...however, we can do things at home that could help prevent this situation. I think I am right in assuming that the current climate of fear that has been created for numerous Christians throughout the Middle East is in large part due to the widespread belief in the region that Christians are waging a war against Islam--a belief which many of our actions within the region have unfortunately reinforced. While I think it would be silly to suggest that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were waged in the name of destroying Islam (such things were never even discussed within the US media prior to the wars), fundementalists on both sides of the aisle have attempted to enforce this notion and they've had plenty of anecdotal evidence to go off of. The most glaring example of this is the actual RAND report put out which details how US officials can help create a "moderate" Islam, which of course for them means an Islam that is drastically altered to conform with Western notions.

I would also like to add that I find the Pope's concern for Christians within the Middle East slightly suspicious given that it is well known that the current Pope has made traditional Catholic orthodoxy a high priority. I think I would be right in assuming that the Pope considers these Middle Eastern Christians to be heretics who will most likely burn in hell, thus anything he says on this issue should be viewed skeptically. I am not saying that he is incapable of showing concern for his fellow man, but I am saying that I wouldn't be surprised if the Pope in Rome is attempting to steal some of the Coptic Pope's thunder for the sake of garnering recruits to the Catholic Church.

"descendants of the anti-Chalcedonians are today referred to as the Oriental Orthodox Church and include the Copts as well as the Ethiopian, Syriac, and Armenian churches and a few others. What's today referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church -- which includes the Russian and Greek churches and is distinct from the Oriental Orthodox Church despite the similar names -- split off from Western Catholicism later."

Almost accurate. But it's always annoying to hear that the Orthodox Church "split off from Western Catholicism". It should be noted that, if anything, the Roman Church split from the Orthodox, not the other way around— the Roman Church changed the universal Nicene Creed and asserted papal authority over all the churches. The churches of the East kept the same Nicene Creed untouched and have never, even from the beginning, come under papal authority. They have also never believed in any form of papal infallibility, a doctrine that was defined only in 1864, even against great resistance in the West. This is important not because arcane theological disputes are important, but because it means Western views of Christianity are not and never were normative, and it's possible to critique them from deep within the original Christian tradition.

It is true that 'Monophysite' is seen as a rather pejorative term. The preferred way of referring to those churches which did not accept Chalcedon is simply, 'non-Chalcedonian' or, yes, 'Oriental Orthodox'.

Father Zakarias Boutros is #1 in my book, he will spread the Muslims and Christians in the Middle East and get them to bleed each other, all in the name of religion. Father Boutros will do this all by, with, through American evangelical support. It's not the Middle East you need to worry about, not even the Near East, it's the Mid-West Bible Belt inserting money into the pants of the likes of Father Zakarias Boutros to foment this soon to be bloodier divide. God help you all.

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14763

Father Zakaria, as he is known to millions, has won his enormous following not by borrowing from the toolbox of the televangelist. For someone whose ecclesiastical tradition began in a.d. 100, his tools are decidedly 21st century: satellite uplinks, Wi-Fi connectivity, a late-edition Vaio laptop that is with him at all times, and a trusted reference tool he refers to as “St. Google.” He can spend 14-hour days on research for each show, and for this episode emailed the final script to producers at 4:30 a.m.

The result is less a preaching ministry and more like battlefield strategy. It’s the late-in-life culmination of a conscious decision, Botros says, to move away from apologetics and toward what he calls polemics: “My program is to attack Islam, not to attack Muslims but to save them because they are deceived. As I love Muslims, I hate Islam.”

Such conviction earns Botros a heady following—and serious enemies. Jihadist groups have reportedly posted a death threat worth $60 million against him. This year his name and photo appeared on an al-Qaeda website, seeking retribution for his teachings, which often depict Muhammad as less of a prophet and more of a womanizer. For his fearless determination in the face of his enemies, for his willingness to label Islam a false religion in a year when many Christian leaders have overreached in their quest for common ground with its worshippers, Zakaria Botros is WORLD’s 2008 Daniel of the Year.