How can we change Muslim religious ideology to stop terrorism?

[kkawohl]

How does one confront the passions of people with a logical entreaty to abandon faith? How does one convince a young man that his self-immolation in a bombing will not bring redemption from Allah to his soul and rewards to his people or honor to his family?

If logical reasoning lodges doubt into the mind of a martyr that his soul will be destroyed as a punishment for being the cause of cutting short another soul's ability to attain a bond with God, eventually the act of self-sacrifice ceases. This is the only effective way that man will eventually attain peace.

We can spend billions of dollars in an attempt to annihilate groups of people who have an adamant fanatical goal to destroy anyone who hinders the path of spreading their religion. They believe that this has been commanded by God. The end result will always be the same. The fanatics who are destroyed fuel the hatred of a new group with the same or an even fiercer fervor to die for their God, if the need arises.

How do we solve this problem? The pen is mightier than the sword. To the illiterate, visual projections via film is the greatest tool. The media and film producers have always shied away from the possibility of offending religious organizations. A fear of the fundamentalists' wrath has even stifled the desire for the truth. Can the real truth be revealed? Will this end strife? Maybe not, but unless we try, we will never know; will we?

A fanatic passion to please God has been demonstrated throughout the Ages. We have seen vast destruction and useless killings by religious zealots that have followed us into the present century whereby even technology is unable to quell its tide. Muslims have been led to believe that they must expand Islam in order to please Allah/God. Since Judaism created God, it is the duty of Judaism, the originator to bring rationality to a belief in Allah/God if Israel and Judaism wants to live in peace with Muslims.

If all the events that occurred as written in the Bible, Qur▓an and Torah now, today, would humanity be as gullible now and accept all miracles and God as portrayed then? If the context entails incorrect exegeses and the vast tradition of hermeneutics and the translation is illogical, it is illogical whether it is by my interpretation or by any logic.

Mankind has progressed past a need for a God who desires and requires servitude. We can eliminate servitude and still have a closeness and love of God. It was man who placed restrictions on himself for the good of mankind and attributed this to God. Most of us now live in a lawful society. Now laws are proposed and enforced by governments. God does not, and never has meddled in our affairs.

If we take rationality completely out of context when establishing an association with present day problems between Jews, Christians and Muslims, we can come up with numerous solutions. Reality however dictates that if there were no distinctions between Muslims, Jews, and Christians, strife would be nonexistent. The major distinction is religion

The best weapon against irrationality is logic. If logic is implemented in religion, eventually the inference of reasoning has to predominate and the illogical will be considered inferior and will ridicule itself out of existence. Today we have at our disposal the means whereby the media can reach even the farthest corners of our world.

True logic is the science of inference and reasoning

Namaste,
Kurt Kawohl

Please peruse my book which can be accessed at:

http://www.transcendentalism.us/

[Freedom1]

Whoa whoa, Judiasm created God? Might be you misspoke, or I missed a pun. Who created what?

Might be if the Israelis didn't treat Palestinians like cattle, i.e., sub humans, we wouldn't be so deep in trouble today eh? Might be?

The mixture of God and EGO, is a human bound condition that creates anxieties, fears, hatreds, and violence under certain conditions.

Being raised Ukrainian Catholic, I must tell you that the purest vision of true God I have ever experienced are the words of the Arab poet Khalil Gibrain. Thoureau comes close. God isnt Catholic, or Jew or Muslim. He is the infinite intelligence that binds us all.

IMHO whirling dervishes are more prone to witness true God than a Christian at church, a Jew at temple, or a Moslem at Mosque.

True God, as a theoretical, can only be witnessed by a soul REMOVED FROM HUMAN EGO. This is akin to a state of pure pscychic being, removed from physical and emotional ( i.e. ego) contraints.

You can start your ratiocination there. Thats where God is my friend. The logic is infallible.

To the zealot, you cannot make this assertion,. He is inextricably bound by human ego, He cannot fathom the real truth of God. He is mortally bound to his physical plane, unable to lose control and transcend time/space to witness true God.

So we'd interrogate the zealot for any useful information and then let him find the non physical plane the easy way.

I'm kidding of course!

And the rest is just my humble observation.

Ah, I see from your link that I might have been "preaching to the choir" as it were!

[kkawohl]

Freedom1,

Judaism originated a monotheist God and Islam and Christianity is the offshoot thereof. Abraham according to Genesis was the first person with whom God chose to have a special relationship. His spirit as well as those of several others after him interacted with the Spirit of God; this was misinterpreted and claims were made by others that God had physically spoken with him. Soon thereafter God was viewed as having human-like features and one who performed great miracles on earth. Stories snowballed and by the time they were written down many others claimed to have physically conversed with God.

In this 21st Century, the Age of Technology, we are still plagued by religious beliefs that may be a contributing cause of terrorism, killings and wars between nations. Belief in a God who causes catastrophes, punishes people and who created the universe out of nothing as if by magic was brought about by hysteria and superstition. This thought process needs to be reassessed and brought up to date. Open-minded people must use common sense to determine whether this God was incorrectly perceived, misinterpreted and misunderstood by the masses of a bygone era. When peoples' concept of God is flawed, corrections, truth, logic and common sense thereof must eventually prevail. Human fallibility and misconceptions have labeled God for past millennia as one who interferes with the natural forces and free will of people by threatening punishment to those who disobey his bidding.

The God of our ancestors had to be humanized in order to have the masses adapt the thought processes to that time period. God does not change with the times but our perception of who God is should change as societies eliminate their superstitious beliefs. God, the Ultimate Spirit consists of Supreme Purity, Pure Intelligence, Pure Logic, etc., is not encumbered by human attributes and has no needs, or a desire to be worshiped, prayed to, exalted, venerated, deified, or anything else that we have to offer.

Human characteristics are to exercise upon others: power, control, dominance, destruction, punishment, revenge, judgment. Everyone is individually and personally totally responsible for his own soul's destiny. The destruction of civilizations, most sufferings and premature deaths are due to human frailties, stupidity or imperfections and are not God's doings. God, exists in a spiritual realm and never has and never will interfere with anything on earth or in the universe.

God is interested in and is involved in humanity, but does not interfere in any way in our physical lives. God guides the development of the universe and everything thereon like a Master Planner. Our relationship and interaction of our spirit with the Spirit of God is for our, not God's benefit.

I totally agree with your statement ⌠True God, as a theoretical, can only be witnessed by a soul REMOVED FROM HUMAN EGO. This is akin to a state of pure psychic being, removed from physical and emotional ( i.e. ego) constraints. You can start your ratiocination there. Thats where God is my friend. The logic is infallible.■

The Ultimate Truth is indecipherable by the human mind and can only be divulged to the spirit which also often misinterprets its meaning, hence we have various religions and beliefs.

Namaste,
Kurt

http://transcendentalism.us

P.S. Why do you think that Americans get involved in world affairs and have their sons and daughters die for the causes and strife of other countries? I myself am German born and now live in the USA. Should I and the Germans hate Americans for occupying and killing Germans? The same is also applicable to the Japanese, South Koreans, Vietnamese, Yugoslavia and other countries.

The way that I see it now is that Americans will fight for and die for causes to stop the oppression of other peoples rights. The end results are democracy. Democracy for the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine and ALL Arabs.

I am not qualified to answer on the justification of the Palestinian rebellion against the Israeli occupation except to say that there is a need for rationality on both sides in order to solve that problem.

[Volodya987]

Ouch
Volodya987

[kkawohl]

Ouch Volodya987 ? Yep

When people first acquired reasoning abilities, the first fear of an unseen deity came about when lightning and thunder caused them to cringe and seek shelter.
Lightning and thunder were thought to be punishment from God for evil deeds. Worshiping God through prayers and asking for forgiveness eventually as the storm passed was believed to appease the wrath of God or the Gods.

Rationality and logic should eventually eliminates all superstition. Fear of an uncertain future has been instilled in many through conditioning. Truth of who/what God is, if honestly presented and practiced by the presenter himself, should eventually prevail.

Truth and logic require a foundation, the foundation being our realization that our forefathers intentions for our soul's continuity was their conviction that God had personally spoken to his messengers and had instructed them in what God desired. What was considered the truth about God was whatever society adopted thereof during their time when presuppositions of the concept of God was compared to a required domination by a ruler who was capable of enforcing laws adaptable for the society of that time period.

Religious practices originated from a fear of God. Judaism and Islam are more closely tied to these ancient practices than Christianity which is a more modernized belief that combines a love and a fear of God and came into existence two millennia ago. We have made great advances since then in technology and our standard of living but our religious practices have not advanced.

Judaism originated a monotheist God and Islam and Christianity is the offshoot thereof. Abraham according to Genesis was the first person with whom God chose to have a special relationship. His spirit as well as those of several others after him interacted with the Spirit of God; this was misinterpreted and claims were made by others that God had physically spoken with him. Soon thereafter God was viewed as having human-like features and one who performed great miracles on earth. Stories snowballed and by the time they were written down many others claimed to have physically conversed with God.

All religious writings are by fallible men. God has not talked to them, if they heard voices they were schizophrenic. They may have been inspired by the Spirit of God or they just claimed to have spoken with God in order to elevate their standing amongst their peers or in the community. Now we can totally discard superstitions and discern God to be consisting of Supreme Purity which also reflects Supreme Intelligence, Supreme Logic, and Supreme Common Sense.

The God of Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus and other Prophets, is the same as the God of today who wants all souls to coexist in peace and tranquility for eternity. We can not see or physically talk with God, but our spirit can unite and can be blessed and guided by God's Spirit to accomplish the seemingly impossible. We can not physically control our spirit which only has interaction with our conscience.

God, also known as Allah, Yahweh, Lord, Supreme Being, Jehovah, Spirit of God, Supreme Spirit, etc., is a spirit of peace. When the body dies, the deserving spirit or soul is received by God into a peaceful coexistence with other souls for eternity. The souls of many Prophets, philosophers, holy men, our deceased relatives and even the simplest souls who by their love of humanity and exemplary living have helped to shape the lives of other will be there.

Kurt

[Freedom1]

Both of them really, but I meant volodya's speficially. I admire one word replies that say so much, elegant as software guys used to say.

Kurt, I'm with you most of the way, but what of the notion of a more "universal" interpretation of God, Yawhe, Jahova, Allah, Maker, Creator of all... that might be where we are at, a cross roads to a more universalist defintion of the "collective God" so that we, on the spaceship earth, can move on in tandem.

Religion can become such an evil. I have no personal knowledge of it, but some of the Hollywood renditions of the Serbian conflict, I mean made me sick to my stomach. Less the gore and stench of death as more to be witness to such pure evil.

That we are still capable of it in this day and age.


So maybe the answer lies in a more global concept of Maker. I mean sheesh, on a purelly practical point, how many God's "seeded" the Earth? It's a monopoly, baby! Maybe we just have to figure that out.

Volodya, keep the elegant replies coming...'

BTW, I'm not tellin'......I'm just askin'.



[Edited by Freedom1 on 27th May 2003 at 04:26]

[kkawohl]

When democracy is installed in Iraq, it will have a snow-ball effect with other Islam ruled countries. Chechnya will soon receive autonomy for self-rule but will still be under Russian control.

Islam beliefs will be modernized whereby slavery to Allah will be frowned upon. One needs to keep an open mind and allow the spirit to absorb the logic of who/what Allah/God is without being inhibited by what should be considered religious dogma and conditioning. Allah does not change with the times but our perception of who Allah is should change as societies eliminate their superstitious beliefs. GOD/Allah, the Ultimate Spirit consists of Supreme Purity, Pure Intelligence, Pure Logic, etc., is not encumbered by human attributes and has no needs, or a desire to be worshiped, prayed to, exalted, venerated, deified, or anything else that we have to offer. He/it is comparable to a Master Planner who/that guides the universe rather than controls it; not this mighty ruler who wishes to enslave mankind, but a peaceful coexistence of the spirits or souls of many of our forefathers, past prophets, and all who lived righteously; Cultures change with time. Allah has always been the same, but our perception of him/it will vary with time.

With USA help the Iraq people will be the most prosperous of all Muslim nations and it is they who will unite the Islam tribes. Iraq oil wells will soon have a daily output of over 10 million barrels a day. The power of OPEK and the Saudi Arabia control over it will soon be greatly diminished or eliminated.

Kurt Kawohl
http://transcendentalism.us

The slogan "I Am A Transcendentalist" will soon revolutionize, modernize and bring ALL religions into the 21st Century.