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NO
JESUS ... NO PEACE
.... bumper sticker on car in Palm
Springs, California 08/29/05
CHRISTIAN VS. MUSLIM
....
The
main difference between the two religions is that Muslims are willing to
die for their beliefs, whereas Christians are willing to kill others for
their beliefs. - Yahoo Message Board 08/23/05
PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR ASSASSINATION OF
HUGO CHAVEZ
VIRGINIA
BEACH (AP) — Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested on-air that
American operatives assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop
his country from becoming "a launching pad for communist
infiltration and Muslim extremism." 08/23/05
.. .. .. .. ..
DR.
ERNEST HOLMES,
Founder of the Religious Science Movement
and author of the Science of Mind: "If
you are shocked by what I say, you will have to stop thinking the way
you do because that kind of religious thinking is merely another kind of
disease, and we are not going to create a new disease out of our
philosophy."
Seminar Lectures, 1955
As we arrive at the 4th anniversary of the
September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, we can find that the
elements of religious fanaticism still thrives across the globe and here
at home. It is as seemingly harmless as "No Jesus, No
Peace" on a bumper sticker to volatile discussions on the Yahoo
Message Boards and all the way to the Founder of Christian Broadcasting
spewing his anger and hate against the leader of another country because
that leader opposes much of what President Bush attempts to dictate to
other countries. All of this leads to more and more fanaticism in
the world and most of it is colored with religion. Religion, being
man-made, has changed somewhat with the culture through the years ...
but only when it was to the benefit of religion.
Most non-Muslims find
it difficult to understand people who do suicide bombings believing that
God will reward them on the other side. Many people forget that in
the 1970's Jim Jones, an Ordained Christian Minister (Disciples of
Christ" led his congregation of over 900 into murder/suicide.
This is the power of religion. It is not specific to any certain
religion or denomination. When Pat Robertson called for the
assassination of Hugo Chavez, neither his friend, Joel Osteen or the
very vocal Franklin Graham, addressed the comments publicly.
Franklin Graham is pro war and pro Bush ... he has made it very clear
that he is a man of religion rather than a man of God. Joel Osteen
seems to stand for almost nothing ... when asked about current issues
facing the country, his mother states, "we don't get into
that."
I found Religious Science as a burnt-out,
disappointed catholic. But as I continued to study Religious
Science I was able to gain a certain respect for catholicism and
understand that consciousness brought me to Catholicism and
consciousness caused me to leave Catholicism. Not that it is bad
... it was just my time to move onward and upward to a greater
understanding of Life and God. I did not want to love God out of
fear, obligation or guilt ... nor did I want to impose by "being
saved" on Jesus ... He taught that I could "save myself"
and I take Him at His word. And to me this is why religion will
never truly serve the world ... because the basis of most religions is
to be "against something" ... this seems to be the fabric that
holds it together. In America, churches continue to be the most
segregated institutions in the country ... and now the clever politics
of people like Karl Rove have managed to even segregate Republicans and
Democrats in their churches ... us against them. Some of the
largest church organizations in the country preach politics openly on
Sunday mornings. The GOP has been labeled "God's
Party" ... but nothing could be further from the truth as it is a
party that has embraced the most radical of fundamentalists Christians;
Dr. D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, Dr. James Dobson, Jerry Falwell,
Franklin Graham, to name a few ... Rev. Billy Graham is a registered
Democrat ... who knows what Joel Osteen is .. maybe someone could ask
his mama.
As I drove behind the
two women with the bumper sticker on their car that read, "NO JESUS
- NO PEACE" ... I wondered how I would feel reading this if I were
a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew or a Muslim ... I imagine it would not cause
me to want to embrace Jesus or love Christians more ... but then Jesus
had nothing to do with it ... and neither would a true Christian ... but
... she probably bought it in her Christian church bookstore.
And
So It Is!
Letting
Love Use Me In Its Own Good Way,
Rev.
Bates
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