RELIGIOUS SMORGASBORD
Our religous arrogance and confusion come forth every time we show our rush to judgment about someone else's religion. The world is loaded with self-proclaimed members of a wide menu of religions. The actions throughout history by religious people have left millions of dead bodies scattered around the world. Religion and war have become regular bed partners. We judge, therefore we kill.
One measure of the honesty and truth of religious self-proclaiming is in the continuing number of people around the world who go to bed hungry, have no access to clean water, have no health care, etc. Yet the wealth, the clearly measured wealth of the world has increased immensely. Where is there religion put into action? Why are there still billions of people in the world living is such squalor? It is easy to simply toss it off as, "there fault."
What especially bothers me are those people who like to proclaim their ethics and morals through their religion ...and then act much differently in actuality. Think John Edwards and Newt Gingrich. This is NOT a partisan issue! This is a human issue. And we all are to blame.
We judge other religions without having a clue about it. It was easy for us to immediately condemn the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center as "those damn Moslems." Interestingly, we overlook our own sordid history. Christianity should be blamed for pedophilia? Burning people at the stake? Charging witchcraft? Hundred Years' War? Colonialsim? Our lack of morals and ethics is showing.
Why do so many people seem to find "joy" in condemning others? Is it fun to paint with a wide brush based upon information we only know in part? How much do we know about "the other"?
Because the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center proclaimed themselves to be a part of Islam, is no more to the point than the clergy who sexually abused little children called themselves Christians.
Should we be more enlightened about world events and actions? How much do we owe something other than war to solve our problems? That includes those who follow The Prince of Peace.