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It's a great achievement for Islamic leaders and scholars as well as Newsweek and the Washington post to present this imperative opportunity for inter cultural and global philosophical dialogue. What's important is that by exchanging our ideas and comments regarding inter religious relations and world events that affect our views of each other as fellow human beings. Since the advent of humanity, We strove to make sense of the world we live in and the lives we've experienced. Worldwide curiosities to learn the true nature of life and our universe is an exceptionally rare virtue upon life on Earth. In other words, we're the only known species on the planet who've pursued to unravel these great mysteries and developed written philosophies based upon our understanding of the world around us.
One such philosophy that lasted throughout the ages of humanity is commonly known as religion and spirituality. Ever since our early belief in the Sky God and the God Mother from ancient Pagan times, we vigorously pursued to unravel the truth about our most profound questions. As any educated person would know that religion and their core beliefs or faith have evolved over time. Paganism, Monotheism and Polytheism have been influenced by humanity as these great philosophies have influenced our perceptions and decisions in life over the ages. Over time humanity has embraced diverse religious faiths and spiritual convictions that continue to influence our behavior in our times and most likely beyond.
What's vital for humanity's progress and even survival is to know the true nature of faith itself. To understand the true origins of faith. But most of all, is to accept the truth for whatever it may be. Each one of us will learn the absolute truth once we die. But until that time comes for anyone of us to depart this world, we really don't know the answer to God's existence nor do we have the absolute truth in regards to the true nature of God. Besides if we did possess the truth, there would've been only one religion on Earth with no diversification of any way, shape of form. There would only be one holy scripture written throughout human history.
Considering one's religious faith to be absolute, while considering others to be false would be ethnocentric at best. While collectively searching to unravel the mysteries on nature, life and the universe through sincere reasoning and serious research would be enlightening at its worst. Most importantly, we must accept the fact is that none of us have conclusive evidence to confirm our core beliefs and there's always an immanent change that our most cherished beliefs could be wrong. Our greatest challenge would be to tolerate the truth no matter what it may ultimately be. With such an open mind, we would be able to overcome any future discovery that would contradict our faith regarding the true nature of life, spirituality and divinity.
Humanity does have the ability to achieve such a social achievement. However, it's solely up to humanity and not any other entity or groups of entities to decide our destinies. Each one of us has a choice to make; either hopelessly engaging into meaningless inter cultural conflicts or combine our scientific and cultural gifts to thrive into an enlightened global civilization that could ultimately expand beyond our solar system. The choice is yours, and the time to make it is now!

Gotta call you on this one, Rev. Elliot:

"Please reread me on "Pagans." I certainly did not call them "traitors." (Or "un-American.")"

From said column:

"No, I do not think the military should “add a Pagan chaplain.” A military’s function is to support a nation’s spirit, not only its body. And America’s originating and continuing spirit locates the sacred in Biblical religion coordinate with reason. In that it locates the sacred elsewhere, Paganism is un-American."

Not traitors or un-American...

Just un-American and undermining the military's mission, apparently.

Pah.

It was certainly discussed at length how inflammatory those statements were.

Buried in your article is the real key why MODERN Christianity is generally viewed as more civilized than (much of) MODERN Islam:

It was the Enlightenment.

The Enlightenment was a secular liberal philosophical movement that extolled science, reason, and humanism -- over faith and authoritarianism (the latter often seen as paralleling the authoritarian hierarchy in heaven])

Any Christian had merely to look at the Old Testament to find inspiration for the violence (which you claim as inherent only to Islam.)
Remember the Crusades, the Albigensian Crusade, the Catholic-Protestant Wars, the slaughter of Indian populations in the Americas?

Where did the prohibitions of Torture come from? Slavery? Child labor and welfare laws? Think it was from the tradition of the Christian Bible? Think again.

It was liberals who “interpreted” the Bible to make it humane. (Look at the full history of Christianity – and this is easily proven.)

The real problem with Islam, is there are have not enough LIBERALS within their SOCIAL CULTURE to have translated their religious principles for modern living, in the same manner as modern Christianity.

Obviously, peaceful Christians and peaceful Muslims must unite to prevent radicals on both sides from overtaking free societies. We will only succeed if we work together, and in a strictly nonviolent manner. There is no other solution.

Thank you for not capitalizing the "o" when you called yourself and "orthodox Christian". As I'm sure you're aware, that is the original ongoing sect of Christianity.

#5 Seems to contradict itself; Muslims are peaceful, but violent Islam is the world's greatest danger. Where are the Muslims that are denouncing the violence? Why aren't they appearing and calling for peace and OBL's head?

If, at the root of Islam, you have Muhammed murdering. At Christianity's roots you have Christ accepting death to save his friends. If the root is evil, what good can come from the tree?

As we obviously have some Brotherhood supporters trying to put themselves forward as honorable advocates of democracy, lets look at some history:

The Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun) also known as the Ikhwan is a good example of what we must protect ourselves against.

The Muslim Brotherhood (“MB”) organization describes itself as a political and social revolutionary movement; it was founded in March 1928 in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, who objected to Western influence and called for return to an original Islam.

The Brotherhood is an expansive and secretive society with followers in more than 70 countries, dedicated to creating a global Islamic order that would isolate women and punish nonbelievers. Its members and supporters founded al Qaeda, as well as one “of the largest college student groups in the United States.”

The Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism, Juan Zarate, stated recently, “the Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians.” In fact, The MB 1982 secret plan, (the Project) recently exposed, instructs all members locally and globally “To channel thought, education and action in order to establish an Islamic power [government] on the earth.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has historically and continues to actively pursue the establishment of a Muslim regime that will serve as the basis to re-establish the Caliphate, not only by defending violence against civilians, The current leader of the international Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Mahdi Akef, “recently issued a new strategy calling on all its member organizations to serve its global agenda of defeating the West. He called on individual members of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide to not only join the “resistance” to the U.S. financially, but also through active participation.” In the MB Project (1982), Point of Departure instructs members,” To use diverse and varied surveillance systems, in several places, to gather information and adopt a single effective warning system serving the worldwide Islamic movement. In fact, surveillance, policy decisions and effective communications complement each other.”

In an interview to the London based Asharq Al-Awsat, an international Arab newspaper on December 11, 2005, Akef stated that “the Muslim Brotherhood is a global movement whose members cooperate with each other throughout the world, based on the same religious worldview - the spread of Islam, until it rules the world.”

To that end, Akef said, “the Muslim Brotherhood… are an all-encompassing Islamic organization, calling to the adoption of the great religion that Allah gave in his mercy to humanity.” Meanwhile, according to its leader, the MB is busily cementing its ties: “We are in the global arena, and we preach for Allah according to the guidelines of the Muslim Brotherhood.

All the members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the international arena operate according to the written charter that states that Jihad is the only way to achieve these goals.

“Ours is the largest organization in the world,” he said.

Akef emphasized, “A Muslim in the international arena, who believes in the charter of the Muslim Brotherhood is considered part of us and we are considered part of him.”

In earlier interviews,

‘Akef called the U.S. “a Satan that abuses the religion.”

He said: “I expect America to collapse soon,”

declaring, “I have complete faith that Islam will invade Europe and America.”

Although U.S. observers often view the Muslim Brotherhood as well as Hamas as less violent than al-Qaeda, the Brotherhood has long been actively supporting global jihadi efforts.

“Prior to the U.S.-led attack on the Taliban regime, the Muslim Brotherhood actually had training camps in Afghanistan where it worked with Kashmiri militants and sought to expand its influence in Central Asian states, especially Tajikistan.”

It is not surprising, therefore, that the Muslim Brotherhood reacted to Hamas’ January 2006 electoral victory as not merely as a local achievement, but “a victory of the Islamic nation in its entirety,” and as an expression of the concept that “the path of Islam is the true solution.”

As the parent of all Sunni and many other Islamist terrorist groups,

the MB, to deflect attention, uses its long-term strategy, known as “flexibility” (muruna) in Arabic.

This chameleon-like adaptation is tactical moderation with the ultimate objective of complete Islamization of society.

Indeed, the MB’s 1982 project calls on members “To reconcile international engagement with flexibility at a local level.”

Today, when the West focuses on Islamist terrorism, the MB usually refrains from publicly advocating violence. The MB’s 1982 Project, calls on its members:

“To master the art of the possible on a temporary basis without abusing the basic [Islamic] principles… we should not look for confrontation with our adversaries, at the local or the global scale, which would be disproportionate and could lead to attacks against the dawa or its disciples.”

As stated on its charter and its website:

the MB seeks to install an Islamic totalitarian empire, a worldwide Caliphate, through stages designed to Islamize targeted nations by whatever means available.

A principal danger of MB activities is that they are hidden behind “religious” ideology. Moreover:

this ideology dictates concealment (Kitman).

In fact saying, “we should keep hush-hush on things that are still in preparation.”

This ideology controls every aspect of life and seeks to impose that control on everyone.

In the end, the MB intends to overthrow all secular governments and impose Islamic law (Shari’a) worldwide, and it is diligently pursuing this goal.

In July 2005, former Kuwaiti minister of education Dr. Ahmad Al-Rab'i, wrote in the Arabic London daily, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat:

"The beginnings of all of the religious terrorism that we are witnessing today were in the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology."

Thus, on its website, the MB advocates,

“Establishing the Islamic government.”

“Building the Muslim state…Building the Khilafa…Mastering the world with Islam,”;

This would necessarily deprive Americans of their First Amendment, rights.

The first clause in the Amendment states there shall be “no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The First Amendment also upholds an individuals’ right to religious freedom.

But as determined by its doctrine, the MB would exploit that right—along with First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly—to actively seek the imposition of laws that would deny religious freedom to everyone else.

to be dumb
to be dopey
to be ignorant
it pays to be ignorant
just like ___________

folks is dumb
where i come frum
they ain't had very much larnin
yet theyz happy az can be
doin what comes naturally

tharz a man way down in Texas
can't even write his name
he signs his check with x's
and cashes'em just the same

To PaganPlace (7.30.07 / 9:32pm):

Please reread me on "Pagans." I certainly did not call them "traitors." (Or "un-American.")

Many Muslims, Christians, Hindus, etc feel that they have exclusive access to the Divine. However, there is no problem with any religion or religious people until the believers think they want enforce their fail on others.

“We sent down the Torah which contains guidance and light…Later, in the train of prophets We sent Jesus, son of Mary, confirming the Torah which has been send down before him, and gave him the Gospel containing guidance and light. …Unto to you [O Muhammad] this writ (Koran) and a way and a pattern of life, confirming what were revealed before…Unto everyone of you have We appointed a different law and way of life. And if God had so willed He could surely have you all made one single community professing one faith. But He wished to try you and test you. So try to excel in good deeds” (Qur’an: 5:44-48).

To Anonymous: Christianity is not a religion. Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Bgone:

On citing "Pagan Scriptures:"

We're Pagans. We don't have Scriptures, nor do we care what words are the 'real' words of a version of 'God' we don't believe in.

I do find it ironic in the extreme, though, that this columnist is now saying, 'Why can't we all get along' after calling American Pagans *traitors* for not being Christian just a couple weeks ago.

I see. Christianity is the best religion. Thank you for sharing that with us.

It seems to me that there is an inherent need to demonize Otherhood in any of the monotheistic religions. The good/evil paradigm through which all life must be viewed, and judgments made, under these philosophies makes it so.

The leading monotheisms of today -- Islam, Christianity, Judaism -- require that their followers accept that the God defined by their belief system is good, holy, worthy of worship. It stands to reason under that anyone else's is not. It's on this crude form of analysis that monotheists must build their understanding of the human experience, their morality, their ability to reason their way through the myriad choices we all make in life that can affect us, and others, in so many ways.

The hitch is that it's unnatural to expect our experiences on this planet to fall neatly under columns labeled "Good" or "Evil"; a person will go crazy if they try long enough. The more strictly a believer clings to such unnatural expectations, the crazier s/he will get, et voilà: holy terrorism.

Just something to think about: Jesus flat out in places in the bible said that He was God, He said many things and by what He said, He was either a stark raving maniac or someone speaking the Truth, He really did not leave us the option of saying that He was merely a prophet. According to the god of islam, Jesus is not only merely a prophet but a second-rate prophet at that. If Jesus was speaking the Truth then the god of islam is a liar and if Jesus was lying, why would the god of islam pick a liar to be one of his prophets even if only a second-rate one. The True Living Triune, Triumphant God is a Being of Pure Love and God's Plan is for all of humanity, His children, to be with Him in His Kingdom. God is a searcher of hearts and minds, not of religious affiliations or lack thereof, if you say that you are a christian, then I would recommend actually being one. The title of this post, "Can't we all just get along", Jesus Himself told us that that is not going to happen until the Kingdom, which is "not of this world", is established when "All tears shall be dried" and is referred to as "new heavens and a new earth". Watered-down Christianity is worse than throwing away the whole bible, just like it says, "I would rather you be hot or cold than luke-warm, because I will have to vomit you out of my mouth". The scroll that the scroll-eater in Revelations ate was not a literal scroll. Like I have said before and I repeat again: God wins, satan loses, a tie is unacceptable. God-Incarnate won the keys to hell and death and He will use them in due time whether you, right now, like it or not but one day you will be glad that God has a Plan, His Plan. By the way God is not male, female or an it but I have to use some kind of pronoun when I speak about Him, God-Incarnate was a man though. I happen to be the one the Old Testament Moses spoke of when He said someone like me will come along, I am the New Testament Moses, it came as quite a shock when I found out and I have said Yes to God, He will see me thru. God chose the Old Testament Moses, God chose me to be the New Testament Moses and God chose to become Jesus, which when the Holy Spirit spoke thru, I believe it was the High Priest, they wrote on the sign displayed on the cross of Jesus, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" and the Jews are the Chosen People for the simple reason that God chose them, that does not mean that they are better or anything like that, it just means that they are the Chosen People. Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

If the good Reverend Elliott is sincere in his ire against "terrorists, criminals and tyrants", we expect him to devote his next essay to deconstructing the Bush Crime Family.

Bush doesn't want us to get along except under his terms (he has been the Great Divider and looks upon Democrats as the class enemy); he has done more to promote and enable "terror" than even Osama (even the CIA says Al Qaeda has made great strides during the Bush regime); and of course criminality and abuse of power (the push toward tyranny) has so absorbed the Bush White House that bloggers compete to compile long lists of offenses by which Bush and Cheney should be impeached.

Rev. Elliot should take Matthew 25 seriously and ponder his kinship to the "whited sepulchers" that Jesus says sinning hypocrites resemble -- saying one thing and doing another.

A Psalm

Be faithful to all people, rejoice in all things, and love at all cost. Hear the Word of the Lord listen and obey it so that you may prosper in the land he has given you. Know that the Lord is faithful and just and will do what He sees right in His own eyes. Take part in his courtroom share in his wonderful works and find favor in His eyes so that you will be called upon to serve as His trusted friend.

For the Lord watches the hearts of man looking for those who he can call by His name to lead and influence His people to govern with kingdom authority. Who is like the Lord, not man or creation, nor the earth or the heavens above, but all good things testify to His marvelous glory. Can you count the stars, and you look past the mountains, can you reach the presence of His glory? For with God nothing is impossible. Come and join Him in doing the impossible, doing the unimaginable, the unusual, and the supernatural.

For God made man to seek after Him. And all things under heaven and below are still under His control. Count the possibilities you have and look to the heavens for your impossibilities. For His ways or not the ways of man. For man to see clearly his heart must meditate on the Lord and His statutes day and night. For when God speaks He does it one way, and then another, though man does not perceive it. It is the glory of kings and high officials to seek the ways the Living God. In a dream God might come and speak a painting in the mind. In a vision God will bring clarity over a situation, and in the heart of man with pure ways He will speak and listen. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will make your path straight. For the lost, His voice is not far off and for the faithful His heart is near.

Though the enemy may attack, God's mighty hand is there to rescue the downtrodden. The apple of His eye is the man after Him, and the rod of his wrath is against those who defile His holy name, the name that is above all names. For He is king of kings and Lord of Lords. And every knee will bow and every tongue confess, that He is Lord Almighty the Maker of the heavens and the earth. Come near, let His comfort give you rest and may your days be numbered in his safe pastures. For He is the Living Rock and his children are the rock of ages.

Oh, Ancient of Days, the one who holds all things together, let us reason together. Let us talk about the things that matter to your heart. For your intentions are to edify and uplift the righteous. For a day with you is like one thousand years and one thousand years is like a day. For you are the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. You knew and formed me in my mother’s womb and knew my beginning and my end. From my beginning you were thinking of me and in my time of need you rescued me. My strength and my shield, my strong tower there I will listen and know that you are God. You reign in the highest of the heavens and yet, you still call out to me. Protector, provider, giver of fine gifts, you are my all in all.

"There should be a discussion about the reality of any religious belief, not a debate that pits one version of belief against another."

Couldn't agree more with the above comment.

The distinction between Islam and Christianity vis a vis violence is superficially plausible, but ultimately does not hold water. True, Muhammad killed, whereas Jesus WAS killed. But the same Jesus who was killed also, according to the New Testament, said things like the remark to His disciples that they shake the dust of an unbelieving village off their feet, because that village will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. Also, the same Jesus who was killed is the Jesus who leads the armies of heaven on a Christian jihad to exterminate unbelievers, according to the Book of Revelation. None of this smacks of pacifism to me. JIM

"Can't We All Just Get Along?"

Not without ecumenicality. That can't happen until the word of God is decided once and for all time. Now which word of God has the real words of God? (Note: we need to decide this before getting to individual versions of what God's words mean.)

a) Torah
b) Bible
c) Koran
d) Book of Mormon
e) Pagan Scriptures
f) Other

Note: e and f failing grades while lax Mormons shall be known as d minuses.

Aw shucks. Everyone except atheists get tax free, tax deductible and tax exempt real estate. What's their problem anyhow? There's free money for almost everyone.

The 5 mafia Godfathers, heads of the 5 "faith families" live in mansions, have money to burn and are really smart dressers. Why can't they "just get along"? Could it be there is but one God and many versions of God's words?

The Devil makes them do it!! http://www.hoax-buster.org/sellyoursoul

Does the mafia have a written sacred scripture? Maybe they should write one and become ecumenical, "Just Get Along." After all, a sacred scripture is a sacred scripture and all sacred scriptures are the words of some supernatural being. Well? Aren't they?

We are still doing the equivalent of arguing about how many miles Santa Claus travels on an average Christmas eve. There should be a discussion about the reality of any religious belief, not a debate that pits one version of belief against another.

Is it reasonable to ascribe to a supernatural power the things we cannot understand? If the Bible is the basis of much of this belief among Christians, even it has internal conflicts between one book and/or chapter and another. It says things that are obviously open to question: Does anyone want to defend slavery as the Bible does, recommend the killing of kids who talk back to their parents, or advocate the slaughter of those who work on the Sabbath?

Religion is based on belief, but people have spent much of human history believing in multiple gods, wood sprites, fairies, demons, dragons, unicorns, and other entities that clearly do not exist. Which god is the right one? If our decision is founded on belief and not reason, we are in trouble.