Nice article on religious fundamentalism - Christian, Jewish, Islamic

[IndyOp]

Imagine by Sheldon Drobny

At this critical period in the history of the world I think of the John Lennon song Imagine. One of the verses is:

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

When this song was released over 30 years ago, these lyrics created much controversy, but its wisdom has been confirmed, in my opinion, by the events that have occurred in the United States since 9/11.

There is a certain sense of fundamentalist religion, specifically Islamic, that has been perceived as the root cause of the problems we are experiencing today. The radical fundamentalist Christians have hijacked the Republican Party and want to turn the clock back to the “middle ages” when scientific advancement was considered to be heretical. <snip>

I would like to first address fundamentalist religion and analyze whether it is unique to Islam. The answer is obviously no. In the past two thousand years, there is ample evidence that religious wars involving all major religions have taken place. I can further state without exception that each religion had as its basis for violence a fundamentalist interpretation of scripture. <snip>

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, there have also been some examples of violence caused by those who have a fundamentalist belief about Judaism. As an American Jew, I am concerned that the policies of Israel, although generally democratic, are significantly affected by the extreme orthodox element of the population. This is a complicated matter for which we need more open and objective discussion. One can be pro Israeli or pro American without agreeing with the government on all issues.

[mzteris]

1. "Best" part.......

". . . I believe that the solution will not come from exertion of power in these less developed and oppressed countries. Americans are not intrinsically better than the people of other countries and our sense of entitlement because we are more developed and richer is false. If anything makes sense in the world it is that we are one humanity responsible for the needs of others. We are not one country self absorbed in our own needs. This humanistic policy is the only way the human race will survive. Limiting human concerns to national boundaries will be no more effective than it has been in the past and the stakes are much higher given the state of weapons of mass destruction. . ."

[IndyOp]

2. As always, Dr. King said it best --

Don't let anybody make you think, God chose America as his divine messianic force to be, a sort of policeman of the whole world.

God has a way of standing before the nations with judgement, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America "You are too arrogant!"

If you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power, and I'll place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name

I don't know about you, but I ain't gonna study war no more.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - 2005