Half a century ago I spent 3 years preparing to be ordained in the clergy — which I did not do because my teachers had taught me that our religions had begun to degenerate into fixations with war, hatred, revenge, killing. I had been drawn rather to the Christian Gospel of compassion — for the poor and those seeking forgiveness for their wrong-doing to others.
We now see the outcomes of degenerate religions which would rather kill and maim than heal. And so it went with the ancient Athenians who continued to practice the religious ceremonies in which no sane Athenian still believed.
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“A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope.” (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
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Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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2 users commented in " Compassion Again "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback“…my teachers had taught me that our religions had begun to degenerate into fixations with war, hatred, revenge, killing…”
ah, but my teachers taught me to “know love and serve God in this world by caring for my neighbor”.
and you know what? IF you go into the streets, you will meet a lot of folks who do just that, from the taxidriver who is supporting an extended family in Pakistan to the cheerful sales clerk who is raising her grandchildren on her salary because their mother is a drug addict.
your teachers were playing the game of “ain’t it awful”, cherry picking the bad out of the good. I read a lot more about hate caused by religion in the New York Times than I actually see in reality…
You may have missed your calling to make a difference, religions degenerate…not a relationship with God…Perhaps you were looking at the trees instead of the forest. Most world religions teach hate, most churches do although they hide it within their committes, traditions and doctrines. I have been a christian longer than I have been anything else in my life (other than alive) my family & I recently decided to abandon our church pews for service. We have Bible Study with family and friends at home, then we visit nursing homes, shutins, feed the hungry, take clothes to the homeless…we may not be changing the world but we are trying to take Christ to those who need Him. We feel that Jesus set an example of meeting peoples needs physically before He healed them spiritually.
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