Originally Posted by Franc Rauscher

Kurts,

Thanks for the praise. I know I often come accross as a dumb savage but my major in college was world history. My minors were political science and ancient religions. Never taught a day of class. A letter from my draft board got in the way.

Originally Posted by Franc Rauscher

Inquisition, Salem witch trials, religious purges in Mexico, none hold a candle to the Mayan's sacrifice of a human every five minutes during the height of their empires. The Incas were not much better. All to please the gods.
Christianity doesn't even come close.
We know more about Christian killings because it was recorded by the western civilzations that commited the acts. And as you have pointed out, history is written by the victors.

Who speaks for God? There is the rub. One must take all prophets with a bit of skeptisism. Weird how they must speak in riddles. I guess it makes fitting their predictions to future events more malliable and likely.

What ever the source of gospel, I can't imagine the equivocation involved in accepting a command from my Lord that forces pain, suffering or death upon another human. That perversion has to come from an evil that resides in all of us. The choice to accept or reject such motivations must be a singular and personal one. Each and every time.

I for one cannot understand the ease with which some succumb to a choice that logicaly cannot be equated with what is good for the human community. To harm or kill another in the name of religion makes no sense. And yet, mankind has done it since the first ape stood upright with like mined friends and took his neighbor's property. Inventing God's purpose as the reason may quell the guilt in one's basic soul but, civilized man has, sadly, made it an acceptable art.

There is a hole in the sky over Manhattan where 3,000 lives evaporated because someone's God told them to scare us into fearful submission. I won't forget it either. And I won't go into that fearful submission.

I hope, yes to God, that our leaders won't take us there.


roadster with a stick