Hi Harv,
Your essay will stand as an enjoyable read for
many. If this response is posted, maybe it will be less enjoyed but its purpose is earnest:
"...if they are open to the Christian answer, then the answer is very satisfying - at least to those who believe in the Christian conceptual scheme. That satisfaction comes in the belief and testimony of Jesus as the savior of all humanity."
This idea binds together the liberals and the conservatives in faith -- yet they are quite often divided on some issues such as when to use powerful weapons in military actions, or who should have basic civil rights in this life.
So are we really following the same Christ? Maybe.
While some use their religion gently, others do not. Certainly some persons use military force to defend themselves just as they use farm implements and other tools to eke out their existence. Some parties, however, go beyond that. In Islam, in Christianity and in other religions, some, usually conservatives and fundamentalists, appear to endorse the idea that that the rowdy exchanges of bombs and bullets-- and destruction they cause-- are what God intended. Party A would not let Party B worship a God deemed false by Party A, and vice versa. Party A would not let Party B have the civil rights of the U.S. Constitution if Party A's religious book has a conflicting set of rules -- and vice versa.
Does God license us to dictate to others the
rules for morality? Does God say we may use military force and deceptive practices to advance the dominion of our religion's rule book?
The U.S. Constitution apparently limits the power of religion, but the
monarchy system does not. Under religious government systems, the leader of a tribal religion, also known as "a king," may deceive more blatantly than a duly-elected official in order to advance whatever aims are chosen.
It seems our world is in a religious struggle between Islam and Christianity when actually
it is a struggle between two kinds of conservatives -- kings.
"...the point to where you believe in the resurrection and divinity of a human being who lived in a primitive region 2,000 years ago? Because the joy that comes from that experience is the best religious experience I have ever felt, and it leaves me feeling whole inside. No other reason."
And maybe that is the best feeling in life:
the feeling of an authentic and
deeply resonant truth whose purpose seems to endure before, during and after our lives.
Yet let us see if it is God talking with the
weapons of steel, or merely human beings with
a miscomprehension of their license.
WR,
Mike
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