Good or evil? A decade defined by religious struggle

The REAL issue here is not religion; it is politics, greed and control. Never lose sight of the fact that "Christianity" in the U.S. has been deliberately hijacked and is being manipulated for political purposes on a scale not seen since the Third Reich. The purpose is, as always, to divide and control control the ignorant and fearful masses.
Bear in mind that, regardless of how warm and fuzzy it may feel to be "standing up for my belief," you are being played for the useful fool. This scenerio plays out over and over throughout the centuries - and it never ends well.

Jesus Christ is central to Christianity. He is sometiimes referred to as "The Prince of Peace." The religion formed around the teachings of Christ ostensibly is a religion of peace. Christ asked his followers to go out into the world and preach the peace od God. And yet throughout the ages we observe the slaughter and persecution on tens of millions, all in the name of this religion, which espouses peace.

Christianity is easily turned to the useful purposes of the powers that be. Today Christians are told that we must oppose the false religion Islam, which has supposedly attacked us because we are "infidels" in a grand struggle of Good vs. Evil. This is much simpler for the masses to comprehend than the truth, which is that the U.S. Empire is in a death struggle to control resources (oil in particular) throughout the world. We have been sold a much more deceitful and simplistic story in order to elicit our support in the treachery of the wealthy and politically connected. In the process, in our name, and in the name of Christianity, we are responsible to date for the murder of more than a million Iraqis and Afganis, just in the past seven years. More than half a million of those we have murdered are completely innocent women and children. How warm and fuzzy does that make you feel?

Nowhere in the teachings of Christ have I found that he encouraged anyone to take up arms, to harm or murder anyone. It's clear that Christians today have, and continue to be, duped into doing the work of the Satan, cloaked in the trappings of God.

For a real Christian the proper Christian response to current events should proceed from: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and "Thou shalt do no murder." If you are not following and supporting these concepts, you are listening to the wrong voices, and you have stepped outside of the bounds of Christianity. Just as being a true American requires the courage to stand up and say no when you know that your country is wrong, so being a true Christian requires the courage to day no when one is being asked or required to act or think in a manner contrary to the teachings of Christ.

Christ warned us of false profits; it's our job to discern and make certain that we are not listening to them.

Why is it so hard for theists to imagine that gods are simply inventions of the mind - projections of our human desires onto the natural world around us? It's easy enough to see this with other people's gods (Zeus, Osiris, Vishnu), just not with your own (God of Abraham).

All gods are fictions. All. Arguing about what gods do, or don't do, shows a profound lack of imagination, and is a waste of time. The sooner we move beyond these enslaving relics of the past, the better our chances of peace on this planet.

The truth will set you free.

If you have no religious faith, perhaps you have faith in Darwinism. It has only one commandment. Leave more copies of your genes.

The Ummah is following that commandment just fine. Mix that with democracy and you have a formula for the return of women to their former places in society.

Progress is only a product of perspective.

The peoples of the three religions that you have mentioned in the article have been fighting with each other, among themselves, and with the peoples of every other religion that they have encountered, every decade since they created each of their religions.

The last decade was no different--this coming decade will be no different.

Though the sentiments may be correct the ethnocentrism is the problem. Karen Armstrong calls her work the history of god but ignores the millenia of history outside her ethnocentric world (though she apologizes for it - yet she and you propagate the myth that speaking of god is the realm of the abrahmics).

The christoislamists are just another ethnocentric power base. The deepened insight goes beyond such a blinded (self deluded) construct. Until religions stop teaching of the chosen people, the chosen book, the chosen savior, the chosen prophet, etc. religion will continue to create a mono-ideological (idol) before which they will bow and not try to look beyond the shadows.

Though 9/11 was a horrible event, compared to the genocide in Africa by the christians and muslims, it is only because of our American ethnocentrism that it rises so significantly in our conscience. It is because of our false ethnocentrism that says we were attacked (everybody who disagrees with islamic control is attacked). It is because of our false ethnocentrism that we believed democracies don't start wars (ask the native nations of the Americas). It is the false ethnocentrism of the christoislamists that continue to propagate a mono-ideology of hate of the other. (and that same mono-ideology is present elsewhere but not an accepted (written into scripture) part of the doctrine).

As the world looks back, we may see this century when the dark age of the christoislamist's (a-Brahmanic religions) came to a violent end (of course I hope that there is no more violence to people). I do hope that end of ethnocentric power struggles does not include all of humanity.

hariaum

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite

You wrote, "Muslims must confront and reject those within their faith that would use Islam and its teachings as a religious justification for terrorism."

Implementing shariah law worldwide may just come thru the ballot box, we seem to be so caught up in the "terrorism" that some do not seem to see anything else about islam.

You also wrote, "Christians must confront and reject their own temptation to despise other religions as heresy, and hence justify violence against other faiths."

There is nothing wrong with speaking the truth but as far as "justifying violence", this goes completely against what Jesus taught, no matter what some of the "great theologians" may have said in the past concerning this.

You also wrote, "Judaism is being tested as a prophetic faith committed to justice, and the conflicts posed by being a nation-state in the modern world."

The Jews were/are the "Chosen People" and the Saviour of the World came thru the Jews, this in and of itself speaks volumes about the shabby treatment of the Jews thru the ages considering that satan is the prince of this world.

If one happens to be a Christian, one should realize that satan has been beaten and until God exerts His Authority, satan is still the prince of this world.

As I have said, God is a searcher of hearts and minds, not of religious affiliations or lack thereof.

As I have also said, Jesus Is God-Incarnate, He is not the second-rate prophet of the god of islam.

You also wrote, "Here's more good news for the New Year: God is in this struggle with us. I believe evil will not have the last word. Be at peace."

You are right, evil will not "have the last word", even tho it may seem that way.

Jesus asked a question back then, that is just as applicable now, "Who do you say that I AM?"

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.