[Arktwo] War Causes Religion

[Bruce Beach]

How many times I hear from people
that "religion causes war".

I actually propose
and hope for -
the null hypotheses,
but it is well that we consider
the anti-thesis of 'religion causes war'.

First -
a word to all the mathematicians out there -
about the subject of 'null hypothesis' -
"Scat!"

What brings the subject to the fore -
is Bush's statement this week about
"The Third Awakening".

Washington Post

	http://tinyurl.com/harrm

New York Times

	http://tinyurl.com/kyuz2


The First Great Awakening refers to a wave of Christian fervor in the
American colonies from about 1730 to 1760,

while the Second Great Awakening is generally believed to have occurred from
1800 to 1830.

[Culminating in the
"Great Expectation"
or sometimes called
the "Great Disappointment"
of 1844. -

But that is another story.]

There have also been
great religious revivals
in other countries, cultures, and religions.
Many Muslims think one is taking place now -
in Islam.

Many today
see the world on the verge
of a clash of cultures
greater than that
which occurred during the "Crusades".

It is not just one culture that is clashing.
Certainly the Hindu culture in India -
is in an intensifying clash
with the Islamic culture in Pakistan.

The Jewish Culture
(if you haven't noticed)
is in an intensifying clash
with the Islamic culture in Palestine.

There are even clashes within cultures -
such as that between the Shiites and Sunnis
in Iraq -
and I won't go into the subject of Eurabia.

The one common denominator
to all of the above
is of course Islam.

Mind you -
the Japanese, Korean, Chinese cultures
are also clashing -
and atheistic cultures
are clashing with theistic ones
such as in Tibet.

Two score years ago - this year,
Time Magazine announced -
"God is Dead".
It was about that time
that I resigned my membership
in the ACLU -
when it lost its tolerance for religion.
[Sometimes I regret having done so -
and feel that I should have remained
to continue the battle within.]

The battle has gone continuously,
since then,
to the favour of the anti-religion forces.
They would remove God
from the Pledge of Allegiance,
from the American Dollar,
from oaths of office,
from scrollwork about the courthouses.

The opponents of religion
have a faith of their own -
in Scientism -
based in materiality and without any
moral absolutes.
It too has various 'denominations'
such as humanism, atheism, agnosticism,
[I know the difference in the definitions]
but in total they are a camp
over and against religion.

As stated previously -
the forces of anti-religion
have been on the upswing
for many years.
This is evidenced in the language
and actions
on TV and in movies.
The most immoral personal and sexual relationships
are depicted regularly
in a manner that no one would have thought possible
when I was coming up as a boy.

This same immorality
of disregard for former standards of behaviour
and seeking for personal gratification
and self-interest -
finds itself expressed
not only in the literature and music of the times
but also in school behaviour
corporate behaviour
and standards in the courts.

The disintegration of morals and ethics
permeates every aspect of modern society
from treatment and torture of prisoners -
to the complete perversion of elections
and the ballot boxes,
and the destruction of the environment.

It is most evident
in the field of international dealings
with its complete blindness
to social and economic justice
for other nations -
and claims of sovereignty and self-interest as justification for actions
that are immoral.

>From a religious and moral viewpoint -
society is not about to breakdown -
it has already broken down.
While the advocates of one religion or another
are quick to point out the failures of others -
all the major religions have collapsed
as regarding spiritual values.

>From the practice of celibacy in the Catholic Church -
to the internal practice of Jihad in Islam -
one religion criticizes another
on their obvious shortcomings.

But the real failures of religion
are not seen -
either by its critics
or its adherents.

Most Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, of the day
support religious, racial and cultural
intolerance in all their congregations.
They strongly advocate patriotism and militarism.
They directly support materialism and consumerism.

They tolerate the practices of immorality
in dress, consumption and sexuality.
Islamists would claim the very opposite -
and say that is their strength -
but they are as blind
to their spiritual shortcomings
in fostering dogmatism, conformity, and hatred
as are those in other religions.

This litany
of the failure of religions
would seem to some
to be justification
for dispensing with religion -
but these are the failures of religions
not the failure of religion
anymore than the manufacturing of nuclear weapons
is a failure science.

Those who practice religion or science
need to adhere to the Divine Principles
of the love of God
and service to their fellow human beings.

Science without religion (God)
can no more benefit humanity
than can religion without science.
The two are the same coin of reality.
One cannot have the front side -
without having the back side.

Those who preach the dogmatism
of science without religion
benefit humanity no more
than those who preach
the dogmatisms of religion.

True spirituality
seeks both the Love and Wisdom of God -
and these must be reflected in practice
just as much as must be
the axioms and theorems of science
in order to be of benefit to humankind.

So now we come to the
"Third Awakening".
The question is -
is it an awakening
to the spiritual nature of religion -
or a revitalizing of the forces of
dogmatism.

Unfortunately,
in the East and the West -
in Islam and Christianity -
it appears to be the latter.

Nevertheless,
consciousness is astir.
Dread undoubtedly causes concern
and an inclination to seek
assistance and refuge from every quarter.
The old saying is:
	"There are no atheists
	 in foxholes."
Nor aboard ships
in the midst of the throes of hurricanes.

But,
such short fear situations
most often do not reform
the character of the soul -
and once the crisis passes
so do avowals to reformation.

Individually and collectively
humanity may be getting some intimations
of the need for spiritual reformation.
May chance -
that the cataclysmic events that I anticipate -
will provide such a deep seated searing
on the psyche of humanity as a whole -
that it will turn from
science without religion -
and religion without spirit.

But -
at this moment the storm simply rages.
Religious hatreds and animosities
continue to mount.
Growing religious fervour
means just growing religious animosity
in the same way that
growing scientific achievement means
growing weapons of mass destruction.

As I stand between the drawn battle lines
and utter my call for peace -
the only response that I hear
from either side is -
"It is the other side that is wrong -
and God is on our side."

Truly -
God is on the side of humanity -
but humanity knows it not.

---------
Well,
to end with a bit of news -
as to where all this is going.

September 13, 2006

Until Wednesday night, the Shiite terror group stood by its consent to the
Lebanese army on the border with Israel handling any military problems or
clashes with Israel, with Hizballah assisting. Now, Hizballah has gone back
on this deal and announced that henceforth its own forces will no longer
wait for the Lebanese army to act but send its own forces into action
against Israel. This is the first time since the UN-brokered went into
effect on July 14 that Hizballah has threatened direct military action
against Israel.

This also opens the way for its men to shoot at any Israeli aircraft
entering Lebanese skies and any naval craft in Lebanese waters. In a second
statement, Hizballah warned Berlin that German troops posted at Lebanese air
ports, seaports or Lebanese-Syrian border posts would be legitimate targets
for attack. The warning came just hours after the German government approved
a 2,400 naval and air contingent for the UN Lebanon force.

The Hizballah threat applied also to all the foreign contingents serving
with expanded UNIFIL, thereby limiting their area of operation to the border
with Israel.

http://tinyurl.com/l8tb2


-----------
And here is one from science.
What is interesting about this is that
but ten years ago
such an idea would have been considered
to be completely on the lunatic fringe.
The HAB Theory had to be written as SF.

The Day the Earth Fell Over --
(Live Science -- August 25, 2006)
http://tinyurl.com/pcooz

The Earth might have spun on its side to keep its balance in the distant
past, and could do so again. A new theory known as true polar wander
suggests that if a very heavy object, like an oversized volcano forms far
from the equator, the force of the planet's rotation would pull the object
away from the axis the Earth spins around. This could make the Earth tilt
and rotate itself until the extra weight moves somewhere near the equator.

---------
 As for the going-on with the Pope -
I wouldn't touch that one
with a ten foot Pole.

(Sheesh -
why couldn't I think of that one -
during the previous administration :)

===========
Hearing from people willing to help with Ark Two -
but to be practical -
you need to live in Southern Ontario -
or be willing to come here.

Peace and love,
Bruce
DawnSayer@webpal.org