Hi Loving and Gentle Ways
Sour Grapes and Saddle Sores
George Hirst
God's Warriors Sept. 6, 2007
CNN presented three programs entitled "God's Warriors" the week of August 19, I cannot let this one go by me because of the content of the programs which left out the "rest of the story." The subjects were Jewish fundamentalists,Islam Radicals and Christian Rightists. The emphasis of the three programs was fundamentalistic and each one insisted that they had the answers for the whole world that justified the violence, the separations and the use of rewards for their concept of faith.
All of the three major religions support peace and doing good to others all over the world. This was not found in the reporting of any of these groups. We live in a diverse world. There are large numbers of believers in all of the major religions that do not support the narrow, judgmental world espoused by the fundamentalist factions of the world's faith communions.
The basic history and beliefs of the major religions of the world puts us all on the place where we can appreciate how the practices are nearly alike and the beliefs follow a pattern of a similar vein.
Judiasm
Their words for God are Elohim, Jehovah, or Adonai.The words are used in their sacred writings depending upon the author. In the early history of the faith, Moses encountered God on a mountain top and when he asked God for a name , the voice said , "I am that I am". Strict Jews do not mention a name for God. The word is too powerful and they to not allow it to be said.
Their sacred scriptures are The Torahl, the content of which is found in the first five books of the Old Testament in Protestant Bible and are known as the Books of Moses.
The holy day for Jews begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. They meet in buildings called Synagogues. Judaism's holy city is Jerusalem. Judiasm is the oldest living religious tradition today and is said to have influenced Christianity and Islam with its traditions and laws. Judiasm is the seventh in size of the religions of the world.
Christianity
Christianity is a faith developed around the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Their name for the supreme deity is God or Father. They believe that Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament and that the Gospels are a record of his life and times.
Christianity began as an offshoot of Judiasm and includes the Jewish Bible(Which they call the Old Testament)Christianity is regarded along with the Hebrews and the Muslims as an Abrahamic faith.Christianity is the largest body of faith in the world. The Christians holy day is Sunday, the first day of the week.
Islam
The faithful of Islam are called Muslims. Their name for their God is Allah and the messenger of Allah is Muhammad who spoke and wrote in the seventh century AD. Muslims are not regarded as founding their faith, but as restoring the monotheistic faith of Abraham. Moses,Jesus and other prophets. The holy scriptures are contained in a book called The Quram. Their holy city is Mecca. The faith is practiced by daily prayer, by fasting and meditation during the month of Ramadan and by a pilgrimage to the holy city. Practicing Muslims are generally required to follow the Five Pillars of Faith (The Islamic Law) in addition to the Islamic Law a tradition has developed containing directions covering everything in their lives. Islam is the second largest body of faith in the world
The above descriptions of the three major religions are not complete in every detail. The have a common ancestry, but that ancestry goes off in different directions. In the twenty first centuury the population of the world is diverse in nature but it also contains simlarities.
There is a strongly shared likeness and it differs sharply from the "Warriors" The declaration of a servant role, or a discipleship, or a friend is not practiced by the Warriors. It is however the center of a believer's understanding of Kingdom in which they worship. The role of believers who are at the center and the left of the warriors is a Servant of God that seeks to be God's hands and feet in helping others. The role of those believers is a discipleship which follows the teachings of Muhammad or Jesus in reaching out to the poor and the sick. The role of those believers is to be a friend to the lonely, the sorrowing or the lost. The center of all of that is love, compassion and care.
Here is the Sour Grapes of all of that, we in our public lives hear about the anger, the hatred and the separations. We do not report, hear or see the love, the compassion or the caring. It is no wonder to me that the spiritual nature of our lives is seen as being not important enough to tell the world that we care. I protest CNN's reporting on God's Warriors, they ought to tell the stories of all the ways people, organizations and religious bodies practice their faith in gentle and loving ways.
SourGrapesAndSaddleSores
Sour Grapes and Saddle Sores
George Hirst
God's Warriors Sept. 6, 2007
CNN presented three programs entitled "God's Warriors" the week of August 19, I cannot let this one go by me because of the content of the programs which left out the "rest of the story." The subjects were Jewish fundamentalists,Islam Radicals and Christian Rightists. The emphasis of the three programs was fundamentalistic and each one insisted that they had the answers for the whole world that justified the violence, the separations and the use of rewards for their concept of faith.
All of the three major religions support peace and doing good to others all over the world. This was not found in the reporting of any of these groups. We live in a diverse world. There are large numbers of believers in all of the major religions that do not support the narrow, judgmental world espoused by the fundamentalist factions of the world's faith communions.
The basic history and beliefs of the major religions of the world puts us all on the place where we can appreciate how the practices are nearly alike and the beliefs follow a pattern of a similar vein.
Judiasm
Their words for God are Elohim, Jehovah, or Adonai.The words are used in their sacred writings depending upon the author. In the early history of the faith, Moses encountered God on a mountain top and when he asked God for a name , the voice said , "I am that I am". Strict Jews do not mention a name for God. The word is too powerful and they to not allow it to be said.
Their sacred scriptures are The Torahl, the content of which is found in the first five books of the Old Testament in Protestant Bible and are known as the Books of Moses.
The holy day for Jews begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. They meet in buildings called Synagogues. Judaism's holy city is Jerusalem. Judiasm is the oldest living religious tradition today and is said to have influenced Christianity and Islam with its traditions and laws. Judiasm is the seventh in size of the religions of the world.
Christianity
Christianity is a faith developed around the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Their name for the supreme deity is God or Father. They believe that Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament and that the Gospels are a record of his life and times.
Christianity began as an offshoot of Judiasm and includes the Jewish Bible(Which they call the Old Testament)Christianity is regarded along with the Hebrews and the Muslims as an Abrahamic faith.Christianity is the largest body of faith in the world. The Christians holy day is Sunday, the first day of the week.
Islam
The faithful of Islam are called Muslims. Their name for their God is Allah and the messenger of Allah is Muhammad who spoke and wrote in the seventh century AD. Muslims are not regarded as founding their faith, but as restoring the monotheistic faith of Abraham. Moses,Jesus and other prophets. The holy scriptures are contained in a book called The Quram. Their holy city is Mecca. The faith is practiced by daily prayer, by fasting and meditation during the month of Ramadan and by a pilgrimage to the holy city. Practicing Muslims are generally required to follow the Five Pillars of Faith (The Islamic Law) in addition to the Islamic Law a tradition has developed containing directions covering everything in their lives. Islam is the second largest body of faith in the world
The above descriptions of the three major religions are not complete in every detail. The have a common ancestry, but that ancestry goes off in different directions. In the twenty first centuury the population of the world is diverse in nature but it also contains simlarities.
There is a strongly shared likeness and it differs sharply from the "Warriors" The declaration of a servant role, or a discipleship, or a friend is not practiced by the Warriors. It is however the center of a believer's understanding of Kingdom in which they worship. The role of believers who are at the center and the left of the warriors is a Servant of God that seeks to be God's hands and feet in helping others. The role of those believers is a discipleship which follows the teachings of Muhammad or Jesus in reaching out to the poor and the sick. The role of those believers is to be a friend to the lonely, the sorrowing or the lost. The center of all of that is love, compassion and care.
Here is the Sour Grapes of all of that, we in our public lives hear about the anger, the hatred and the separations. We do not report, hear or see the love, the compassion or the caring. It is no wonder to me that the spiritual nature of our lives is seen as being not important enough to tell the world that we care. I protest CNN's reporting on God's Warriors, they ought to tell the stories of all the ways people, organizations and religious bodies practice their faith in gentle and loving ways.
SourGrapesAndSaddleSores