{"id":860,"date":"2016-06-04T13:32:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-04T17:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/?p=860"},"modified":"2016-06-04T13:32:41","modified_gmt":"2016-06-04T17:32:41","slug":"greatest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2016\/06\/greatest.html","title":{"rendered":"The Greatest?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali in 1964.<\/p>\n

The man who broke down barriers during the volatile Civil Rights movement was a \u201cconscientious objector\u201d to service in the Vietnam War, and his Muslim faith was an oddity to a country that didn\u2019t know much about it.<\/p>\n

We still don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I will be in the minority this morning, as we hear about the passing of the heavyweight boxing champion.<\/p>\n

I am not a fan of the man who stood over a vanquished Sonny Liston and later proclaimed, \u201cI am the greatest!\u201d<\/p>\n

I am astonished this morning at the number of public figures who identify as conservatives that are lavishing praise on Ali. People are lighting candles for him, placing flowers, weeping.<\/p>\n

His natural arrogance provided the backdrop for the type of self-preservation practiced by other change agents of that era (such as Bill Clinton). He made sure there was no chance he\u2019d go to Vietnam.<\/p>\n

More troubling to me was his misguided attacks on Christianity and the Bible.<\/p>\n

Do people not remember?<\/p>\n

In a September 9, 1996 interview with Newsweek\u2019s John Leland, Ali showed either his ignorance of Scripture, or his wily propaganda techniques. From my book, It\u2019s the End of the World<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn their quest for meaning, people often look to other religions.
\nA Newsweek interview with Muhammad Ali reveals that
\nthe former heavyweight champ thinks he has found the truth,
\nbut in my humble opinion, his own bias keeps him in the dark.
\nAli, never challenged by the reporter, alleges that mistakes and
\ncontradictions abound in the Bible\u2014but not in the Quran, of
\ncourse.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Nothing could be more controversial than this,\u2019 Ali says.
\nHe then points out the verse from Matthew 26:34: Before the
\ncock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Now Ali refers to a verse
\nin Mark 14:30: Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me
\nthrice. Both passages refer to the same thing, but the second
\nverse adds the detail that the denial won\u2019t happen until the cock
\ncrows twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAli lights up at this \u2018discrepancy.\u2019 He claims there are many
\nsuch biblical contradictions, and his bold claim will have weight
\nwith people who don\u2019t realize he doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking
\nabout.
\n\"DSCF6269\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIs there really a contradiction between the accounts of the
\ntwo apostles? In the reference to Peter\u2019s betrayal found in
\nMatthew, indeed Jesus tells Peter that before the cock crows, he
\nwill deny Him three times. In Mark\u2019s account, Jesus tells Peter
\nthat before the cock crows twice, he will deny Him three times.
\nMark simply added the detail \u2018twice.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no contradiction, you see. Jesus tells Peter that he
\nwill deny Him three times. Peter denied Him three times. Jesus predicted that Peter would do this before the cock crowed. That
\nis exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mention this because it shows the lengths the Bible\u2019s critics
\nwill go to in order to discredit the book, the book that has the
\nanswers to the great questions of life. For Muhammad Ali, the
\nimplications are clear. If he is wrong about the Quran and the
\nBible, he is on the wrong side of reality and will face a God he
\ndoesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ali mocked opponents, took the worship of self to new heights, mocked Christianity, and helped mainstream Islam, serving as an ambassador for a religion that seeks to subjugate all people.<\/p>\n

Today, Muhammad is lauded by people everywhere as a man of compassion, tolerance, and love.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know who they\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali in 1964. The man who broke down barriers during the volatile Civil Rights movement was a \u201cconscientious objector\u201d to service in the Vietnam War, and his Muslim faith was an oddity to a country that didn\u2019t know much about it. We still don\u2019t. I will be in the minority this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":392,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","tag-muhammad-ali"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Greatest? - Is it the End of the World?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Greatest? - Is it the End of the World?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali in 1964. The man who broke down barriers during the volatile Civil Rights movement was a \u201cconscientious objector\u201d to service in the Vietnam War, and his Muslim faith was an oddity to a country that didn\u2019t know much about it. We still don\u2019t. I will be in the minority this…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2016\/06\/greatest.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Is it the End of the World?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-04T17:32:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/files\/2016\/06\/DSCF6269-300x199.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Fletcher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Greatest? - Is it the End of the World?","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Greatest? - Is it the End of the World?","og_description":"Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali in 1964. 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