THIS PAGE HAS BEEN MOVED
If you are not redirected to its new location in a few seconds, please click here
DON'T FORGET TO UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS!
PEACE AND RELIGION
"Our truth is the only truth"
Training Handout
Can religions have been at the root of so much war and so many atrocities?
It is ironic that most major religions today
preach the value of peace and tolerance, yet religions lay behind many
military conflicts and violence.
The problem lies in the notion that when
some people have a belief, they then claim that it is the only one which
is valid or permissible.
The idea can be put as, “we support peace
and tolerance so long as you recognize that only we have the only
truth.”
Since religions are based on the non rational
method of knowing, ie. belief, then it is inevitable that there will be
different interpretations about the nature of God, and what God might tell
us to do.
This, therefore, is the recipe for conflict and violence.
Its force is increased today with a religion
which supports the notion of martyrdom and willingness to kill in the name
of God, and commit suicide for doing so, so as to reach a reward
in heaven.
If God is not satisfied with a single species
of beetle, why would God want a single religion? (There are hundreds of
thousands of beetle species).
Many universal religions, ie those which
seek converts, assume an ethnocentric notion, that they are better than
other religions.
The Christian use of upper case letters to
begin the word "God," is one subtle way this is manifested, while they
use lower case letters to begin the word "gods" of other
religions.
The use of the word "spirits" to designate
the great animal Gods of First Nations religions, is another way to demean
the belief systems of non Christians. The missionaries in West
Africa called the local Gods and their followers as "fetish."
This ethnocentrism is one of the motivating
factors that results in conflict based upon religious beliefs.
If Christianity means to value peace, forgiveness,
love and tolerance, then count me as one. If, in contrast, it means
irrational beliefs such as taking the life of Christ as historical, notions
such as virgin birth, execution then coming back to life, or other literal
interpretations of the bible, then I am a heretic.
––»«––
If you copy text from this site, please acknowledge the author(s)
and link it back to www.cec.vcn.bc.caThis site is hosted by the Vancouver Community Network (VCN) © Copyright 1967, 1987, 2007 Phil Bartle
Web Design by Lourdes Sada
––»«––Last update:
2011.08.16
|