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Good morning, Netizens…
I don’t know why David Horsey chose today, Black Friday, of all days to write about a history of religion, but so be it. It is a hot enough button, and it is done well enough that it should inspire either some in-depth conversation or controversy, depending upon one’s relative point of view.
One of my favorite books, The Comparative History of Religion, an out-of-date tome that delves pretty deeply into how the various religions have evolved, including not only the various permutations of Christianity but pretty much all the other religious factions from Islamic Faith to the more esoteric and Eastern belief systems. Yet another excellent study in belief, the eleven volume set of The History of Philosophy by Will and Ariel Durant, exposes much of how religions evolved.
Nearly all the religions of the world proclaim loudly they are religions of peace. When you stop to think of it, most of the significant wars and strife in the world have been fomented or at least abetted by religion, beginning with the Birth of Christ, continuing up to modern times.
Some say religion and politics are often quite parallel to one another throughout history. Of course, some others suggest that religion shaped politics or vice-versa. It all depends upon one’s perspective.
We have been dragged back and forth into various wars throughout history by our faiths and our political points of view, so it comes as no surprise that in our generation we are fighting wars, once again, with two religions, or factions thereof, most of which proclaim they have only peaceful beliefs.
To see the logic of this all we must do is study history, for its unblinking eye tends to tell us wars and religions are inevitable. Of course, your opinions may differ.
Dave
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empyrius on November 27 at 9:11 a.m.
Indeed Dave.
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arliacne on November 27 at 1:11 p.m.
A very good friend of mine, a retired pastor and GU professor of Religion told the story of once asking a man professing agnosticism why he didn't embrace the Christian faith. The man responded he simply couldn't hate others enough to become a Christian. Amen.
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spokelooneh on November 27 at 1:38 p.m.
Most wars over the centuries have at their very base, a conflict over resources and control. Religious sentiments are then brought into play by the leaders of the time in order to justify, or support, their war-making activities.
There is hope, I believe, in this new ecumenical project, the Charter for Compassion:
“Karen Armstrong’s Wish
“I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.
…
“Karen Armstrong is one of the most provocative, original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world. Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who left a British convent to pursue a degree in modern literature at Oxford. In 1982 she wrote a book about her seven years in the convent, Through the Narrow Gate, that angered and challenged Catholics worldwide; her recent book The Spiral Staircase discusses her subsequent spiritual awakening after leaving the convent, when she began to develop her iconoclastic take on the great monotheistic religions.
She has written more than 20 books around the ideas of what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common, and around their effect on world events, including the magisterial A History of God and Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today’s World. Her latest book is The Bible: A Biography. Her meditations on personal faith and religion (she calls herself a freelance monotheist) spark discussion — especially her take on fundamentalism, which she sees in a historical context, as an outgrowth of modern culture.
In the post-9/11 world, she is a powerful voice for ecumenical understanding.”
http://www.tedprize.org/karen-armstrong/
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empyrius on November 27 at 3:07 p.m.
Yeah spokelooneh, I have read Karen's “The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam”, and, “The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions”. She is a great writer with quite a depth of theological learning under her belt, and I would highly recommend her books to anybody.
Wish I didn't owe the library 35 dollars!!!!!! Waaaaaaaaaa, no fair, no fair!
Peace
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Rifleman__Dodd on November 27 at 7:17 p.m.
Just look at our local religious nut cases like Penny Lancaster. She is packed with more hate/cubic inch than any Muslim I know.
Perhaps the S-R posts her vile filled letters to the editor for humor.
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Jeffrey_Grey on November 28 at 3:46 a.m.
I agree with the indisputable fact that throughout recorded history, religion has been the rationalization and justification for so much of the misery and backwardness that has bedeviled our strange little species.
But I'd once again caution against the 'meta-meme' that says religion is the root cause. A religion that teaches as it's 'greatest law', “Love and serve God and love your neighbor as you love yourself” cannot *by definition* be the cause of war and misery.
Religion is not the problem. Man's ability to take a commandment to love and pervert it out of all recognition into a justification for all manner of hatred and destruction is the root cause of the problem.
Our troubles don't arise because we follow religion. Our problems arise because we don't.
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empyrius on November 28 at 9:59 a.m.
“Our troubles don't arise because we follow religion. Our problems arise because we don't”. Amen to that JG!
Tis about time us Christians kick the capitalist pig dogs (but I still love them as human beings) out of our country!
Jesus is coming to the Temple baby, Jesus is coming to the Temple …
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