that baptizes.
- A type of church government in which each local congregation is self-governing.
- Congregationalism The system of government and religious beliefs of a Protestant denomination in which each member church is self-governing.
- A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.
- often Fundamentalism An organized, militant Evangelical movement originating in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century in opposition to Protestant Liberalism and secularism, insisting on the inerrancy of Scripture.
- Of, relating to, or occurring at Pentecost.
- Of, relating to, or being any of various Christian religious congregations whose members seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, in emulation of the Apostles at Pentecost.
A member of the Society of Friends.
Men·non·ite
A member of an Anabaptist church characterized particularly by simplicity of life, pacifism, and nonresistance.
An·a·bap·tist
A member of a radical movement of the 16th-century Reformation that viewed baptism solely as an external witness to a believer's conscious profession of faith, rejected infant baptism, and believed in the separation of church from state, in the shunning of nonbelievers, and in simplicity of life.
A·mish
An orthodox Anabaptist sect that separated from the Mennonites in the late 17th century and exists today primarily in Ohio and southeast Pennsylvania.
Unitarian Universalism
A religious association of Christian origin that has no official creed and that considers God to be unipersonal, salvation to be granted to the entire human race, and reason and conscience to be the criteria for belief and practice.
Christian Science
The church and the religious system founded by Mary Baker Eddy, emphasizing healing through spiritual means as an important element of Christianity and teaching pure divine goodness as underlying the scientific reality of existence. Also called Church of Christ, Scientist.
Ad·vent·ist
A member of any of several Christian denominations that believe Jesus's Second Coming and the end of the world are near.
Je·ho·vah's Witness
A member of a religious denomination founded in the United States during the late 19th century in which active evangelism is practiced, the imminent approach of the millennium is preached, and war and organized governmental authority in matters of conscience are strongly opposed.
Daoism
hea·then
- One who adheres to the religion of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.
- Such persons considered as a group; the unconverted.
- One who is regarded as irreligious, uncivilized, or unenlightened.
- Such persons considered as a group.
Hin·du·ism A diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practice native to and predominant in India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils.
Is·lam A monotheistic religion characterized by the acceptance of the doctrine of submission to God and to Muhammad as the chief and last prophet of God
- The people or nations that practice Islam; the Muslim world.
- The civilization developed by the Muslim world.
Ju·da·ism
- The monotheistic religion of the Jews, tracing its origins to Abraham and having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud.
- Conformity to the traditional ceremonies and rites of the Jewish religion.
- The cultural, religious, and social practices and beliefs of the Jews.
- The Jews considered as a people or community.
pol·y·the·ism The worship of or belief in more than one god.
sav·age
- Not domesticated or cultivated; wild: savage beasts of the jungle.
- Not civilized; barbaric: a savage people.
- Ferocious; fierce: in a savage temper.
- Vicious or merciless; brutal: a savage attack on a political rival. See Synonyms at cruel.
- Lacking polish or manners; rude.
- A person regarded as primitive or uncivilized.
- A person regarded as brutal, fierce, or vicious.
- A rude person; a boor.
- To assault ferociously.
- To attack without restraint or pity:
Sources:
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World's Religions Author: Toropov, Brandon.; Buckles, Luke.
Publication: New York Alpha Books, 1997. Product ID: 9940 eBook ISBN: 9780585086132
ISBN: 9780028617305 Subject: Religions. Language: English
Passage results: Hebrews 1:1-2 (New International Version)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+1%3A1-2&version=NIV
Study Questions for Analects.doc Valdosta State University
http://www.valdosta.edu/
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