Osama bin Laden: Terrorist Leader. Responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans and others. Believes killing Americans is justified because the U.S. is a state of infidels who support Isreal. Believes Muslims are God's chosen people.
Ariel Sharon: Isreali Prime Minister. Ordered indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian protesters including men, women, and children while serving as commander of Isreali Army. Believed killing Arabs was justified in order to protect Isreali occupied territories that were taken from Palestinians after WWII (although recently he made huge strides toward making peace with them). Believed Jews to be God's chosen people.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: President of Iran. Accused of taking part in 1979 kidnapping of Americans. Believes the Holocaust never happened and has vowed to wipe Isreal of the face of the earth while his supporters cry "Death to Americans" for supporting Isreal. Believes like many terrorists, that a Holy War or Jihad is justified because Muslims are God's chosen people.
Pat Robertson: Evangelist TV station owner. Has repeadedly called for the assasination of non-Christian world leaders, claimed that liberal control of the government is worse than what Hitler did to the Jews, and recently suggested that God smote Ariel Sharon for dividing God's land by ordering a withdrawl from Gaza to make way for peace with the Palestinians. Believes Christians to be God's chosen people.
These men have two things in common: They have all publicly professed their hatred for anyone unlike them and all claim to be men of God. Have you ever seen a "WWJD" bumper sticker on a car? "What Would Jesus Do?" Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Jesus preached peace and tolerance and "turn the other cheek." I don't think he would have approved of the Crusades, the Inquisition, or Pat Robertson's hate speech. "What Would Muhammed Do?" By all accounts, the teachings of this man were of peace and compassion as well. He ascended to leading Medina and the Islamic world, and occasionally resorted to violence, but only in defense of his people or to unify a region. (No worse than what America has done over the years).
Religion is fine. It guides the majority of people in the world to live good and peaceful lives. The majority of Muslims, Jews, and Christians love peace and do NOT hate each other. However, a few outspoken men have betrayed their religions by commandeering them and twisting them to support their personnal agendas. Don't condemn a race, a nation, or a religion based on a few very bad apples. Remeber that the true leaders of those religions advocated tolerance and compassion toward all of God's creatures.
I hate to sound preachy, but this post is in response to a couple of conversations I've had with churchgoin', God-fearin' folk who have said some shocking things to me. The first guy was an Army man and said, "We should nuke the whole middle-east. They all hate us anyway." My response was, "Including innocent women and children?" To which the guy said, "All of 'em." When I disagreed, he offered to take me outside and "teach me a lesson". (Which was very thoughtful of him.) The other unenlightened soul who wore a crucifix around his neck, served as a youth pastor in his church, and had strictly Christian music saved on his i-pod said, "John McCain is anti-American for getting this no-torture law passed. We should torture more of 'em if it will stop 'em from dropping a nuke on New York City." To which I replied, "John McCain knows a thing or two about the moral acceptabilty of torture, to call him un-American after being a P.O.W. for 5 years in Vietnam is un-American. Besides, torturing a terror suspect in a secret prison will not stop a terrorist cell determined to do us harm." To which he questioned my patriotism and basically blamed people like me for the problems in this country. I stopped just short of asking him if he thought Jesus would approve of torturing people because I knew that I would soon recieve another offer to be "taught a lesson" if I persisted.
And I thought the purpose of religion was to ease human suffering and live a moral life. What was I thinking?
3 comments:
B-Daddy, I think it was John Adams who said that Christianity had been dealt a mortal wound, but it was such a monstrous beast it would take thousands of years to die. It seems that the fundementalists are determined to make this dire prediction a reality.
There are more enlightened voices though. Have you read my buddy Andy's blog?
I believe there are many paths to find one's spirituality. The main thing to me is to keep trying and to celebrate the myriad of ways and places in which people find their spiritual inspiration.
Great comments fellas. I just finished reading a book comparing the world's major religions. It is striking how similar they all are in intent. The world is getting smaller every day, and sooner or later we need to realize that we're all a lot more alike than we thought and we need to start working together to make things better for everyone.
OK, that's enough deep thinking for this week. Where's Paulie when you need him?!
I could use a drink myself. I can't remember the last time I had one.
Hmmm, that's a bit ambiguous. Oh well, I'll let the readers draw their own conclusions.
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