hey how are doing i haven't seen you around in a while . On Oct 16, 12:19 pm, nominal9 <[email protected]> wrote: > hi mike..... > nominal9 > > On Oct 16, 10:03 am, "mike [ proud to be a liberal ] 532 !" > > > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > i do not believe in organized religion or "the Church" i believe they > > are inventions of men to control other men ! > > > On Oct 16, 8:12 am, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > 3 Reasons Why You Can’t Trust a Christian or a Jewby Allan Stevo"Whoever > > > comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, > > > brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." > > > Where’s this quote come from? A jihadist manual on terror? One of the > > > Surahs of the Koran? Maybe Mao’s little red book? Was it spoken by the > > > terrorist prophet himself, Mohammed? No, it comes from the Gospel of Luke. > > > It was read to millions of Christians a few Sundays ago in churches > > > around the world. I wonder how many people in the pews heard it and > > > thought "Wow, that really wouldn’t sound too good as a sound-bite in the > > > media of the Muslim world" (or in atheist media, or even secular media > > > for that matter). In the same way that lines from the Quran are taken out > > > of context, lines from the Bible can also be taken out of context.Do > > > Christians hate life?Christians that I know personally do not behave as > > > if they hate life. As an industrialized country with such a high level of > > > church attendance, the U.S. is a statistical anomaly. Many Americans > > > identify themselves as Christian, 78% according tothis Gallup poll.We are > > > by multiple measures a Christian country. > > > This Christian country of ours has a very high illegal murder rate, > > > especially when compared to other industrialized countries. Preventing > > > those murders is an issue of much contention. This Christian country of > > > ours also has a very high rate of "legal" extraterritorial murder in > > > undeclared war zones all over the world. Those murders are not so > > > difficult to avoid. For example, if an American soldier is not outside of > > > the U.S., that American soldier will not be able to shoot or be shot by > > > anyone outside of the U.S. In reality, despite my loved ones showing no > > > outward signs of hating life, the argument can be made that Christian > > > Americans do hate life based on the behavior of the society in which we > > > live. We Americans tacitly agree to extraterritorial "legal" murders. > > > Murder is the ending of life. Surely a case can be made for Christians, > > > at least American Christians, not realizing the gravity of life. I’m > > > unable to argue that life is "hated" as opposed to "disliked" or even > > > worse, simply not appreciated. Or maybe it’s just the value of other > > > people’s lives that is the problem. I suspect an American does tend to > > > recognize the importance of his or her own life. > > > I know quite a few people who call themselves Christians and quite a few > > > who aren’t Christians and I don’t see a clear hatred of life among the > > > one group more than the other. At its surface, those people I know don’t > > > seem to have very effectively followed Jesus’ command to "hate…life > > > itself." > > > It’s a strongly worded statement written in the Bible that doesn’t look > > > good as a sound-bite taken out of context, away from the centuries of > > > schools of Biblical scholarship that exists and that many of us now read > > > the Bible through. Perhaps it’s intellectually lazy of a person to try to > > > do the same thing with the Quran and to speak like some kind of Quranic > > > scholar because he knows a few ideas from the Quran that he read inUSA > > > Today. I supposed in general we all know better than to trust > > > self-proclaimed authorities. However, the fact that a single person > > > watches the network news or buys a major newspaper indicates that there > > > are many people who are comfortable with putting faith in those > > > self-proclaimed authorities. > > > On Sept 19, again Christians heard another confusing verse. It can quite > > > effectively be taken out of context when one imagines the corporatist > > > American government, like a greedy octopus, slithering around the world > > > taking things by force."And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by > > > means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you > > > into the eternal homes."~ Luke 16:9 > > > Christians agree that Jesus actually said that. > > > This upcoming Sunday, the many Christian churches that use the Revised > > > Common Lectionary will hear a reading from the book of Genesis where the > > > patriarch Jacob wrestles with God. During this reading, God changes the > > > unfortunately named Jacob’s name to "Israel." Jacob, one of the > > > patriarchs to which Judaism and Christianity trace their faith, literally > > > means "he who grasps the heal." Figuratively, this name has an even worse > > > meaning: "He who deceives." Israel, his new and improved name, means: "he > > > struggles with God." > > > To me, there can be a beauty in a faith that lets you struggle with God. > > > At the same time, it’s easy to take this out of context. To struggle with > > > God is to be opposed to God, to challenge the Almighty and His ways. This > > > presents a rather unflattering talking point about Israel. The word > > > Israel, the name of the most problematic state in the Middle East, was > > > chosen by leaders of that country as a way to present itself to the world > > > – "struggle with God." For the billions of people out there who believe > > > in a God that’s about the worst name you can come up with for a country. > > > Let me just restate all that in a nine-second talking point about > > > Judeo-Christian culture:Jacob means "he who deceives"; Israel means > > > "struggles with God"; Jesus commands his followers to be dishonest and to > > > hate life. Are these the professed values of a good people? What more > > > does one need to know distrust Christians and Jews?Do these facts make me > > > not want to go to church? No, they just make me realize how important it > > > is to never trust the media about anything. Nine-second sound-bites are > > > alluring and deceptive. Just like my religious proclivities seem very > > > strange to others when taken out of context, the religious, political, > > > athletic, emotional, and physical proclivities of nearly any person seem > > > strange when taken out of context. For shock value, the hate mongers of > > > American society love taking religion out of context, as long as > > > Christianity’s not that religion.Filter the MediaOnalltopics there is an > > > agenda. Base your understanding of situations on your relationship with > > > people. Use the media to try to challenge yourself and to seek out > > > differing perspectives.Never let your own experience be overshadowed by > > > the words you read from some unknown journalist.I’ve sat down with enough > > > respected journalists to realize that they are not as critically > > > questioning and decent as their readers seem to believe.Slovak-Hungarian > > > Hatred?In Slovakia Hungarians are said to be hated. There’s a long > > > history in which Hungarians (Magyars) controlled the land known today as > > > Slovakia. That history spanned a good thousand years and had some very > > > ugly moments, akin to a soft genocide, that sought to snuff out the > > > existence of Slovaks. > > > It is said that Slovaks hate Hungarians. I can attest that some do. > > > However, when I am invited to visit a Slovak family that has Hungarian > > > neighbors, I recognize that relations between Slovak and Hungarian > > > neighbors tend to be quite hospitable. Just as hospitable as with any > > > other neighbor. > > > The media and the whispers of popular culture, especially around election > > > time, are quick to tell ugly stories about how bad those ethnic relations > > > are. This no doubt actually influences some relationships. However, > > > experience in the intimate relationships of a handful of diverse people > > > tells me that the media is likely incorrect in this matter. I choose only > > > to speak from my own experience on this topic, which also has its > > > shortcomings, but is far more honest than pretending myself an expert > > > just because I’ve read lots of work from some far-off journalists. > > > When it comes to neighbors, my Slovak acquaintances tend to be quite > > > welcoming to the Hungarian minority that still live in Slovakia. Forced > > > language is a sign of oppression. The Hungarian authorities used to force > > > Hungarian language on Slovaks and understandably that period in history > > > still impassions many Slovaks today. Freely spoken language, on the other > > > hand, is a way to build a bridge into a friendship. I often hear Slovaks > > > throw around a few Hungarian phrases with their Hungarian neighbors. Such > > > relationships are in the best interest of neighbors.Good relations are > > > not in the best interest of those who 1. want to sell papers, 2. are > > > filled with hate, and/or 3. have no other issues on which to win an > > > election.The nationalist parties of Slovakia and Hungary don’t like these > > > amicable relationships among Slovaks and Hungarians. They like to poke at > > > the very real wounds of the past. The more they can get people to > > > foremost remember those wounds, the more they can get their audience to > > > forget that these are living breathing people they are asking them to > > > hate and to mistreat, the more votes, the more media time, the more > > > influence, the more money there is for those nationalist parties. They > > > have a formula and they wield it effectively. > > > A political consultant by the name of Mike Rothfeld,linked to here, gives > > > a great speech on political participation that I saw at the Leadership > > > Institute in Arlington, VA. In his speech, Rothfeld makes a request of > > > his audience:Whenever you listen to a speech, whenever you read a > > > newspaper, whenever you are watching TV, or even just talking > > > face-to-face and see someone trying to get you to believe something, > > > you’ve got to ask yourself ‘How does it benefit this person if I believe > > > what he’s saying?’Cui bono? In whose interest? Is the old concept that he > > > restates. We all know that people don’t often exert great effort just for > > > the heck of it. Receiving communication through the media, from some > > > person you don’t know intimately, let alone have never met face to face, > > > makes the answering of that question considerably harder.The Effective > > > Stereotype of > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -
-- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
