I want World Peace. Yes/No?

[MagnetMan]

I must admit to being very surpised by the results.

 

Right now, 30 yes, 10 no.

 

 

I am dishearted knowing that (although those posting on Hypography do not represent an accurate proportional representation of all human beings on Earth)...

 

One out of every four voters does not WANT world peace.

 

<sigh>

 

The Parable of the Prodigal Son.

 

We are still in a teenage mode of rebellious self-determination and religious protestation, demanding the right to independent expression and damn the consequences. Oh yes. And also the right to gamble away our inheritance, and the dare to play Russian roulette with nuclear guns.

 

Thinking outside the gun requires a massive reality check and a more sober outlook. That means adopting a parental view of our responsiblities to our kids. Hopefully we dont self-destruct before we reach our majority and have the humility to return to our Father's House and steward our estate properly.

[InfiniteNow]

Who here thinks that it is religion itself which is limiting our chances at peace?

[MagnetMan]

Who here thinks that it is religion itself which is limiting our chances at peace?

Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who all claim exclusive right to God's ear are the primitive warmongers among us. Buddhism and Hinduism are excluded

The real bogieman however is money. The dogmatic religious pursuit of excessive private wealth - which creates excessive poverty, envy and hate.

[questor]

Who thinks it is NOT religion, but a bunch of murderous jerks who are zealots who happen to claim they do their bad deeds in the name of religion. don't

confuse the message with the messenger.

[MagnetMan]

Who thinks it is NOT religion, but a bunch of murderous jerks who are zealots who happen to claim they do their bad deeds in the name of religion. don't

confuse the message with the messenger.

 

The Christian message has always been Peace, brother. Peace and love at all costs. Turn the other cheek. But that goes against male machismo. Dear God. lets not interfere with that! Too many red-blooded western men are already far too insecure. So the zealot is the guy next door popping Viagra pills, who voted for war. And the congressman and the richman is the guy who made sure that his son was not on the line.

[InfiniteNow]

Thanks for making my point for me, MM. There are other religions too, yet you continue to hear the sound of one bible thumping.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Re: I want World Peace. Yes/No? - Yesterday, 05:57 PM

 

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Quote:

Originally Posted by questor

Who thinks it is NOT religion, but a bunch of murderous jerks who are zealots who happen to claim they do their bad deeds in the name of religion. don't

confuse the message with the messenger.

 

 

The Christian message has always been Peace, brother. Peace and love at all costs. Turn the other cheek. But that goes against male machismo. Dear God. lets not interfere with that! Too many red-blooded western men are already far too insecure. So the zealot is the guy next door popping Viagra pills, who voted for war. And the congressman and the richman is the guy who made sure that his son was not on the line.

 

 

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Let's not forget all of the senceless slaughter in the name of god!!!

Christianity may preach peace but lots of people have died for having the wrong answer to the god question.

[Kayra]

Let's not forget all of the senceless slaughter in the name of god!!!

Christianity may preach peace but lots of people have died for having the wrong answer to the god question.

True, but does anyone know of recent carnage caused by Christianity?

 

Just curious.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

The war in Iraq!!!

[Zythryn]

True, but does anyone know of recent carnage caused by Christianity?

 

Just curious.

 

Canage inspired by Christianity?

 

Well, the KKK claims a very high alignment to Christianity.

 

The Phelps family, while not killing anyone, has caused great grief and pain (they are the ones protesting and name calling at funerals).

 

Someone already mentioned Iraq, not sure how tight that one is though, more about greed I think.

 

Bombings at Planned Parenthood clinics.

 

I am sure there are a few more...

 

Please don't get me wrong, many people have also done great and wonderful things after being inspired by Christianity. I am simply addressing the question you asked.

[Zythryn]

Oh, I also hear the fundamentalist Christian vote was the base that got Bush into power ;)

[Kayra]

Valid responses to what I thought was a valid question.

Nothing on a global scale that I see, but some disturbing events none the less.

 

I also notice there is nothing there supported by main stream Christianity. (except the bush thing perhaps :) )

[MagnetMan]

Valid responses to what I thought was a valid question.

Nothing on a global scale that I see, but some disturbing events none the less.

 

I also notice there is nothing there supported by main stream Christianity. (except the bush thing perhaps :) )

 

The carnage in Africa right now can be laid at the door of Christian culture. Europe carved up Africa's tridational tribal territories into artificial imperial boundaries, and when colonialism collapsed it left the entire continent in a massive confusion of identity, all fighting for hegemony over vast territories that no single tribe can govern without committing genocide against rival claimants. The same Dark Age happened in among European tribes when Roman Christian imperialism collapsed.

 

Getting Africa back on track is an essential element of world peace.

[rockytriton]

World peace ended the day the first single-celled organism appeared and we will not have world peace again until the last single-celled organism dies.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Oh, I also hear the fundamentalist Christian vote was the base that got Bush into power

Thank you for touching this one! I wanted too but wasn't quite sure how to go about it.

The Christian message has always been Peace, brother. Peace and love at all costs. Turn the other cheek.

Clearly you need to read your Bible!!!!!! Sodom and Gamora ring a bell for starters...and there are explecit instructions as to how to deal with homosexuals and those that are "romantic" with animals....And that fellow (Abraham I think) that God told to kill his son...etc.etc.etc.!!!!!!!!!!!

[MagnetMan]

Clearly you need to read your Bible!!!!!! Sodom and Gamora ring a bell for starters...and there are explecit instructions as to how to deal with homosexuals and those that are "romantic" with animals....And that fellow (Abraham I think) that God told to kill his son...etc.etc.etc.!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You are quoting the Old Testament. Christ amended the vengeful nature of the old Bronze Age and its adage of an eye for an eye. The Christian message remains: Peace and Love, Brother. If your enemy strikes, turn the other cheek. The universal psychology for ending all wars that lies behind that New Testament remains irrefutable. The problem is that we still have too many hawks among us with primitive aggressive hang-ups. Then we also have religious dogmatists who spend more time idolizing totem images and worshipping the messenger and dissing those that disagree with his divinity, instead of seeing the psychology underlying the message and trying to obey the cultural discipline. Thou shalt not kill is not an idle commnandment, yet they vote for war in the name of the Prince of Peace and try to claim it is holy.

 

Gommorrah, by the way, was not involved with sodomy. The Gommorans worshipped money and hedonism. The ancient parable concerning the destruction of these two decadent life styles remains valid -especially in America where the temptations for distraction are greatest. For atheists and agnostics the earth quakes in Frisco and the crumbling of the Wall Street towers were simply cooincidental. For theists those dramatic strikes and others of a similar nature, initiate a deeper reminder of an underlying ethical reality that links all of our behavior to a universal Godhead, which is forced to intervene when clear focus of the evolutionary momentum towards an ultimate state of Cosmic awareness becomes unhealthily distorted.

 

World Peace can only become possible if we all see the Universal Goodness and Order that underlies our lives and the personal disciplines required to keep it in balance. If life is simply regarded as an accidental random act, then chaos might as well reign and everybody can indulge themselves as much as they like. In such a scenario, world peace can never happen or remain sustained, for everybody will keep fighting for finite resources. Meticulous sharing requires adult insight. Nobody can be forced to believe in a God that places value on personal ethical discipline. One must simply weigh the options as they open up and make a conscious choice on one's level of sharing the world and life with each other- and then be prepared to live with the consequences.

 

The fact that there might be a universal God out there demanding a modem of prescribed ethical conduct, has a tendency to anger, even enfuriate the self-determined, independently-minded teen psyche of this moment in human evolution. It can lead individuals and even whole societies to destructive acts of violent rebellion. For others, more aware of the long-term values of maintaining careful ethics, the possibuility of such a Godhead remains as a constant blessing and provides profound meaning to disciplined social behavior. If the latter are right and can manage to inlfuence the remainder by their own disciplined behavior, then world peace is indeed possible.

[Boerseun]

For atheists and agnostics the earth quakes in Frisco and the crumbling of the Wall Street towers were simply cooincidental.

...and you want to tell me they weren't coincidental.

 

Right...