- How many times have you heard the phrase, "God willing,"
in connection with a battle, contest or sporting event? The name of the
deity is easily invoked to give dignity to the act about to be performed.
Surely, if God is on my side, my cause is just.
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- Like the boxer who makes the sign of the cross before
stalking across the ring to pummel his opponent senseless, the juxtaposition
of religion and combat has survived centuries of sociological evolution.
Lurking in the background of human nature is the atavistic impulse to kill,
for whatever reason, and it is disappointing how easily this urge is summoned
to action.
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- Throughout the ages, in the name of God, countless wars
have been fought and countless innocents have been slaughtered. Such acts
predate recorded history from the Bible onward (unfortunately, not upward),
to the present day, and these conflicts continue all over the globe.
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- Just as popes blessed the Crusades, bishops sanctioned
the Inquisition, and imams issue Fatwas, theocratic regimes continue to
conduct, promote or condone "holy wars." I'd be willing to bet
that the hijackers of the 9/11 planes shouted, "Allah Akhbar!"
just before impact. I have no idea what the Jewish settler shouted as he
gunned down 30 Muslims at prayer in a Hebron mosque. It doesn't matter,
the insanity is the same, and done in God's name.
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- The separation of church and state is a principle based
on wisdom gleaned from the experience of theocratic persecution. Governments
have all they can do to provide for the common good, if indeed that is
their mission, without the encumbrance of a particular theology. That theocracies
even exist today gives testimony to the failure of the intellectual development
of man. One cannot damn Islamic states without also damning Catholic, Protestant,
Hindu or Jewish states. The principle is the same; government by religion
is inimical to the freedom and development of the general population. Mixing
civil and religious law guarantees conflict and discrimination, the very
evils that good government and religion are supposed to eliminate.
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- In America, from pre-revolutionary times to the present,
religion has played a large role in politics. Today, however, after over
200 years of social advancement, we are faced not with moral imperatives,
such as abolition of slavery or voting rights that properly drove governmental
policy, but self-styled moralists dispensing hypocritical declarations
that apply only to perceived enemies. The head of our Justice Department
is an ordained minister who wants to deprive people of their basic constitutional
rights. Many politicians curry favor with right-wing religious zealots
who make no secret of their biases against women and minorities. Televangelical
clergymen take to the airways supporting the bombing of people in Afghanistan
and Iraq, neglecting the very commandment against killing which they promised
to uphold. The President may be a "born again Christian," but
displays a quite unchristian lust for confrontation and revenge.
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- At home as elsewhere, it seems nationalism and religions
have merged into an amalgam of unassailable principles. Slogans using the
name of God are foolproof because only fools make them. "God willing,
we will prevail!" they say. If such people understood the concept
of free will, a theological notion, they would also understand that God
doesn't interfere in the actions of man. The principle is the same for
people who are willing to forfeit basic civil rights in the name of "freedom"
- they will not be free for long.
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- Oxymoronic labels such as "Christian Right,"
"Islamic fundamentalist" or "Jewish militant" disturb
me. All the major religions embody several basic, non-contradictory principles
such as love of fellow man, charity for the unfortunate and the sanctity
of life. Yet, radical branches of various religions think nothing of killing
other people in the name of their God. Such perverted creeds are best addressed
on the psychiatric couch.
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- The Catholic Church displayed uncommon wisdom, intended
or not, in banning their clergy from holding public office, thereby affirming
the separation of church and state. If only other clerical denominations
would opt out of public office, and politicians out of using their religion
as a launching pad for war and the depravation of other human beings, moral
imperatives might make a comeback. Then, perhaps, we would get away from
killing in the name of God, and start down the road to real civilization.
God willing, that is.
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- Raff Ellis lives in the United States and is a retired
former strategic planner and computer industry executive. He has had an
abiding and active interest in the Middle East since early adulthood and
has traveled to the region many times over the last 30 years.
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- Raff Ellis encourages your comments: rellis@YellowTimes.org
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