Russian Wwii
Unlike the days of Thomas Jefferson, when "Creator", "religion" and "church" represented three ideas separate "religion" is now a very busy term. It is totally false, as atheists Bill Maher and others often do, to belief in God lump, organized religion and the evil followers of a particular religion to engage in, as well as a common term and then put the blame there for humanity's problems.
For example, Jesus is obviously not the founder of Christianity or any something like this, and it is not any more fair to blame Jesus for what people do in their name, than it is to blame Copernicus and Isaac Newton Hiroshima. The same thing applies in varying degrees to Buddha, Confucius, Zarathustra and some other so-called "founders" various religions. There is no greater critic of fundamentalist religion or religious hypocrisy in the history of Jesus, there is no not advocate for personal, local and global peace.
Like religion, science and education are always intimately related to the war and oppression of man on a massive scale up of more efficient designs for the tanks of ancient warfare, DaVinci's inventions machine war and, through the Manhattan Project, the modern military-industrial complex and arms always worst of mass destruction. The American, French, Russian and several other revolutions were instigated by so-called "enlightened" intellectuals.
Thus, those who blame the belief in God of war are clearly liars. It is true that religion is a tool often used to foment war and oppression of man, and it is equally fair to point out the science and education are often used for the same purpose.
However, it is not accurate to say either is a root "cause" of human aggression. Believers in God and science both often leave a positive legacy, and many people's most revered history demonstrated a deep belief in God. Jesus correctly distinguished religious hypocrisy, rather than belief in God as having a significant negative impact on society.
According to Jesus and some New Testament writers and, according to all known scientific evidence and historical in origin problems of humanity is a sin, which causes frustration of the individual man, greed and aggression, leading on negative choices made by human beings. Families, tribes, cities, states, nations, armies, religions, political parties, businesses, unions, educational institutions, professional scientists and all other "groups" of human beings, consist of individuals, each doing their own individual choices.
It would be refreshing that modern educators and people like Bill Maher, Sam Harris Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens may grow a little and start placing the blame for the problems of humanity where it belongs, squarely on our own shoulders self-contradiction. Perhaps then, a modern species in grave peril of losing its own habitat shared world could begin to have understanding a little more impartial and precise place where Jesus and the authors of the Bible are actually coming from.
Were revolutions American, French, Russian and Chinese, WWI, WWII, Vietnam and Iraq, among hundreds of other wars 20th century, most caused by belief in God, organized religion, intellectual idealism, nationalism or simply old greed common humanity, as all wars can always go back to? Is belief in God really start a war? You decide.
Author: Richard Aberdeen
Nashville songwriter, author and homeless advocate
http://www.RichardAberdeen.com
