Anyone who uses the All XXXXX must be XXXXX is a complete moron... whether it is Christians on Muslims or Muslims on Christians.... or even atheists on theists and vice versa... doesnt matter... However...(comma)... much can be said about the texts that are used to justify the violence, bigotry, hatred, and divisiveness that we see around the world. If I tell you I am a Nazi then it is reasonable to assume I have particular feelings towards certain subjects. But until I, as an individual, explain what I mean then the perception goes by what is known through the text/history. I think those outward declarations of faith are fair game because these texts and histories provide an indicator towards how a person interacts with others. It may not be concrete but the onus is with the individual to explain their worldview. Just the same, If they want to put themselves in a box by adhering to and openly affirming that they support a violent religion or practice then THEY (that individual) can, and should, be judged accordingly. The difference here, I think, is between religion and spirituality. Dogmatic religious identities are fairly set and understandable. They can be classified based upon the general understanding of the holy texts that accompany that faith. It is so straightforward its almost comical. Spirituality, on the other hand, relies more in the subjective experience of the individual and can come in a wide variety of flavors within a particular religious background. This is where we get the Christian who loves non-believers (even though the text in Psalms 14:1 says to distrust atheists because they are corrupt and do no good deeds) or the Muslim who accepts free speech in the form of blasphemy (even though the Koran calls for the admonishment of this in verses 5:33 and 33:57-6). The flavor is up to the individual and that takes serious soul-searching. The major problem, that I see, is that most people arent very spiritual. They dont care about the big questions. They never bother themselves with such things. They dont know whats in the texts, they hear a slanted version of their own history, and they dont care any objective truth. Most people are comfortable with the religious affiliations that were given to them at birth and get offended when someone from the outside criticizes the religion itself. Is this right? no... but neither is painting the broadest brush over everyone who subscribes to a larger religious label. Some do, in fact, have their own flavor. People are justified in criticizing religion and their texts, it is a useful exercise. It is how we have come to this point in our spiritual history. There is just a fine line between using most, some, many... and the dangerously bigoted all...
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 02:17:07 +0000
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