Hi Dominique -
A considered post - but can I add a question?
This question revolves on - do the sacred texts of any religions preach war as a principle? The answer is, as you say, no.
In my view, war is no part of the doctrine of any faith, but again, any faith can bend the teachings to suit - which is what man does - and this is the politicising of religion that you speak of.
So do we dispense with religion? I think not.
Enshrined in the doctrines of all the great traditions are the means and the methods to attain the highest ideal of human possibility - an ideal that finds its only full and complete expression within the doctrines of these traditions, and likewise it is religion alone thatt presents man with the total fullness of his possibility.
Without them, we are reduced to a secular humanism, we are prey to a science that insists we are born for nothing, and meant for nothing, in a meaningless clockwork universe.
It is possible for religions to exist peacefully, and even co-operatively. The oldest Christian monastery in the world exists because the Moslems guaranteed its safety when asked to do so by the pope.
If you look at the history of Japan, you will find the Buddhist monastic orders founded some of the most militant and aggressive organistations - the Buddhist warrior-monk is legendary in Japanese history - and at times they terrorised not only the population but the throne itself.
An emperor once said "There are three things we cannot control - the weather, the rice harvest, and the monks of Mount Hiei."
Christianity, beyond any other faith, is a religion that preaches love as a foundational and non-negotiable principle.
War in recent history continues unabated, regardless of the decline of religious influence, and contrary to common opnion actually surpasses anything that's gone before in scale and brutality - man simply finds other reasons to justify his own ends - pure politics, economics, whatever - and the modern problem of terrorism is entirely political, religion is nothing but a cover assumed by both sides in the affair.
Thomas
A considered post - but can I add a question?
This question revolves on - do the sacred texts of any religions preach war as a principle? The answer is, as you say, no.
In my view, war is no part of the doctrine of any faith, but again, any faith can bend the teachings to suit - which is what man does - and this is the politicising of religion that you speak of.
So do we dispense with religion? I think not.
Enshrined in the doctrines of all the great traditions are the means and the methods to attain the highest ideal of human possibility - an ideal that finds its only full and complete expression within the doctrines of these traditions, and likewise it is religion alone thatt presents man with the total fullness of his possibility.
Without them, we are reduced to a secular humanism, we are prey to a science that insists we are born for nothing, and meant for nothing, in a meaningless clockwork universe.
It is possible for religions to exist peacefully, and even co-operatively. The oldest Christian monastery in the world exists because the Moslems guaranteed its safety when asked to do so by the pope.
If you look at the history of Japan, you will find the Buddhist monastic orders founded some of the most militant and aggressive organistations - the Buddhist warrior-monk is legendary in Japanese history - and at times they terrorised not only the population but the throne itself.
An emperor once said "There are three things we cannot control - the weather, the rice harvest, and the monks of Mount Hiei."
Christianity, beyond any other faith, is a religion that preaches love as a foundational and non-negotiable principle.
War in recent history continues unabated, regardless of the decline of religious influence, and contrary to common opnion actually surpasses anything that's gone before in scale and brutality - man simply finds other reasons to justify his own ends - pure politics, economics, whatever - and the modern problem of terrorism is entirely political, religion is nothing but a cover assumed by both sides in the affair.
Thomas
It is like an addiction. I like CR a lot too and welcome.
