The World Of Religion

           Resolving of sins past, present and future by destroying infidels. Religious war, down with the infidels! Going to the promised land by dying in a holy war. Sounds like extremist Muslims doesn't it. Try the Crusades of the middle ages. There is so much violence associated with organized religion. Yet no religion, not Christianity, not the Muslim religion, not Hindu and certainly not Buddhism are there any teachings of going to war for a holy reason.  No Way! No how! All the religions of the world in one way or another teach the "Golden Rule". We are a country that is much more diversified than in the 1950's but if you ask Americans, especially right wing Americans, they will say this is a Christian nation. Guess what? We don't act it! No where in the bible does Jesus say that it is ok to wage war. In fact if you really read the teachings of Jesus. He is more in line with the teaching of Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi. Jesus was a pacifist to the end, even while being nailed on the cross. Something the Buddhist monks can tell you about. While facing their Chinese torturers they are famous for staying compassionate and keeping with their teachings. Waging war, being the biggest arms dealer in the world while our own people are starving and homeless and trying to force our way of life on other people is directly against the teaching of Jesus and more in line with the Devil. Look in the holy city of Jerusalem, a Muslim opens and closes the most holy of Christian churches. Jerusalem is the holy place of the worlds three greatest religions. That alone should be proof enough that we are supposed to live in harmony with each other. Just because an extremest group attacks us in the name of a holy war, it doesn't make it right to think that all people of that religion are bad. If so then all Christians are evil. Look at the Crusades! Look at the Molestations in the christian churches! If we consider our selves Christian and we consider our government based on Christian ideals? Then we need to hold ourselves and our government accountable to the teachings of Jesus. Turn the other cheek, those with out sin cast the first stone, treat your neighbor as your brother, give of your self to others, judge not.
       So... where do we stand? With the Devil or in the light and compassion of a Holy God?