Saturday, November 21, 2015

CHRISTIANITY IS LOVE; ISLAM MEANS PEACE; JUDAISM IS LOVING LAW

These days it is difficult to not think about the relationship that humans have with one another as defined by the religious faith to which they identify.  I do not profess to be an expert about what it is that I am about to opine, but opining is what this space does best.  I therefore allow myself the liberty of making a few remarks about the strengths and foibles of human beings when it comes to the religion with which they identify and the factual conduct that they display in their every day lives.  I am certain that you will be able to identify with some of the following remarks. 
Christians and Jews are commanded by the Holy Bible to love one another.  We Christians and Jews alike all know that.  We also all know that to follow that command is not easy.  After all, there are many different expressions of Christianity as we all know. At last count there were some 3,000+ "denominations" of Christians around the world. I, for one, can confess openly that it is not easy for me to love the adherents to some of these denominatioins just as there are many of them who can't stand the sight of me or any other Catholic.  So, yeah, we have some work to do there.   
I have come to know that there are similar feelings among some of the different expressions of Judaism as well. Oh well, I guess that even God can't win 'em all!
We all know that there are divisions in the Islamic world as well.  It would be nice if we Christians and Jews could present the Muslims with a united front and be sure that we were better than they, but we can't.  Just as they cannot present the Christians and Jews with a united front and win the prize for being the religion of peace, even by pointing to the peaceful relations that they might want to present between their various factions.
Now, I can't speak knowingly about Yoga, but I do know that there are different expressions of Yoga spirituality too. I happen to have first hand experience of that.  What I have not been able to ascertain is whether or not the adherents of one expression and the other in Yoga harbor negative feelings about one another.  No, I am not interested in finding out. 
At this point, I'm almost willing to bet that there are negative feelings among Atheists as to their common reasons, or lack thereof, for unbelief.  Bad feelings about people of differing opinions seem to be the norm of the human condition.  
Heck, just think of the political goupings in the world and you'll see just what it is that we are made of.  

So, at this point my conclusion is this:  Don't quote me the Holy Koran and I won't quote you the Holy Bible.  You, Mr and Mrs Christian, don't quote me the Holy Bible and I won't quote the Holy Bible to you.  To you all, myself too, let us all show one another by our habitual conduct the behavior that expresses the lived experience of the words that we would have quoted to one another from one Holy Text or the other. 
If we do that regularly and without fail, we will have no reason to cry at one another's funeral, guaranteed.       

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