The Misused Name of God Various religions have a strong intolerance for each other

RELIGION CRITIQUED

The Misused Name of God

Various religions have a strong intolerance for each other, which only seems to perpetuate acts of discrimination and injustice against each other. Thanks to the actions of terrorists, the mask has finally been removed, revealing what many have suspected about religions. It is my belief that organized religions are essentially searching for political power in an effort to control the world through their preaching of love, forgiveness, and eternal life.

The Christian Crusade against Muslims, spurred by fear that they will control the world, will never end, because religions continue to discredit each other. Christianity in particular followed by other religions fostered the sense of guilt, which is a key component in mental manipulation. People who feel guilty and are under the so-called will of God feel weak and humiliated. But since the will of God relies on human will, a person struggling with his ego will claim to be inspired by God - and will try to force his fellow human beings to follow a so-called will of God without questions - right or wrong. Ignorance and superstition as a means of protection against unexplained natural disasters began with the primordial man. Humanity lost its freedom when it became enslaved to pagan rituals, and Judeo-Christianity incorporated most of them, followed by others.

One must ask the question: how is it possible that immensely evolved man who has achieved incredible knowledge based on rational thinking and scientific demonstrations can still allow others to lead him into sharing the same belief in ways which I consider humiliating to the thinking person. Don't we have enough examples of how the name of God has been frequently used to mislead and has served only as a mask for hiding the ambitious ego? Why do we still continue to accept the foolishness of egotistic fanatics who kill our brothers in the name of God - resulting in a divided and enslaved humanity?

Why do we follow someone, such as Chief Justice Roy Moore from Alabama, who has become a hero to religious voters for his actions of deliberately placing the monument of the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of Alabama's State Judicial Building in contradiction to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? When asked to remove the monument, he stood before the court and replied that he had taken an oath and would not violate it. He went on to say that he will never, never deny the God upon whom our laws and our country are based. Thus, his obedience to God was placed over his obedience to the rule of law and the Constitution.

The statement of Fr. Joseph Kibweteere, a Roman Catholic priest from Uganda, took this a step further than Chief Justice Roy Moore, when he said on December 31, 2000, that the world was coming to an end unless human beings started to follow the Ten Commandments closely. When the end did not come, Joseph Kibweteere murdered the members of his church by luring them inside and then setting the building on fire. At least 924 people died, including 78 children burned beyond recognition. His ego was more important than the lives of innocent people.

Roy More, by elevating his obedience to God over his obedience to the rule of law and the Constitution recalls a similar statement made by some Muslims who declared that they would never accept secularism as dictated by the laws of man, but only God.

Al-Muhajiroum, the founder of the "Magnificent 19," whose followers included Omar Bakri Muhammad - part of the political wing of Osama Bin Laden's Islamic Front - said that he and his followers are ready for jihad (holy war) and are willing to die to see the domination of divine law over man-made law. They are also said to pray for the eradication of all man-made law, and he has called on Muslims worldwide to celebrate September 11, 2003, as the collapse of two great idols - the Twin Towers - and to grant the magnificent 19 (terrorists) a place in paradise for doing the will of God.

Are Americans following the example of Muslim fundamentalism? The Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, should be ashamed for acting like a clerical fundamentalist in the mold of Ayatollah Khomeini by opposing the removal of Ten Commandments monument. He is only reinforcing the pagan superstition of placing empty monuments over the human capacity of love and compassion for one another that comes from our hearts. Giving testimony to God does not mean slavish adoration of stony monuments that act as totems.

God's name is constantly misused for many meanings and many purposes. Political ideologies are often expressed through theological beliefs and vice versa. The religious reference to God is politicized and used for terrorist objectives to overtake the world and become heroes in the process.

Would we be better persons if we stopped associating our personal ambitions with the name of God? Once we do, people will no longer be confused about the real meaning of God.

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