gods teachings and peace on earth

Hammad said:

I want to put some core points related to my faith.

1) My faith is same as all other faiths. it has a revelation (holy book).

2) My faith came in the last of all faiths. we are the preserver of this last revelation (holy quran) from God

3) My faith says that all other faiths were in fact from God. All nations/tribes on this world were given guidance (divine revelation/book) from God.

4) My faiths tells us that all other faiths have been man-altered therefore they are not present in their original scripture. Due to this fact my faith was revealed. My faith is the last one. No more faith is to come now.

5) My faith teaches/guides me that God is all power, all creator.

6) It is universal fact that as time passes by faith followers modify their faith according to their understanding. In other words they challenge God i.e., They doubt in God’s understanding.

7) Therefore unfortunately my faith now has more than dozens of definitions.

8) Other faiths also have the same scenario

I think that without faith the union of whole of the mankind is not possible. We will have to unite first on one point before making such a union. This one point is nothing but believing in supremacy of one God. Considering everything as God’s creation makes it simple. Concentrating on finding the truth hidden in God’s revelations (holy books) is next step.

Muslims proudly claim that all other faiths have been man-altered. But I think that they themselves are not wise enough to understand accurately the hidden message in the Holy Quran.

I’m not attacking any one faith. If any faith has proven itself by its actions over time not just by its words and teachings to have placed no value on human life, then it is wrong. That statement applies universally to christians, muslims, jewish, old mayan, hindu, vedic, buddhist, all the faiths equally.   I respect the foundations of your faith Hammad, but being last to be ‘revealed’ does not belie the fact that if human life is not valued, as proven by actions and not words, then there is something wrong there.

Brother Hammad there are people throughout the world today who claim to hear the voice of their god or allah, and who say they have received a revelation, but who are sincerely wrong.  These people have followers too.  And over 2 or 3 centuries, a religion will be built up around them as well.  It was true for Abraham and David. It was true for Jesus and Mohammed. And it was true for Joseph Smith and David Koresh.  All believed with all their hearts that god or allah had singled them out for something special.

Being the ‘newest’ one on the block only makes it right if they are truly better than the previous ones. How can we know if it truly is better – simple, is there peace on earth because of it, has the murder, death, destruction, misery and intolerance stopped or slowed between all the cultures, religions, peoples and ideologies on earth. If not them it is wrong.  That is a logical statement.

Every person on earth came from a very small band of humans out of Africa some 75,000 years. We are all the same, but fantastically and wonderfully different, but still undeniably the same.  There is only one thing that should take precedent over all else, and that is that we are humans and our humanity is more important than all our differences.

If any faith does not by its actions value our differences and our humanity, then something must be changed. Proof, not force, is the key.

This is my message, my desire, my plea – peace on earth and goodwill to all – peace based on understanding, compassion, tolerance.  It can only be achieved when we honestly realize that no one is more right than another.

Hammmad thanks for your very insightful comments. yes! not only was the original message delivered through a man, in all cases, but you are right in that man continues to interpret that message through their own dark glasses….using it to his or her own advantage.

Peace on earth??? Is it achievable? How?

Hammad: With all due respect, no one religion has a monopoly on rightness. As a matter of fact, as you and I have discussed before, history, my friend undeniably shows that more death, destruction, misery and intolerance has been carried out in the name of religion or god, than for all other reasons combined through all of recorded time.

Claiming that one way has some god given right to dominate others, no matter which one it is, is wrong. We must work toward a solution that first secures peace on earth, and secondly, the right for all men and women to have the freedom to choose their own path – whether secular or theistic. Now, when any religion demands its way be universallyaccepted, and does so through the imposition of death, misery, destruction or intolerance for others beliefs, then, that is wrong in every sense of the word. I am including in this statement all the worlds religions and ideologies. Here is a very simply way to test religions – Is there peace within your faith? Honestly! Is there peace around that religion? What has history proven about that religion and its respect for human life?
Is there peace on earth? Has there ever been peace on earth? Why?

Hammad replied:  no there is no peace in present practice of my faith. present faith followers are not capable enough to implement it in its original spirit. more than 1400 years have been passed since its revelation. It needs followers of high personal attributes/character. I think that from western countries my faith can find potential for its purification. people among you may be the required mentors of my faith.

Hammad:

if western countries want to sustain what they have achieved they must think of switching.

Thank  you for your time as well Hammad.  The Faith of my forefathers and family has a 2000 year history. They too claim peace as their way.  All of the worlds faiths claim peace on earth as their way, or at least their goal.  The problem however is that none of our actions since ‘revelation’, as you put it, either in the west or the east, has shown a willingness to actually engage in peace either within their own fold and especially outside the fold.  The claim for peace is prefaced with this -“as long as you switch to our way”.  Every religion has done that, or made that caveat to their proclamation of ‘peace on earth’.

Is it not true that humans have died in massive numbers on all sides over religious ideologies  for thousands of years?  I know from the Quran that all human life is sacred in your faith. If you know the writings of the people of the way (Christians), and those of the Torah, or of the Vedic writings, then you know as well as I do  that all have said that love and peace and tolerance are taught as cornerstones in each one.  But, the reality is that from the very first days of ‘revelation’, as you put it, there have been wars and communities of fellow human beings were wiped from the face of the earth for no other reason than that they failed to accept the “”obvious”” rightness of a particular faith.  What then is the real problem?

Yes there are people and groups within each faith that bring dishonor and disrespect to the original teachings.  It would serve those religions with great honor and respect throughout the world if believers within those faiths stood up and challenged those who dishonor the teachings of the prophets – whether those prophets were Jesus or Muhammed, David or Abraham.  Here is a simple test – if the actions of a set of beliefs encourages any disrespect for others views or the killing of others because they have failed to accept the’rightness’ of your ways or the destruction of peoples arts and literature then that is wrong.  In that case then it is obvious to all that the very foundations of those beliefs must be changes.  All human life is to be valued.  It does not matter that they do not believe the same, or look the same, or if their culture and language or religion is the same.  It only matters that we are all brothers and sisters on this planet.  That is to be respected and honored. If that is not the central premise proven by actions, then the teachings are wrong.

Do we as a people of this earth have the honesty and honor and strength to confront truth openly – not just the truth as it is taught in a particular way or faith, but the whole truth?  I ask myself this – Do I have the courage to look first in the mirror of self reflection and decide that this is right and good, or that this is not right and must be changed?  Am I willing to honestly evaluate my beliefs and the true history of those beliefs, or am I not strong enough to face the truth? Would it better for me to go on and keep my head buried in the sand, and just continue to ignore those things that are without question wrong in all our beliefs?  It is very easy to see if there are errors in the teachings and writing of our historical leaders – if another human has lost his life because he or she disagreed, or if I have been inconsiderate and intolerant toward others because of my beliefs, then I must change. My way has then been proven to be godless or allahless if you will.

Peace on earth and goodwill toward all – that message is christian, muslim, jewish, vedic,..all of them.  Let’s change all our ways to reflect that simple truth. If our way does not fit that, then we must change….Simple, but hard.

Thank  you for your time as well Hammad.  The Faith of my forefathers and family has a 2000 year history. They too claim peace as their way.  All of the worlds faiths claim peace on earth as their way, or at least their goal.  The problem however is that none of our actions since ‘revelation’, as you put it, either in the west or the east, has shown a willingness to actually engage in peace either within their own fold and especially outside the fold.  The claim for peace is prefaced with this -“as long as you switch to our way”.  Every religion has done that, or made that caveat to their proclamation of ‘peace on earth’.
Is it not true that humans have died in massive numbers on all sides over religious ideologies  for thousands of years?  I know from the Quran that all human life is sacred in your faith. If you know the writings of the people of the way (Christians), and those of the Torah, or of the Vedic writings, then you know as well as I do  that all have said that love and peace and tolerance are taught as cornerstones in each one.  But, the reality is that from the very first days of ‘revelation’, as you put it, there have been wars and communities of fellow human beings were wiped from the face of the earth for no other reason than that they failed to accept the “”obvious”” rightness of a particular faith.  What then is the real problem?
Yes there are people and groups within each faith that bring dishonor and disrespect to the original teachings.  It would serve those religions with great honor and respect throughout the world if believers within those faiths stood up and challenged those who dishonor the teachings of the prophets – whether those prophets were Jesus or Muhammed, David or Abraham.  Here is a simple test – if the actions of a set of beliefs encourages any disrespect for others views or the killing of others because they have failed to accept the’rightness’ of your ways or the destruction of peoples arts and literature then that is wrong.  In that case then it is obvious to all that the very foundations of those beliefs must be changes.  All human life is to be valued.  It does not matter that they do not believe the same, or look the same, or if their culture and language or religion is the same.  It only matters that we are all brothers and sisters on this planet.  That is to be respected and honored. If that is not the central premise proven by actions, then the teachings are wrong.
Do we as a people of this earth have the honesty and honor and strength to confront truth openly – not just the truth as it is taught in a particular way or faith, but the whole truth?  I ask myself this – Do I have the courage to look first in the mirror of self reflection and decide that this is right and good, or that this is not right and must be changed?  Am I willing to honestly evaluate my beliefs and the true history of those beliefs, or am I not strong enough to face the truth? Would it better for me to go on and keep my head buried in the sand, and just continue to ignore those things that are without question wrong in all our beliefs?  It is very easy to see if there are errors in the teachings and writing of our historical leaders – if another human has lost his life because he or she disagreed, or if I have been inconsiderate and intolerant toward others because of my beliefs, then I must change. My way has then been proven to be godless or allahless if you will.
Peace on earth and goodwill toward all – that message is christian, muslim, jewish, vedic,..all of them.  Let’s change all our ways to reflect that simple truth. If our way does not fit that, then we must change….Simple, but hard.

Comments on Social Media – — stating our opinions..

That is what makes this a very unique medium. We can share our opinions, explore what others from differing backgrounds and places think,and, hopefully, if we haven’t become too jaded in our own insular views, we can grow. The one thing that is very apparent as I connect and communicate with people from every walk of life, every religious background, and many different cultures and nations on earth, is that we are all, for the most part, absolutely convinced of the “rightness’ of our particularly closely held views and interpretation of events and happenings. We view the world through glasses of our own design. But when we take the first step to walk in others shoes, then we will begin the challenging process of actually seeing the bigger picture of what true ‘rightness’ is.
The beauty of humanity is that not only are many of us different in language, culture and look, but we perceive our world from our own biases. Communicating reveals those biases, and brings them into the light of day. Our opinions matter. Our backgrounds matter. Those opinions and backgrounds are to be respected and honored. Likewise however, we should be willing to explore the possibility that people everywhere see things through their own dark lenses. And, so do we.
More often than not, people tend to keep their opinions to themselves because of two general reasons. The first of those reasons, and probably the most significant, is that we do not want or like confrontation or challenges to those opinions. We prefer to have our opinions go unchallenged. That way we avoid the possibility of having to change. The second reason is that we are generally afraid that our close friends and family may not understand us, or think that somehow we changed so much that they will not recognize us, or even accept us for who we are and that we do have opinions that are different.
Anyway, your opinions are important, and they do matter.

Our differences,….past, present and future.

Well, it seems that baseless inflammatory rhetoric trumps intelligent discourse for many people in the world today-like in the dark ages..WOW Do you suppose they will get to hanging dissenters and academia too….maybe we should re-visit the “Foundation” Trilogy.

Lawal Olanrewaju Kazzym Success said  “May be we should revisit dat”

Marguerite Walker said  “What?”

ME:  I was commenting on the inflammatory rhetoric of those on the far far right…in reference to an encounter on twitter with a young educated person who chooses to just fan the flames of fear and anger in our country rather than seek intelligent discourse. I will typically comment on things that are obviously indefensible and unprovable non-sense on all kinds of topics.

Just venting…….LOL, but my comment about re-visiting the “Foundation” Trilogy would be a great case study, though fictionalized, of history over very long periods of time…..

The Foundation books and the Foundation Trilogy were a series of books written by isaac Asimov – One of the very best Sci-Fi writers on the planet. Asimov coined the word – Psycho-history – in his Foundation series.
He also wrote ‘I Robot’, from which a movie of the same name was made.

Ronnie V. Thompson said:   “come back to planet earth, please. lois”

Me:   never left……lol hey cuz, there are things much bigger and more significant than many of the things we MUST deal with on a daily basis, though local issues are extremely important…Hopefully, the ideas I mention will help many others to think on a larger more global scale outside of their normal comfort zones, and to appreciate the fact that we are bound to each other throughout all the earth. Cultural, ethnic, religious, and political differences should be respected and honored but not allowed to perpetuate continued division and animosity around the globe.

So I reach out and talk and discuss these things with whomever around our world is willing to honestly and openly debate on these topics with an open mind, myself included. Basically, I am engaging people everywhere in a global conversation about all the things that divide us, and those things that should unite us. But, planet earth, IS really what it is all about….the whole thing, and all it’s wonderfully diverse and great people.

The origins of humanity, and the elasticity and mutation of cultures over time.

African History From Newsweek –  posted by Jamon Jordan on Facebook……

“According to geneticists, the tracing of humanity’s mitochondrial DNA has proven that ALL human bein…”

ME;    Jamon: Yes, all of humanity originated out of Africa. So the idea that color, the shape of our eyes, or the type of hair we have has anything at all to do with things that matter has once again been proven to be irrevocably insignificant. It also means that the differences that have arisen in languages and beliefs (religious or otherwise) are also not important or valid.

Response by: Oya Amakisi ” I disagree. Culture is the impetus that moves humanity. Racism, sexism, class, etc are not valid. I don’t want to live in a world where our differences are not honored and respected.”

ME;   Our differences should make us stronger as a global community. Yes! Of course we should honor and respect our differences, but when those differences are used as a means to justify the imposition of misery or death or destruction or intolerance on others simply because they are different, or that they don’t believe the same way, then that my friend is wrong.
Yes! We are different, outwardly, but we are still the same. Genetically, there is not a person on earth who can not trace his or her ancestry from Africa. You! Me! We’re all the same. We may look and act differently, but we are still cousins and family. Beyond all the obvious outward differences such as culture, language, religions, ethnicity, politics, national origins, we are undeniably the same. We are brothers and sisters of this diverse and fascinating human family. Don’t you think we should start treating each other as family?

Response by Jamon Jordan:    “Biologically, we are ONE human family. It is culture/ethnicity that has a stronger connection to our identities.”

ME;    True! But only because it is more recent in time. Culture and ideologies and religions shift and mutate over relatively short periods of time, whereas our physical differences occurred over the past 75,000 years – a far longer period of time. The more we communicate and expand our connections globally, the more open societies are to allowingdiversity and contact among peoples around the world, then we will see the inevitable blending of cultures, ideas and concepts. This type of blending and assimilation of cultures is historically based. It happens all the time. But now the world is connected as never before. Over time you will see people trying to hold desperately to the old ways while the world around them grows up and matures beyond the current state of culture, ideologies, and even ethnicity.
I know for my part, cousin, I am working to establish connections globally to encourage and strengthen those things we have in common, while respecting and honoring our differences.

Response by Jamon Jordan:   “No disagreement with me. Cultures change, people who were connected become less so as time passes and changes are made, and by the same token, people who are not culturally connected become more so as time passes.”

Tolerance and God

Shittu:

Tolerance is the issue. Respect for all views and beliefs is also inextricably connected to the issue of tolerance. There should be no question anywhere in the world about whether tolerance and respect are singularly important- including EU, America and the various Islamic States.

But, the reality is intolerance is and has been the norm – everywhere -more so in the middle east than elsewhere. Now don’t get me wrong, intolerance of others views and ways is also rampant in the west. Let me try to explain why that is the case in just one example – recently, a Muslim man living in Arizona ran over and killed his own daughter because he claimed she was dishonoring his family by becoming too westernized – she wanted to dress like any American young person. His actions were to say the very least godless or allahless if you will. His actions portray the definition of intolerance. That is the perception many in the world have about the teachings of the Quran. Right or wrong that is the way it is perceived.

My point is this, tolerance can only be obtained for your views when it is also explicitly taught and observed within your views. If you want tolerance and acceptance and respect, then it must be proven to exist in that ‘faith’ as well.You can not demand tolerance and acceptance for your views when it has been shown repeatedly not to exist within your views. But it IS NOT the exclusive problem of just the Muslim faith.

This problem of intolerance also applies ALL the worlds’ religions. Between the various faiths, and even withing those faiths, there is taught and encouraged separation and angst and fear and animosity toward those who are not like them. There has been more death and destruction and intolerance and misery inflicted on non-believers in the name of god or allah or yahweh (and all others) than for all other reasons combined throughout history. This is still true today. There is a solution.

Would you not agree that this MUST STOP? Intolerance is a symptom of the bigger issue. And that issue that one group believes with all their heart and mind and soul that their way is the only true and right way, and say “Why can’t you see that I’m telling you the truth?” What is the solution to this problem Shittu? How should this be resolved?

War and Peace, religions, ideologies -Allah, God, Yahweh-revisited

Habib:  Thanks for  your concerns, but  no conflict or trouble has been caused by your comments. We are attempting to openly and honestly access why there has been no peace on earth – even within the confines and boundaries of any one particular religion or even under the auspices of certain teachers and prophets.

Here is what we know from current world affairs and from verifiable provable history concerning whether there has been peace on earth either within a religious ideology or without.  These actions are the proof of whether any religion or god in their current forms is capable of bringing peace to the world today.

The only real and honest way to appraise the determination of religions and ideologies in their definition and application of and pursuit of peace is to look at actions over time. A historical analysis of this type will show even the most skeptical where the problem resides.  Naturally, those things that blind us to the real truth, whether it’s scales over our eyes or veils over our face, will resist, sometimes violently, acknowledging that truth. In other words, the truth hurts.  Most will not even confront the truth, but would rather argue and fight back and continue to keep their heads in the sand to hold onto something they know deep down inside is wrong.

In the Christian faith, In the name of Jesus,the Prince of Peace, Protestant and Catholic groups attack and destroy each other in Ireland. In the name of God and Jesus, whole groups and families and communities were wiped from the face of the earth throughout Europe simply because they wanted to hold onto their Nordic beliefs. Jews were hunted, tortured and killed. In the America’s Mayan beliefs, art and literature was eliminated, and in the middle east Jews and Muslims were killed as well.  Today, in various parts of the world, Christians, who profess to believe in the peace taught by god and Jesus,  and Muslims, who also profess to believe in the peace taught by Muhammed and Allah, attack and kill each other. As you well know, there are innumerable examples of actions of Christians not behaving god-like.

Now, on to Muslim actions. Peace is in your name and in the teachings of Muhammed, Moses, Abraham, David, as it is in the Christian and Jewish faiths, but the reality is not peace. Muslims have swept into communities and regions and offered the residents a choice – either accept our way or die.  Christians and Jews and other faiths have been rounded up and slaughtered in the name of Allah, at the direction of this or that prophet or teacher.  And, just like Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and  others, Muslims have killed each other over differences of interpretation and are doing so even today.  Great works of art and literature have been destroyed because it did not match a particular set of rules as defined in the Muslim faith.

Every religion on earth claims peace as their own, but none apply it to themselves or those around them. They claim it. They speak it. But they DO NOT apply it.  What is their excuse?  If only you believed the way we do, then you would have peace.  Or, If we can convert the whole world to our way,….but, that has been shown to not work either.

It has been proven over and over again that as long as two people are able to think for themselves, they will disagree about religious interpretations and applications. So, what is the solution?  How do we move toward global peace, and not  kind of  ‘peace’ defined by religions and gods and prophets? We need a definition of peace that transcends ideology.  To do that we must teach and educate the entire world about this concept independent of religion, from a global and realistic perspective.

What do you think?  Is there a solution?  What would your solution be?  And, Why?  Try this – try not to think inside a set of specific parameters defined by your faith.  Try instead to rationally evaluate the problem and offer a real solution.

Religion and peace –the two are incompatible

Lynette:  Thanks for your insightful comments. And, yes your comments are welcome.  My personal hope is that love is the answer to having and spreading peace. It must be a ‘love’ that is more appropriately defined as respect and honor for others regardless of whether they are just like you or not, regardless of whether they believe like you or not.  But again, we have the same problem – defining love from the perspective of the “law” as given to us by religious formality, or defining it from a personal one on one experience – regardless of whether that experience is prophetic or existential.

Love too is also taught and expressed by the worlds religions through their prophets, teachers and leaders – including Jesus, Muhammed, Shiva, etc.  In reality and typically the love they teach is of two distinct kinds – one for those in the faith, and another for those outside of the faith. Each type has differing forms of expressions. In the faith – peace, unity (in small groups anyway), common goals and objectives, etc.  For those outside of the faith – love is expressed in the form of ‘let me show you how right I am by the teachings and words of our books and letters”, and “we love you so much that we are going to help you exit this world before it’s too late for you”.

Within each of the worlds religions, there is a way to attain peace – a peace that transcends religions and borders. Getting believers to see that truth is the challenge the entire planet faces. It will require education, knowledge and information, and connecting with the world.  It will require that we focus our efforts on showing that all people are truly the same and that we have a common ancestral connection to all other people throughout the world.

There will never be peace on a global scale as long as innumerable prophets and teachers and religious leaders, throughout time and currently, maintain that their way to achieve peace is the only true and right way. That particular  path to peace is the same that has been tried unsuccessfully down through time. It’s myopic and ultimately destructive to those who think their way is better than yours. So in an effort to avoid the same conundrum where we are doing the same things over and over again hoping to get a different result, we must pursue a different path.  We must walk a path that seeks to rein in those ideological views that teaches and encourages an attitude of superiority to the adherents of any and all religions. This can only be done through a global program of scientifically based education which is done in a way that is non-threatening and subtle.  Education and re-enforcing our common connections and doing everything possible to give the United Nations the authority to act decisively in the best interest of our world will help greatly toward the goal of peace.  That appears to be the only rational way for there to be peace on earth and goodwill to all.

What are your suggestions?  How would you solve the problem?

Response to my friend Habib about discussions on peace

No my friend, and with all due respect to your beliefs, as you well know, all of them purport to believe in and teach peace.  The Christians teach every Sunday School child about the ‘Prince of Peace’ and that Jesus is all for ‘peace on earth, and good will toward all men’.  As you know in your own faith, peace is in your name, and in the teachings of Muhammed and the other prophets – including Moses, Abraham, and David, which also by definition and association, is therefore in the Jewish faith too. It’s in the teachings of Buddha and the Hindi.

Peace was also the ‘nature’ of the Mayans, but they maintained it through human sacrifice. Todays religions have modernized the sacrifice concept,we don’t kill just one person anymore. Now we justify the destruction of whole groups of human beings in the name of peace and our god, and don’t feel the slightest remorse since it is validated in our writings.

No!  Peace is inherently included in all religions – it’s the interpretation and application of that definition where constant global conflict continues as it has throughout time.  When each religion demands that the world recognize that their way to peace is the only true and right way that then opens the door to justifying the imposition of that particular will and way on unbelievers by whatever means – ie. violence, death, misery, intolerance of others’ views and ideas, destruction of persons and property because it doesn’t fit the ‘word’ or the ‘book’.

The pursuit of peace, as it is defined by the worlds religions, has resulted in more death and destruction throughout history than by any other reason.  Even if the entire world were converted to just one religion, there would still be dissenting views by those who believe fervently that their interpretation of the teachings and writings is more right than yours – brother would still kill brother over the ‘word’.

What is the solution?  How can the people of the world resolve this issue?  As long as one says that my way is the only true and right way, and if you don’t or can’t accept the “obvious’ truth of these ‘holy’ words, then not only are you going to ‘hell’, but if you refuse long enough, these ‘holy’ teachings encourage me to help you get there, then the issue will not be resolved.

But, if all people will honestly look at the writings of their religious leaders and prophets, and decide that if any human is dying at our hands, or if I am being intolerant, or if I’m wiping these people and their art and literature from the face of the earth for the sake of my religion, then we must stand up and claim to the world – this is not our way.  We will change it to respect and honor all people and their beliefs.  If we can not or will not do that, then our teachings must be changed, and those leaders and prophets are wrong.  Those teachings are obviously wrong.

What should we do?  How do we get back to the core value that all humanity is of great value in and of itself – whether they believe or think like us or not.  Education. Connecting to the world.  Showing all people that there is a better way.  A way that supports, teaches and encourages rational peace and tolerance and acceptance of all peoples – in their current situation.

It’s a truly global initiative. we must stand up and stop all those teachings that do not match their own words.  Peace can be achieved, but all the worlds religions must change to get there.

further analysis of the worlds religions and their gods (allah, yahweh, shiva,etc)

^^written in response to a blog posting about explorations in religion^^

Very thoughtful analysis. So let me get this straight, you’re a deist,… maybe.

I too make a clear distinction between religions and god or allah or yahweh, but most of the world does not make that disassociation. However, the only way to correctly explain religion and to evaluate the effect religion has had on society globally is to determine whether those religions act or have acted with good intent toward all people throughout history. Since religions purport to carry out the wishes of their respective god or gods, as those wishes are interpreted in the minds of men, then in reality it is impossible to separate the two concepts.  So then we are left with analyzing the actions of the adherents of the worlds religions as a way to understanding the intent of their god or gods as that intent is understood in the minds of those adherents. In other words, actions will accurately portray their religions and their god(s) or allah or whomever. It is then left up to us to decide if that particular god (allah, yahweh, shiva, etc)actually deserves our respect and ‘faith’.

Personally, after reviewing and studying history, science and religions, and having been ‘brought up’ as a charismatic christian in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, none have earned my respect or faith.  All have fallen short. All have been the source and cause of more misery, death, destruction and intolerance throughout history, and even today, than all other reasons combined.

My blogs explain my reservations in a little more detail –

Jesus, Muhammed, Yahweh, Allah, God – Why is there no peace on earth? http://wp.me/pLtX8-1x

Our world unified – A modern rational world view http://wp.me/pLtX8-1l