Re: Longevity Report--> War is a Disease

From: Philip Deitiker (Donevenask_at_worlnet.att.net)
Date: 07/31/04 

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2004 23:34:57 GMT

rso456@airmail.net (Ray Audette) says in
news:75a01e37.0407311350.4e140041@posting.google.com:

> roger_pearse@yahoo.co.uk (Roger Pearse) wrote in message
> (Ray Audette) wrote in message
>> > The most common reason for war in the world today is
>> > Religion. This includes the one were in if one believes
>> > George W. or the captives in Guantanamo.
>>
>> Yet you live your life by it.
>
> As does anyone who lives in a civilized society. All laws
> and rights have their basis in religious beliefs. Is it
> wrong to examine and questions the biological factors that
> led to those beliefs? I thought that was a goal of
> anthropology.
>
>
>>Currently your high priests
>> are turning Africa back to barbarism, murdering the
>> unborn, promoting the most hideous diseases and vices, and
>> encouraging every tin-pot despot in the world in every
>> brutality imaginable. Why do you dedicate your life to so
>> sleazy a way? But I suspect you write in order to abuse
>> the religion of others, rather than apologise for your
>> own. If so, I'm sorry to see it.
>>
> I'm not African, nor is my religion. I am tolerant of all
> religious beliefs having lived with Christians, Jews,
> Muslims, and Native Americans. The co-author of my book
> Troy Gilchrist is a practicing Buddist who resides in
> Vietnam to better follow his faith. My own brother is an
> ordained Christian minister and I have cousins who are
> Catholic priests and nuns. I even respect creationists
> such as Ed Conrad having booked them on several occasions
> as speakers in my capacity as a Board member of the Dallas
> Philosophers Forum (1985-2002).

I think what he is saying is that the war between islam and
christianity has now focused on africa, and it has become a
winner take all in Eastern and immediate sub-saharan africa.
While Islam professes ethnic tolerance, what is happening in
west africa is sometimes genocidal. Where as the christian
religions have not quelled african violence, and now many
a religious (tribal) H/G groups are being put into danger in
africa. Africa will become the next afganistan, and the next
"Osama bin Laden" will build himself in Africa.
  The basic problem as I see it is that this diffuse
thing called American Christianity is not suitable for africa at
the moment, Islam and Orthodox Christianity are better suited to
the evolution of belief in africa. Even Roman catholicism is too
liberal and will fail. Since Orthodoxy is not real popular
amoung western nations, it means that Islam will spread and
christianity will ebb in africa.

  The acute danger of the war in Iraq is that while the world is
focused on Iraq, these disease that led to 9/11 is spreading
elsewhere, out of the camera lens, out of the politicians eyes,
and outside of our feild of view. If you think fighting a war in
Afganistan is difficult, it should be pointed out that the
Rwandan rebels has been carrying around hostages and slaves
since the Tutsi/Hutu conflict.
  Africa has a disease with which there is no cure except
education and compassion, children are being raised without
parents, the europeans stole african tribal structure and
replaced it with 'nothing'. In the ruin of african tribal
society any demagog can walk in and become father to the
fatherless children, and from these orphans he will raise an
army, and with that army he will attack those who ignored the
orphans plight or whoever he sees fit.

I am not tolerant of all religions. I try to understand them.
However it is not my business to dictate my beliefs to people of
different beliefs. As a matter of point I think all religions
have got it right and got it wrong, some more than others. The
point about spirituality is that it is an essence of humanity,
and most religions indirectly address the social cause and the
unity issue; however they all digress into pedanticisms that can
be the basis for the next war. I have noticed even beloved
christians, if they do not find support for thier cause in the
bible, they invent it and ignore the criticism of that behavior.
That is religion, it gives cause for people who look for it,
spirituality is not about given cause, but giving caution. Now
you might entertaine Mr. Conrad, but I tell that Mr. Conrad is a
polluter, and has repeatedly posted in forums in which he is not
welcome, and used numerous curse words, pollutive and defamatory
thread titles, etc.
  I think many many religious and spiritual leaders from all
walks of existance have something to say; however, not
everything they say needs to be said. But ask yourself, would
you tolerate a fool coming into your house courting your
children, taking your stuff, and cursing you as he leaves. Would
you allow a drunken mob to come into your favorite pristine
place, kill its animals, take its trees and leave it in ruin.
Would you allow an unshaven bum to defecate on your carpet?
Tolerance has the requirement that the person who is to be
tolerated is civil, desires to interact in a civil manner, and
when his words are no longer welcome, he leaves in a civil
manner. A civil person does not barge into a room saying, 'Now
where did I leave off last time, oh yeah . [pollution,
pollution, pollution]. . .'
  Religion does not breed wars. Religion and War is at the
footstool of greed and ignorance, animistic desires of the
individual. You can dress it up and call you what you want, but
taking the rights of an ethnic group to govern themselves as
they see fit, upon yourself, is foolishness. Killing them in the
name of god only if your god is is named 'diablo'. Christianity
from the start was not built with swords but with words and
spirituality. The first 'official' church of Christianity killed
off those disagreed with them, including christians and
christianity has been rebuilding itself ever since. Buddism did
not stop Yamamoto from attacking pearl harbor, it shared beleif
with the chinese did not stop the Nanking massacre. In fact if
you look at some of the modern literature about buddhism it is
very much more religious than the initial teachings of buddhism.
Islam was a religion about enlightenment, it was putting the
good of society and unity above tribal beliefs, and yet what
Islam is today is about tribalistic sects of Islam. Are the
people in western Sudan also not muslim? Has Hinduism unified
India? No, it was the British that did that. If religion cannot
stop war between its own believers, can it be blamed for
starting wars between itself and those who do not believe.
Spirituality can stop wars, religion can neither start or stop
wars, since it is mearly a wrapper of animistic desires, and
even from the study of chimpanzee we can see the basis for war
is animism, survival of the fitest individual, troup, tribe,
people, nation, . . . .

And BTW and to the point. Is GW Bush any different from those
that puts NA on reservations, is he any different from those
that interned the Japanese in WWII. In 30 years from now the US
will be paying off people unlawfully interned around the world.
Currently it owes the native tribes of the US >$10 billion
dollars for uncollected fees related to mineral rights. Is he
any different from the Jews who progressively stole the land of
palestinians under the British and then Under their own rule.
The assassins that killed a UN negotiator eventually went on to
rule Isreal, and yet the palestinians are blamed for the 1948/49
war. Are the Turks, Syrians and Iranians not occupying
kurdistan each for different reasons and who declared the
boundaries for their lands? Did not moa steal tibet? Who
declared russia to be sovern over the Evenk, Chukchi, Buriat?
Where is it written in the Japanese constitution that the Ainu
shall live by their own law. Where is the biaka state, and in
which parliment do the !kung rule? Who sold the rainforest to
the brazilians?
  What they all have in common is they take as they see fit, and
if they are fit then those they have taken from will go. That is
the way of Darwin, whatever they might profess. You can take
whatever idealistic regime you have in the world, but as long as
wealth and power are on the table, anyone can walk up to the
table, put enough money down, and farmer joe is going to be
walking, hunter fred is going to be carving toothpicks. 

-- 
Philip
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