Religions, People, and Wars

Religion, to me, is whatever means people use to connect to what they perceive to be the supreme power. For instance, what I perceive to be my supreme power is God, the Almighty. Some people may consider money, power, or eternal life to be their supreme power.

It is inconceivable that people who believe in God would intentionally cause the death of other human beings. Unfortunately, this has been the case throughout history.

People start wars and use religion to justify their actions. They display hatred and then hide behind religion in order to rationalize their disposition.

Religion is no longer about the sacred. It seems also as if people have lost the standard as to what is considered to be sacred.

Are the existing religions corrupt? Or is it the people who are corrupt? Can religion corrupt people? Or is it people who corrupt themselves? Can people corrupt religion? Actually, though it may be difficult to believe, people cannot corrupt religion. They can, however, corrupt their perception of religion. And given that, beside the deity, it is human beings who are the major players, they can create a deceptive layer around religion so to shape it the way they would like it to serve them. It is in this context that people start wars in the name of God or religion.

Let’s wake up and smell the stench. Religion does not speak a language of war, but of peace. By the same token, true religious people do not speak a language of war, but of peace. Only corrupt religious people speak a language of war in the name of their pseudo religion. Hence, wars come from people; not religions. The truth is that the combination of religion plus people cannot lead to war.

The equation “religion + people = war” is not right. It can only mean one thing: something is wrong. Just like there is no way in math that the addition of two positive values would produce a negative sum, there is no way that the association of religion and people, in its pure sense, would produce a negative result such as war. Something is wrong. And that something is not religion, but people—fallen people.

Religion Is Not the Source of World Conflicts (Part 2)

Many people, including religious people, believe that religion is the source of conflicts we see around the world. However, what most people do not realize is that there is one thing that all conflicts have in common. And that one thing is not religion but human beings.

It is not religion but human ignorance that causes conflicts, be it at a family level or world level. It is the ignorance that people have with regard to the value of human life, God’s nature, His will, His word, His desires, His intentions, and His plans. This ignorance translates into people’s misunderstanding of the preciousness of human life, God’s nature, His will, His word, His desires, His intentions, and His plans.

Take the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine for instance. Which of the two involved religions is the source of the conflict? Is it Judaism? Is it Islam? It is actually neither. It is rather the believers of those religions who have caused and fueled the said conflict through their misunderstanding of the teachings of their religions.

Yet, when we look at around the world, we can see that believers of both religions can live peacefully as neighbors when in other parts of the world. Case in point, when you go to some parts of Borough Park in Brooklyn, New York, you find Jews and Muslims (as well as other people) roaming the streets, visiting the same bank, and living as neighbors without any conflict. If religion really was the source of conflicts, shouldn’t the war between Jews and Muslims extend to wherever they lived, be it in Europe or the United States? How come this conflict prevails only in Palestine and nowhere else? Is religion really the source of this conflict or is it the people?

A few days ago, on Tuesday, November 23rd, the North and South Korea exchanged gunfire. Was religion the source of this exchange? Is religion even the source of conflict between North Korea and South Korea? If we claim that religion is the source, then we will have to answer the following questions: Which religion is the source of the Korean conflict? Is it Buddhism? Is it Christianity?

We know that South Korea is a very religious country. As such, South Koreans try their best to avoid conflict with their northern counterpart for they believe that they are all but one people. By contrast, it is a well known fact that North Korea is not a religious country. Now, if religion was the source of world problems and conflicts, shouldn’t South Korea be the aggressor between the two countries? It would have supported the belief that religion is the source of world conflicts because, between the two countries, South Korea is the one where religion is prevalent. Why are therefore the South Koreans not the instigators? Instead, it is those without religion, the North Koreans, who are the instigators. Can those who claim that religion is the source of world conflicts do so with certainty?

If religion, belief in a deity, were the source of conflicts, wouldn’t there be war in every nation all over the world? Religion brings peace and balance in human society. Given that there has been conflict even where religion has not been prevalent, we cannot say for certain that religion is the source of conflicts we see around the world. It is humanity rather than religion that is the source of conflicts.

I am in no way ignoring the fact that people have used religion to start and fuel conflicts. My point is that those who have done so acted on their misunderstanding which was caused by their ignorance of their own value, the value of others, and the nature of God, His will, His word, His desires, His intentions, and His plans.

Religion is not the source of world conflicts; people are.

Enjoy your holidays!

Just Curious

I am just wondering: What are people trying to achieve by bashing religion, demonizing Islam, and/or implicitly praising Christianity? Are people trying to create balance or more schism?

My Response to Herbert I. London’s Post

This morning I read an article titled: “The Reality of a Religion of Peace,” written by Herbert I. London. Basically his point was that people who think that Islam is a religion of peace are ignorant—ignorant of Islam. And probably history too.

As I was reading it, I remembered something that Jesus said. It is recorded that Jesus said the following: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

Now this led me to ask Mr. London a double fold question, which I am now asking you as well: Is there any religion that can be labeled a religion of peace? If so, which one?