The Vatican and Victory Churches

The other morning at breakfast my friend Richard the intellectual laid down his newspaper and said, ‘I thought you told me you and Jack Betts were friends?’
 
I looked up.  ‘We are.’
 
‘Have you read his article in the newspaper this morning?’
 
I looked at the headline.  ‘Well, Jack supports the Ground Zero mosque.’
 
‘He says the ad you helped Renee Ellmers make isn’t true – that the mosques in Cordova and Jerusalem and Constantinople weren’t victory mosques.’
 
“Okay.  What’s Jack’s case?”
 
‘He says the mosque in Jerusalem was built 50 years after the Moslems conquered it, the one in Cordova was build 73 years after they conquered it, and the one in Constantinople was built 150 years after they conquered it.’
 
Jack had gotten that piece of wisdom from Michael Bieseker, the News and Observer’s resident historian. I said:  ‘We built the World War II Memorial in Washington 59 years after the war ended; we built the Lincoln Memorial 57 years after Lincoln died; and we built the Yorktown Victory Monument 110 years after the battle.’
 
‘Jack also quotes a Duke Professor who calls victory mosques a sheer flight of fantasy.’
 
 ‘Well, those three mosques weren’t average everyday mosques – they weren’t like the local Baptist church down on the corner. They were among the biggest churches in the world. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built on the rock where Muslims say Mohammed ascended into heaven but it was also built to show the Byzantine Empire a monument to the power and glory of Islam.’
 
‘Anderson Cooper said Catholics have done the same thing – that they built the Vatican as a victory church after they conquered Rome.’
 
‘Well, there’s one problem with that – no Catholic army ever conquered Rome or the Roman Empire.’
 
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Carter Wrenn

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The Vatican and Victory Churches

The other morning at breakfast my friend Richard the intellectual laid down his newspaper and said, ‘I thought you told me you and Jack Betts were friends?’
 
I looked up.  ‘We are.’
 
‘Have you read his article in the newspaper this morning?’
 
I looked at the headline.  ‘Well, Jack supports the Ground Zero mosque.’
 
‘He says the ad you helped Renee Ellmers make isn’t true – that the mosques in Cordova and Jerusalem and Constantinople weren’t victory mosques.’
 
“Okay.  What’s Jack’s case?”
 
‘He says the mosque in Jerusalem was built 50 years after the Moslems conquered it, the one in Cordova was build 73 years after they conquered it, and the one in Constantinople was built 150 years after they conquered it.’
 
Jack had gotten that piece of wisdom from Michael Bieseker, the News and Observer’s resident historian. I said:  ‘We built the World War II Memorial in Washington 59 years after the war ended; we built the Lincoln Memorial 57 years after Lincoln died; and we built the Yorktown Victory Monument 110 years after the battle.’
 
‘Jack also quotes a Duke Professor who calls victory mosques a sheer flight of fantasy.’
 
 ‘Well, those three mosques weren’t average everyday mosques – they weren’t like the local Baptist church down on the corner. They were among the biggest churches in the world. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built on the rock where Muslims say Mohammed ascended into heaven but it was also built to show the Byzantine Empire a monument to the power and glory of Islam.’
 
‘Anderson Cooper said Catholics have done the same thing – that they built the Vatican as a victory church after they conquered Rome.’
 
‘Well, there’s one problem with that – no Catholic army ever conquered Rome or the Roman Empire.’
 
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Carter Wrenn

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