"A third World War with a third antichrist may be upon us."

[Skidmore]

From a program on the History Channel right now. As an alternative to the CPAC conference on CSPAN, we have a whole day of back-to-back "Decoding History" programs devoted to explaining why thus far both Judaism and Christianity are entitled to shape the world because of belief systems that place the adherents of both as chosen people. Now this current program builds around the rise of the Nazis and mythology about what happened to Hitler. The only thing that stands out in stark relief is how remarkably Hitler's rise resembled *'s rise. Now we've started a program about Revelations and Doomsday, and no doubt will proceed to a point where Christians, as God's chosen, will be taken up.

What I am going to say will undoubtedly have people jumping all over me with both feet and an asbestos suit may not be flame retardant enough, but I am sick to death of people parading their religiosity to the detriment of other groups. I am sick to death of claims of being "chosen" by ALL faiths, including others beyond these two. I am disgusted beyond measure that people can continue to allow themselves to be so easily led by manipulative priesthoods expounding narrow doctrines/philsophies/ideologies so that they will see beyond to the aspects of being human that make us truly like one another. I am even more tired of those who make excuses for the bad behavior of co-religionists because they are too cowardly to stand up and call them on it.

For every one belief system that holds itself out to be the chosen way, you can find hundreds more which do likewise. Practice your beliefs, but keep them in your churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, shrines, and sanctuaries. Whatever you believe, you are on this earth like billions of other people just trying to make some order of the surrounding universe. You are no more or no less than your fellows, and in the eyes of the universe, the lowly microbe is as great and holy as you perceive yourselves to be.

[samplegirl]

1. Good analogy

this is exactly why government & religion should be kept separate.

[Vexatious Ape]

2. You said it, great post.

I'm guessing you read Letter to a Christian Nation--I've read it twice now, a 91 pg masterpiece.

[Skidmore]

8. I have not read this piece. Can you tell me more about it?

I did recently reread Paine's "The Age of Reason."

[Vexatious Ape]

12. Letter to a Christian Nation

is Sam Harris's response to all the vicious and unreasonable mail he got from Christians--mainly right wing christians, after he wrote THE END OF FAITH.

[leftofthedial]

3. religiosity is a disease

one that is killing all of us

[Generator]

4. False Peace

I posted some links about this this week. I think the anti-Christ may be Ms. Condaleeza Rice as she is claiming to have "talks" in the future with Syria and Iran. When as we all know they are planning to bomb the hell out of them.

[hfojvt]

5. perhaps your icon will rebuke you

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2006/06/obama_on_faith_and_politics_an.html

"At worst, some liberals dismiss religion in the public square as inherently irrational or intolerant, insisting on a caricature of religious Americans that paints them as fanatical, or thinking that the very word “Christian��? describes one’s political opponents, not people of faith.


Such strategies of avoidance may work for progressives when the opponent is Alan Keyes. But over the long haul, I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people, and join a serious debate about how to reconcile faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy."

[Skidmore]

13. I disagree with Obama on this one thing and in this way.

What passes for "faith" now is cynical manipulation by a handful of powermongers masquerading as priests, ministers, pastors, rabbis, and imams. I do not assume that all people who stand in the marketplace and hold forth or who pray loudly in public are people of faith. I do believe there is something that Jesus said about having "the form of faith but denying the godliness thereof."

[Cleita]

6. It is scary how *'s rise to power is similar to Hitler's, and how the Nazis set about

to undermine the government and frighten the average German into submission. I do believe it's because it's the same forces are in charge that were back then. Even though many of the protagonists are dead, they passed on their legacy before they died to the succeeding generations of Nazi clones.

As far as a third world war and antichrist, it's easy enough to look around you in any era and declare the goings on as signs of the apocalypse. I agree with you it's time to give it a rest and I really don't know about all the religious programs on those cable stations that are supposed to be presenting history and science. All I can think of is that an admirer of Josef Goebbels in our present time is ordering this kind of propaganda to be spread into our secular media.

Besides that prophecies can be self-fulfilling if you help make them happen as is often the case. Really, all I can say is to ignore the brainwashing and work towards not allowing those things to happen again.

[The Straight Story]

7. You talking about religion or political parties and ideologies, they sound a lot a like...

You know, like progressive ideals are the best (chosen), if you don't think like we do on everything you're a freeper and 'evil'.

Politicians have ruled the world and still do. They are our preachers and our resources and our quest to stay alive is our god. We take oil from others to fuel our cars so we can go to our jobs which we hate working for the corporations we hate. We wage war, destroy the environment, and crime/homelessness/etc all run rampant.

And even without religion all that occurs. Even in countries where faith is not prevalent this goes on.

Humankind sucks, has always sucked, and always will suck because that is the nature of the beast (and in that sense the good book was right, we are all 'sinners').

Blaming religion cannot and will not solve the core problems, it is just another way to label and classify a group of people.

Greed, and outright selfish desires propel people to do more harm than anything else. Mankind is millions of years old but religion is not, and those problems were here long before it came along.

[kestrel91316]

9. Religion belongs inside one's head as a guide for behavior.

Organized dogmatic church-based religion has been, for the most part, bad for the world, IMHO.

[piesRsquare]

10. How about...

...you take a break from bashing religion--and religious people--and do a bit of studying. Here's a good start:

1) Judaism has no priesthood. Not anymore; not for close to 2,000 years.

2) Jews do not believe our way is the "chosen way". "Chosen way" and "chosen people" are two very, very different things. Ask a Rabbi--or an educated Jew--about what "being chosen" means to Jews. It doesn't mean what you seem to think it means.

3) "Practice your beliefs, but keep them in your churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, shrines, and sanctuaries..." It is a violation of Jewish Law to proselytize/missionize.

4) "You are no more or no less than your fellows, and in the eyes of the universe, the lowly microbe is as great and holy as you perceive yourselves to be."

Some "Wisdom of the Talmud":

-"Why was Man created last? To be reminded, if he becomes haughty, that a mosquito came before him" (Sanhedrin).

-"If an ignorant person is too pious, avoid him" (Sabbath).

-"Do not say, 'I like educated people only.' You must love all people."

-"Peace brings prosperity" (Yerushalmi Ukzin).

-"By three things is the world preserved: Truth, Justice, and Peace" (Rabban Simon).

-"Teaching children is more important than building the Temple" (Resh Lakish).

-"To receive strangers is greater than receiving God" (Sabbath).

-"The Lord hates him who talks one way and thinks another" (Pesachim).

-"Charity is more important than all commandments put together" (Baba Bathra).

-"Let your ears hear what your mouth says" (Berachot).

[Skidmore]

11. How about...

you missed the whole point.

I'm asking people to look at other humans and the cosmos without the filter of their religiosity and to see that, whatever those constructs are, the function they serve is the same. I don't see anything liberating about organized religions or their priest or teaching class. Ways of ordering the vast universe we see before us, and have been used to manipulate people and power throughout history.