When arguing about the present, don't forget the past
Pope Benedict recently got in trouble for a quote about how Islam was spread by the sword while speaking about the connection between religion and violence. Well, Benedict was right in drawing the comparison to the past, especially because religion and violence go hand-in-hand. I normally do not agree with the Pope, but anyone who denies the fact that Islam was born in violence ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_islam ) is either delusional, ignorant or just plain stupid. Muhammad began his path towards a new religion in the standard way: he is by himself and has a "vision" and hears the word of god...sound familiar? How come nobody else has ever heard god speak to these prophets? It's all hearsay, and we're led to believe that the word of one man is equivalent to the word of god.
Islam is certainly not the only religion responsible for violence ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres#Pogroms_and_religious_massacres ) but it's definitely in the forefront now because of the current global situation. If Islamic people want to claim that it's a peaceful religion, they have to admit to the fact that the only reason why Islam even exists is because it took a path of conversion through conquering. Wonder what happened to Spain, Byzantium/Constantinople and Jerusalem during the dark/middle ages? Hmm, maybe it was the aggressive policy of convert or die in the latter years of Islams emergence. If it wasn't an oppressive religion, people would be free to express themselves and live freely in Islamic nations today...they cannot. If it was a peaceful religion, how do they explain the countless wars and conquering of regions?
However, Islam is not the only violent religion, so is Christianity, Hinduism and even Buddhism. Yes, there have been numerous violent conflicts between Buddhists and other religions such as Sufis, Hindus and Muslims. So is it really about religion and the teachings of the prophets? NO!!! If it was, we'd be living in a world free from all the ills of society. It's more about the grouping of people in order to further an ideology and to subjugate the masses. It's the strong few oppressing the weak masses because people are sheep. On the other side, religion is about being accepted into a group. For some reason, most people don't want to stand out, they want to blend in and religion is perfect for that. Unfortunately, violence is a key component of human nature, growing with each generation due to the natural selection of war.
What amazes me most is how people have stood by religion despite the fact that it has been behind nearly every human-based tragedy and massacre in history. People have used it as a tool to divide and conquer instead of a tool to unite people in peace. Christianity is probably worse than Islam in terms of oppression and historical evil. If anyone denies that Christianity has been used for evil purposes, take a look at the Holocaust, The Inquisition, the massacre of the Hugenots, the forced conversion of natives in the New World, and pretty much constant oppression of non-Christians throughout most of Christian history. Jesus and Muhammad would be spinning in their graves if they saw what their philosophies have been corrupted into.
Religion usually arises from a prophet after he's dead thanks to some great salespeople. The 12 Apostles were one of the world's first sales team, spreading a doctrine from dozens of people to millions. Christians were persecuted in their origins, but they rose to power and took over in the persecution of minorities. Mohammed's followers were born from a war between Mecca and Medina, even Jews found their religion through conflict. So while we cling to these ancient doctrines, we're ignoring the fact that a religion from 5000 years ago really has little relevance today. So will new ones emerge? I'm thinking that Carlinism and Maherism may be candidates, but Oprahism is more likely to happen. But if Carlin's philosophy does turn into religion, it'll be a complete perversion of his own philospohy, and that's why religion doesn't work.
Islam is certainly not the only religion responsible for violence ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres#Pogroms_and_religious_massacres ) but it's definitely in the forefront now because of the current global situation. If Islamic people want to claim that it's a peaceful religion, they have to admit to the fact that the only reason why Islam even exists is because it took a path of conversion through conquering. Wonder what happened to Spain, Byzantium/Constantinople and Jerusalem during the dark/middle ages? Hmm, maybe it was the aggressive policy of convert or die in the latter years of Islams emergence. If it wasn't an oppressive religion, people would be free to express themselves and live freely in Islamic nations today...they cannot. If it was a peaceful religion, how do they explain the countless wars and conquering of regions?
However, Islam is not the only violent religion, so is Christianity, Hinduism and even Buddhism. Yes, there have been numerous violent conflicts between Buddhists and other religions such as Sufis, Hindus and Muslims. So is it really about religion and the teachings of the prophets? NO!!! If it was, we'd be living in a world free from all the ills of society. It's more about the grouping of people in order to further an ideology and to subjugate the masses. It's the strong few oppressing the weak masses because people are sheep. On the other side, religion is about being accepted into a group. For some reason, most people don't want to stand out, they want to blend in and religion is perfect for that. Unfortunately, violence is a key component of human nature, growing with each generation due to the natural selection of war.
What amazes me most is how people have stood by religion despite the fact that it has been behind nearly every human-based tragedy and massacre in history. People have used it as a tool to divide and conquer instead of a tool to unite people in peace. Christianity is probably worse than Islam in terms of oppression and historical evil. If anyone denies that Christianity has been used for evil purposes, take a look at the Holocaust, The Inquisition, the massacre of the Hugenots, the forced conversion of natives in the New World, and pretty much constant oppression of non-Christians throughout most of Christian history. Jesus and Muhammad would be spinning in their graves if they saw what their philosophies have been corrupted into.
Religion usually arises from a prophet after he's dead thanks to some great salespeople. The 12 Apostles were one of the world's first sales team, spreading a doctrine from dozens of people to millions. Christians were persecuted in their origins, but they rose to power and took over in the persecution of minorities. Mohammed's followers were born from a war between Mecca and Medina, even Jews found their religion through conflict. So while we cling to these ancient doctrines, we're ignoring the fact that a religion from 5000 years ago really has little relevance today. So will new ones emerge? I'm thinking that Carlinism and Maherism may be candidates, but Oprahism is more likely to happen. But if Carlin's philosophy does turn into religion, it'll be a complete perversion of his own philospohy, and that's why religion doesn't work.
posted by Dan Pasternack at 4:13 PM
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