' Onward CHRISTIAN.....$$$$$$$$$$.....SOLDIERS '

[SparrowHawk]

Thank you E. I would like to read more about it. I think many of these wars are due to cultural differences as much as religious.

 
 
Sounds almost like the "Chicken or the Egg argument. Culture causes many wars. A focal point of most cultures is religion. I think I'l chalk ths one up in the "who Cares" column. Knowing the answer doesn't make those killed as a result of war any less dead.

 

[Ms Tree]

Have not read and doubt I will due to time constraints.

I think it all comes how one decides what's religious and what isnt. If someone thinks they are destine by God to rule the world and they go on a rampage is that a religious war? If someone is an atheist but attacks other religious groups is that a rigorous war?

 

[eolesen]

You can spin it either way. Iraq was a religious war because Bush prayed about it, and the beheading in Oklahoma & the shooting at Fort Hood are classified as workplace violence...

 

[Ms Tree]

Sounds almost like the "Chicken or the Egg argument. Culture causes many wars. A focal point of most cultures is religion. I think I'l chalk ths one up in the "who Cares" column. Knowing the answer doesn't make those killed as a result of war any less dead.

I tend to agree for the most part. Knowing what caused something could assist in preventing it from happening again though.

 

[SparrowHawk]

I tend to agree for the most part. Knowing what caused something could assist in preventing it from happening again though.

 
TRUE! However, with culture and religion I think that ship sailed a long long time ago. The only remedy I see is encouraging mutual respect. Something our Islamic friends seem to have difficulty with right now. Bombing them back to the Stone Age doesn't seem particularly Christian to me though.

 

[eolesen]

Rule #1 in any successful negotiation is to make sure both sides understand what's being said in each other's language.

Right now, the only language the Islamic State seems to understand is violence and intolerance.

So, they made up the ground rules. All we're doing is meeting them on their playing field playing by their game rules. It's unfortunate that our technology is so much better.

 

[signals]

I would like to see that research.

And I am a catholic. Went to catholic schools. My father is a Eucharistic minister.

I also studied the crusades extensively in college. I went to a catholic university.

I, too, was raised a Catholic, and have seen the many wrong teachings that the Catholic Church puts forth. I understand why religion makes people question their true faith. After all it's only an hour a week that we go through a routine and hope we get a better life in the hereafter, but don't give a rat's @$$ if we do or not.

What Catholics and other religions have going for them is that they have political power through their memberships, much like unions. To organized religion it's all about the money.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

The wealth and power of OPEC/big oil, insurance giants, and large banking institutions, are only surpassed by the Catholic Church.

 

[signals]

No kidding? Tell me something I don't know. The Vatican's wealth can wipe out world hunger. Too bad their wealth is in case they are attacked.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

I could become independently wealthy on just a couple of pieces of their real estate in Orlando and Boston.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

You are clueless as to what I am and what I believe.

I do beleive that you are an uneducated, closed-minded person. You should really push away from the video games and read a book sometime.

Close minded is what a libtard calls anybody that won't swallow their libtard B.S.

 

[xUT]

I guess it depends on your point of view.
Granted, there are numerous con artists and nut jobs that use religion as a tool for and ends to a means.
There is Jim Jones, Jim/Tammy Baker, Swaggart... etc,,,
Then we have the plethora of the UN-named that have devoted their lives in poverty to help the helpless.
We don't see these names in the MSM, but they are out there putting their energy and often life at risk.
Only when the media sees an event do some of these people come to light.
You heard of them, as the afterthought.
GOD BLESS those whom devote their lives unconditionally.
Wish I had the FAITH, STRENGTH, POWER to do likewise.
Who knows, my life isn't over yet...
JMHO & PO,
B) xut

 

[SparrowHawk]

Close minded is what a libtard calls anybody that won't swallow their libtard B.S.

 
 
Really? Who Knew?
 
What about the Neo-Con "If it wears a Turban or Burka bomb it" mentality? Is that closed or open minded?.
 
What of thos who reject the notion of Democrats and Republicans as nothing more then two wings on the same Crony Capitalist Bird of Prey?
 
So quick to pass judgement. What does the Bible have to say about being judged?
 
Stand by for a "But the twerrowists are coming"rebuttal.
 
 Ever stop to ponder the fact that since 1953 the US has meddled in the affairs of numerous ME countries on a daily basis. Jumping in bed with the Saudi's with the Nixon/Kissinger Petrodollars scheme and ending Breton Woods.
 
Since you are such a learned scholar with an open mind why don't you explain what the Breton Woods Accord was WITHOUT reading Wikipedia and offer a commentary as to how the ending of Breton Woods and the creation of the Petro Dollar contributed to the Middle East unrest of today? I for one eagerly await your open minded essay.

 

[ChockJockey]

The relationship between religion and conflict is a sticky one.  As someone's mentioned above, religion is oftentimes the primary identifier for a culture and as such when fault lines between or within a people erupt in cultural violence religious affiliation is often the banners people flock around.  Conflicts can have non-religious origins but may nonetheless be fought in a religious context, and there is no shortage in history of monarchs, governments, and clerics motivating their people and armies with religious rhetoric and ensuring them they have the blessing of God in a war that has little to actually do with faith.
 
There have even been some conflicts in which the instigators claimed a religious motivation but were for more likely interested in mainly temporal gain in power, territory, and wealth, such as the Crusaders, Caliphates, and Conquistadors demonstrated; each conveniently finding in their interpretations of holy text the requisite justifications for mass slaughter, graft, and enslavement in the name of God.
 
An individual or society with strongly religious worldviews will likely see any conflict through the prism of faith, regardless its causes.  For fundamentalist societies this holds true absolutely.

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

No kidding? Tell me something I don't know. The Vatican's wealth can wipe out world hunger. Too bad their wealth is in case they are attacked.

 
I'm no longer a christian. Everyone here knows that.  But I've got to give a Major 'Shout out' to Pope Francis.
That Man is a cool dude who is steadily 'getting Cooler'  !!!