It's wrong to acquire looted items. More wrong to do so by deception, for any reason. Particularly hypocritical and wrong to do it considering what the so called Christian message is supposed to be.
What's the purpose? For 2,000+ years, still preaching Christ-likeness (a celebrated one) to the crowd, when only Jesus-likeness (a persecuted one) was clearly written in the holy books in ancient Greek, literally. Can we see any relevance about Jesus-likeness for it? Would Jesus today build a similar museum? For the poor/homeless?
of course Stu would take that side... and make a binary unthinking argument again. --- here is the thinking person's point of view... it is wrong in some circumstances to acquire looted items from a culture that preserves and respects their past... but in my opinion it is not morally wrong to remove items which might or will be lost to groups like Isis or the taliban. remember this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...0-years-Buddhas-fall-to-Taliban-dynamite.html or this Story highlights In May, ISIS seized Palmyra, the UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. ISIS Militants have since destroyed shrines, temples, and monuments of the ancient Syrian city. Architectural and historic treasures, including some of the world's oldest Islamic inscriptions, have been obliterated. ISIS militants destroy ancient Syrian ruins - CNN.com www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/architecture/palmyra-around-the-world/ CNN Feedback About this result • ISIS destroys Arch of Triumph in Syria's Palmyra ruins - CNN.com www.cnn.com/2015/10/05/middleeast/syria-isis-palmyra-arch-of-triumph/ CNN Oct 6, 2015 - (CNN) ISIS militants have destroyed the iconic Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, the latest cultural treasure of the ancient site that they have reduced ... ISIS militants destroy ancient Syrian ruins - CNN.com www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/architecture/palmyra-around-the-world/ CNN Nov 9, 2015 - Story highlights. In May, ISIS seized Palmyra, the UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. ISIS Militants have since destroyed shrines, temples, and monuments of the ancient Syrian city. Architectural and historic treasures, including some of the world's oldest Islamic inscriptions, have been obliterated. Here Are the Ancient Sites ISIS Has Damaged and Destroyed news.nationalgeographic.com/.../150901-isis-destruction-... National Geographic Society Sep 1, 2015 - A guide to cultural sites that ISIS has damaged or destroyed so far: ... ISIS seized the modern town of Palmyra and the ancient ruins nearby ... Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_cultural_heritage_by_ISIL Wikipedia ^ Jump up to: a b "Syria: Isis releases footage of Palmyra ruins intact and 'will not destroy them'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2015. ^ Isis 'blows up temple dating back to 17AD' in Syrian city of Palmyra, TheGuardian.com; accessed 25 August 2015. List of destroyed heritage – Ashurnasirpal II – Unite4Heritage – Hatra
interesting argument are you referencing non biblical writings and stating those were the only Holy scriptures in greek? I would like to read that reference. Remember the Triumphal entry... indicating he was fulfilling prophecy... The Triumphal Entry (Zechariah 9:9-13; Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; John 12:12-19) 28After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples. 30“Go to the village ahead of you,” He said. “As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks why you are untying it, tell him that the Lord needs it.” 32So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34“The Lord needs it,” they answered. 35Then they brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it. 36As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. 37And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”b “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”
Were items removed for safe keeping with the expressed intention of returning them later to their rightful owners when they might be safe , that would not be looting. But that's not the case. Spending $800mil to build a museum like that only helps the terrorists. http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/10/3458400/isis-black-market-artifacts-2/ "The Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) — the Islamic extremist group that swept through Northern Iraq last month — is now considered to be the wealthiest terrorist organization in the world, with $2.2 billion in assets. While bank heists have recently gained the group millions, they have also raked in massive profits from a less conventional source: the billion-dollar black market in ancient artifacts." From evangelicals stealing artifacts and compounding that wrongdoing by breaking this country's laws in an additional act of deception, to the jesus character stealing donkeys. The problem with your morals is they excuse and sanction wrong doing. Apparently because religion allows it, or at least you imagine it will.
I see now you are trying to be more nuanced because you binary argument was foolish... you left out buying artifacts so Isis does not destroy them. Which is also morally correct. My morality does not excuse wrong doing. If they did things wrong... then its wrong. But, what is wrong is that almost everything you write distorts fact and truth... for instance... Jesus did not steal donkeys... contrary to what you just wrote.
What ISIS hates, it destroys, and ancient artifacts are no exception. To erase pre-Islamic history, it has employed sledgehammers and drills at a museum in Mosul, explosives at Palmyra, and all of these weapons, plus jackhammers, power saws, and bulldozers, at Nimrud. In one video, a fighter explains that ISISmust smash “these statues and idols, these artifacts,” because the Prophet Muhammad destroyed such things after conquering Mecca, nearly fourteen hundred years ago. “They became worthless to us even if they are worth billions of dollars,” he adds. So, at the Met, many were puzzled when Andrew Keller, a soft-spoken senior official at the State Department, unveiled newly declassified documents proving that ISIS maintains a marginally profitable “antiquities division.” ... Of course it’s a major concern for cultural heritage, but it seems to be probably among the smallest revenue streams that this criminal organization has.” There was a pause. A moderator from the State Department replied, “We’re aiming to cut off all their revenue streams, however small it may be, to try to stop their activity.” ... There are hundreds of thousands of legally acquired antiquities from Mesopotamia in the United States,” he said. “Palmyra reliefs are generally unpopular. They often go unsold at auction.” A reporter who writes about the art market was unimpressed with Abu Sayyaf’s hoard. He leaned over and whispered to me, “The idea that there’s a shadowy mass of collectors interested in purchasing crap that they can never sell again is absolutely ludicrous. Nobody wants esoteric, untraceable numismatics.” http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-real-value-of-the-isis-antiquities-trade
Those artifacts are not available for any type of legitimate sale. Buying artifacts off of ISIS and other terrorist groups for whatever reason, for whatever value, supports them. This is a bunch of christian evangelicals getting involved in active looting ,theft and deception giving false information and breaking home import laws. You think that's morally correct. To have morals you don't need religion, but seemingly you do need it to lose them.