Religion and Reality              ---  ^...   Faith  ^and  Reason  ^...   ---   10 10   Reality and Religion

Page Two

Analysis and Assessment

Where We Are Right Now

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1)   Everything occurs within a context.   The context controls content.   The context we are referring to in this document is the major social, political, economic, religious and environmental transformations that have already begun sweeping away life as we have known it on planet Earth.   Any group that successfully ends terrorism must do so with full knowledge of  the other contexts -- with full knowledge of the other in-process transformations.

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2)   Human Life on Earth, as We Presently Know It, Is Simply NOT Sustainable NOT Sustainable.  The only question is:  Which of the following  three scenarios will occur first?     1)  Will we destroy ourselves and each other in major violent confrontations over conflicting religious beliefs?  2)  Will human overpopulation and the arrogant, massive, human-caused  destruction of our natural environment trigger a major catastrophic event that will kill literally billions of people?   3)  Will we wake up in time to consciously and intentionally direct this transformation and lead each other into an age of self-awareness? 

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3)   Global Climate Change Is Real.  Whether or not you have examined the evidence --  whether or not you still  believe the Bush-led denial  --  whether or not you think it's someone else's problem  --   whether or not you believe Global Climate Change is real.   It is Real!   Global Climate Change is, by far, the most dangerous threat to human survival in all of recorded history.    It's also one of the most ignored and played-down problems.   (See the section titled:  Bet to Pot Ratio° which explains why even if you think Global Climate Change is NOT real you should be acting as if it IS real.   

        Iraq Ground War-War On Terrorism        ...

4)   The Iraq Ground-War   Versus   War On Terrorism:   A clear distinction must  be made between the ground war in Iraq and the borderless, global-war on terrorism.   The present ground war in Iraq  has almost nothing to do with ending terrorism.    (Even the Bush Administration now [2006] admits that starting the war in Iraq had noting to do with anti-terrorism.)   It was a major tactical blunder.   It has created far more problems than it has solved.   It has created a huge pool of would-be, suicide bombers, terrorists, and terrorist supporters.   It has increased the number of people who hate America by hundreds of thousands, perhaps even by millions.  It has created a global-level,  holy war (Islamic Jihad) against non-Muslims.   The ferocity and intensity of that war is beyond anything any of us ever imagined was even possible.  

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5)   A Multi-Billion Dollar Boondoggle:   Humanity, world wide, is spending vast amounts of time and resources in what Bush and company call "The War on Terrorism."   In the last year alone,  the United States federal government, spent four billion dollars on their war .   As purely a guess, the annual price world-wide is probably ten billion dollars or more.   (Since this section was originally written, that price has escalated to ten billion dollars per month.)

Guaranteed Failure                ...

Guaranteed Failure

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6-1)   Guaranteed Failure - 1:   Everybody, across the board, except the Bush team, acknowledges that present anti-terrorist activities are guaranteed to fail.   If the  present, bush-led,  anti-terrorist policies remain, it's only a matter of time before some terrorists cell manages to create a global-level disaster.    Those promoting violence in the name of God  are regularly pulling off small-scale disasters daily.   If we continue  refusing to change and refusing to adapt to suicidal Islamic jihad, humans will pay a very heavy price and that price could be the explosion of a nuclear weapon in Israel, in Europe or in the USA.    

       Not only that, continued focus on terrorism could allow the presently-underway Global Climate Change  processes to go unchecked.   If that happens, massive Global Climate Change  will very likely result in the extinction of hundreds of  thousands of plants and animals and in the deaths of billions of people.   Such a catastrophe could even get as bad as the near or actual extinction of the human species.**   

**  The melting of the northern artic ice pack could release millions of tons of CO² that is presently trapped, frozen  under the ice.  Releasing of that much gas would trigger a global climate change that is of disastrous proportion and would be unstoppable no matter what humans did.   

      (If you're still betting your life that Global Climate Change is not real, you'd be wise to read the section titled:  Bet to Pot Ratio° which explains why even if you think Global Climate Change is NOT real you should be acting as if it IS real and to also read the page titled:  Climate Change  and Human Survival.°

       Actually the problem of violence-in-the-name-of-God is getting worse almost daily.   Lack of any restriction and the lack of any negative consequences  are causing these people to get even more brazen and outspoken.    Appeasing promoters of jihad is obviously backfiring.   One has but to examine the Islamic extremist's response to Pope Benedict's September 12,  2006  attempt to created dialog between religions.   His message was one of offering a dialog about faith and reason and that violence is incompatible with the nature of God.   The Islamic leaders used this as an excuse to promote riots and incite violence and cause murders to be committed  against Catholics.       See Footnote -01`   

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6-2)   Guaranteed Failure - 2:    The potential for ever-increased levels of disaster  grows daily.    To date, using tools that  have been rather simple, terrorists have inflicted heavy loss of life,  costs billions of dollars in financial expenses, and consumed hundreds of thousands of hours of labor.   Not only is the number of people who hate Americans growing,  those who hate us are more dedicated and determined.   The terrorists are constantly  searching for nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and chemical weapons.    Unless they are stopped, it's only a matter of time before they succeed in acquiring one of these weapons.   When that day comes, the disaster of 9-11-2001 will pale into insignificance.   We simply cannot sit around and wait for that to happen.   The cycle of terror MUST be interrupted NOW !    

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6-3)   Guaranteed Failure - 3:     Probably the most critical factor in this entire war or terrorism revolves around maintaining the stability of the Pakistan government and in calming the American hatred in the people in the areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan.   Bush and company have clearly demonstrated that they simply do not understand how the people in this part of the world interrelate with each other and how serious it will be if the Taliban forces manage to destabilize Pakistan and obtain nuclear weapons.    Because the Pakistan government is very unstable, it is absolutely critical that  terrorism be  curbed immediately. 

Islamic Jihad

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7-1)   Islamic Jihad - 1:   Moderate Islam has been  hijacked by a relatively small number of  highly-motivated, highly-dedicated men who's mission in life is to lead, and/or to induce and/or participate in the mass-murder as many non-Muslims as possible.   No matter what we do or don't do, the Islamic extremists have declared and are fighting a holy war (Islamic jihad) against non-Muslims.   They have declared that they will stop fighting only when they are dead or when the entire world has converted to the Taliban's form of Islam.   They take no prisoners (as distinct from hostages).   They make no compromises.   Their position is not negotiable.  

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7-2)  Islamic Jihad - 2:   What do we find when we examine the ultra-radical, Islamic jihad terrorists, themselves?    What is the mind set (the mental conditioning) of the men who have vowed-to-the-death to kill as many non-Muslims as possible?   First, one has to acknowledge that these are fellow humans, fellow divine beings having a human experience -- that they are not bad people, but rather people who  live by a very different belief system -- that they are dedicated defenders of something they strongly believe in --  that they will stop at absolutely nothing to defend their faith --  that they believe they are working under orders from Ala (God), Himself --  that they believe non-believers to be the worst offenders of God --  that nothing short of death will alter their behavior or cause them to abandon God.   In their own eyes, they are defenders of the faith.   It never occurs to these men that Islam is totally safe and secure and that Islam does not need defending.   

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7-3)   Islamic Jihad - 3:   Regarding those leading Islamic jihad, what are their chances of converting the world to their version of ultra-radical, oppressive version of Islam?    Zero!   They have absolutely no chance of accomplishing their stated goal.   Then why are they doing what are they doing?   What is in their minds as they plot mass murder?   There are only two possible answers --  1)  the leaders are enhancing their own personal, power, wealth, and prestige -- or 2)  they are  committing suicide while killing non-Muslims so they can go to paradise.

        The Unruly Child Analogy:   These people are nothing more than a global-level, deadly version of an unruly child who simply refuses to get along with others.    An out of control child has to be disciplined to whatever degree it takes to curb the destructive behavior.   The same is true of Al Queda and the Taliban, only with the terrorists, a much more severe form of discipline is required.  

       If Discipline Is NOT Metered Out:   Every time a believer in jihad commits another act of terrorism and there are no consequences, the terrorists consider this as an invitation to expand their activities.   If the human species is to survive, at some point in time, the proposals indicated herein or some other form of active countermeasures must be implemented.    The sooner this is done, the lower the cost.   The longer the wait, the higher the price we will all pay.   

       If we wait until terrorists set off a nuclear bomb or commit some other form of mass destruction, this will divert attention from Global Climate Change, which if left unchecked, will almost certainly escalate into a disaster the likes of which has never been seen in all of human history.   See the page titled:   Climate Change and Human Survival.°   

Radical Christianity

Rapture Exposed     ...

"The Rapture  --   Exposed         

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8-1)   Radical Christianity - 1:   The ultra-conservative, fundamentalist Christians leaders in the United States tell their followers that the present strife,  chaos, environmental destruction, and wars are  good things because they mean that the end of the world is at hand and that they, the true believers,  (and only the true-believers)  will soon be lifted up out of the chaos and destruction and ushered directly  into heaven be with God and Jesus. 

It's called "the rapture."   It's a highly-emotional, highly-stylized, unprovable, mind-bending story about the return of Jesus in a physical body.   It's a huge cash-cow which generates vast amounts of money for the ultra-conservative, fundamentalist Christians leaders who peddle it.   

It easily sways the mindless followers of fundamentalist Christianity (the men and women who do not think for themselves.)   These people are looking for a painless escape hatch from their confusing and insecure lives in a very chaotic, rapidly changing world.    As a result of accepting this story, the followers feel that they can simply sit back and wait, and either do nothing or encourage the chaos.  They believe themselves to be among the chosen few for whom God will grant special favors while He ignores everybody else.   

According to this fundamentalist Christian  theology:

** God is an angry, fickle, vindictive, mass-murder-promoting God who lives above the clouds around planet Earth.

** God is separate from humans and from nature.

** God can (and does on a whim) defy the laws of the Universe any time He chooses to. 

In that mind-set, there's no sense in being concerned about such things as  wars, or the destruction of the Earthly environment because all these negative events are part of God's plan to end the world.   It's about to end any day now.   

       What the leaders just happen to omit from their preaching is that this story, in a much less dramatic format, has been around for about nineteen-hundred years   Followers have been buying this same story since about one-hundred years after the life of Jesus.   

        A sizable portion on the American population believes that this story is "The Truth."   According to Kevin Phillips,  author of the book, "American Theocracy,"  forty-five percent of the true believers in fundamentalist Christianity in the United States believe that the rapture is coming very soon.   There seems to be no bottom to the pit of mindlessness.

       The evidence indicates that "the rapture" is a highly-destructive, religious  fairytale.  Check it out for yourself:    The Rapture°  

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8-2)   Radical Christianity - 2:   What motivates those who  believe in  "the rapture" story?   What motivates the leaders who are promoting it?    What are these people  doing and why are they doing it?   The leaders are functioning on one of two motive--  1)  either they are running a money-hustle to enhance their own power, wealth and prestige -- or 2)  they believe the story and are doing what they can to hasten the destruction of the world and speed up their entry into heaven.   The followers simply do nothing or do what they can to hasten the destruction of the world and speed up their entry into heaven.   The perspective that "they are on a blind,  suicide mission" and that the rest of us will die with them is of no concern to those who believe in "the rapture."   

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8-3)   Radical Christianity - 3:   Thus , it's critical to know if those who claim to be protecting us from terrorists are actually doing their job and are not secretly supporting the end of the world.   Given the number of people who believe "the rapture" story to be true, it's a reasonable assumption that some believers in "the rapture"  are playing a significant role in interfering with the "war on terrorism."  Mr. Bush and every other official   leading,  associated with,  or  working for  any organization dealing with terrorists needs to  be asked point blank and publicly,  "Do you believe in The Rapture?"   Because religious extremists believe that  lies are permissible for those working directly for God, all self-proclaimed born-again Christians should be required to place their hands on the Bible and swear that their denial is the truth.   Here's a sample oath:  
"I   _______ , swear under oath to God that if I lie under this oath, I realize the I turn my back on God and turn myself over to Satan to burn in hell forever.   I do not believe in 'the rapture.'    'The rapture' is a blasphemy of  God's truth."   

       Because Mr. Bush claims to be a born-again Christian and if say he does not believe in "the rapture," that will bring serious questions about his credibility into the minds of those who do believe.   If he says he does believe in "the rapture,"  then his "war on terrorism" is a fraud - a cover story while he secretly works to hasten the end of the world.  

Capital Crimes         Capital Crimes     ...

8-1)   Radical Christianity - 4:   With all the lies of commission and omission, with all the denials,  with all the Republican corruption, with all the scandals, with the disaster unfolding in Iraq, with the re-insurgence of the Taliban  in Afghanistan, why are so many people still adamantly supporting George Bush and the Republican Party?   Because , by their words and actions, Bush and company have, in essence, declared that God and Jesus are on their side and the devil controls the Democratic Party.  Also because ultra-conservative Christian leaders  and fascist-leaning politicians are in bed together --  each prostituting the other in pursuit its own political agenda.°    

       Although this author has seen no statistics to support the following hypothesis,  it's a safe bet to say  that the majority of Bush supporters are mindless Christians who simply follow orders and vote as their church leaders tell them to.    And it's also a safe bet to say that a significant portion of Bush supporters are believers in the Christian fairytale called  The Rapture.°      

       Here is an undeniable example of Christian mindlessness:   When former Republican Speaker of the House and wheeler-dealer, power-broker, Tom Delay was being arrested for criminal behavior, he smiled for his mug shot and said that he hoped that people could see Jesus in his mug shot picture.   Delay, one of the vilest corrupters of ethic and one of the worst defilers of Christian principles in recent history,  is still  peddling Jesus.   Why?  This man is a clever, conniving con artist and he's peddling himself as a good Christian for a reason.   Because even in the face of his years of  destructive and despicable behavior, countless, mindless suckers are still buying his Christian-good-guy  story!    

       Hubris,  hypocrisy, arrogance, deception, outright lies, denial, and religious mindlessness have been gathered together  into one single package and sold under the disguise of "I'm a good Christian," and the suckers are still buying.   Regardless of what face it shows to the world, religion without a mind is deadly° when it gains political power.     Does this tell you anything about why religion and politics need to be kept as separate as possible?   (See the page titled:   It's Wakeup Time.°   and the page titled:  Voting for God.°)   

       For an in-depth documentary of just how corrupt the political system in Washington, D.C. has become, readers are directed to the PBS video series "Bill Moyers on America," and to the specific video titled:  "Capital Crimes."  (Aired on KCET, Los Angeles, CA, October 4, 2006.)

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9)   Living Under an Illusion:   A very significant portion of the human population has no idea what's really going on.   Because life is not what we've been led to believe it is by those who claim to know,  you, I, and everybody else have  been (and still are) making critical,  irreversible, life-altering  decisions based upon false,  incomplete, and/or intentionally-deceptive information!   

       Based upon our beliefs, every single one of us is pushing human kind either closer to oblivion or closer to a successful transformation into an age of self-awareness.   The direction in which you are pushing is dependent upon your beliefs.

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10)   Claims of Victory --  Another Illusion:   Bush and company claim to be winning the war on terrorism.   Here are their three, major claims to success:   

       a)   They have successfully gathered the cooperation of other western nations in fighting terrorism.   Well, if bombs were going off in your country, do you suppose you might respond?   Anyone with even a lick of common sense would use all methods available to defend one's self, including cooperating with the United States.   Claiming credit for such cooperation is like putting toilet training on one's resume under the heading of one's education.   But that's not their only claim.   Here's an even better one.

        b)  They have killed or captured several terrorist leaders.    Whoopdy-doo!   They've eliminated a few hundred of the enemy.   What they don't say is that in the process, they've created a massive "holy war" (Islamic Jihad) and  inspired the recruitment of several thousand new, fight-to-the death terrorists  to take the place of those captured or killed.   (According the news reports, (2006) the number of Al Queda fighters has risen since 9-11-2001 form 20,000 to 50,000.)    Bush and company have also  inspired thousands of Muslims to hate Americans.   The Islamic Jihad replacements are better trained and are equally or even more dedicated to destroying the Great Satan called The United States.  

        c)   Their third great claim to success is that no attack has occurred on American soil since 9-11-2001.   Bush and company spent four billion dollar of federal money building forts (security barriers)  around everything they could imagine.   Collectively, states and other agencies have spent billions more.   Under the name of Homeland Security,  the public has paid a huge price in terms of loss of freedom.   They have also paid a huge financial price which is showing up as a serious  degradation of their financial wherewithal.    

       Numerous tests have shown that the vast majority of the anti-terrorist forts are easily penetrated, yet this is one of their major claims to success.   An unspoken implication in this claim is that blowing up subways in England and Spain is OK,  -- that blowing up busses and restaurants in Israel is OK because the explosions did not occur on United States soil.   Do you suppose Europeans and the Israelis hold this same attitude?

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11)   Strictly Defense:   Bush and company have done absolutely nothing about eliminating global terrorism.   They have failed to spell out the consequences of another 9-11-type attack.   

See the section on page two of this proposal titled:   It's impossible to win a war from a defensive position only.      

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12)   A Look at Your Future:   Imagine for a moment what your life will be like ten years from today if those-in-charge-of-keeping-you-and-your-family-safe  simply maintain the status quo.   Will you even still be alive?   Is that the direction are willing to allow those who run the world to push your life?  

How to End Terrorism
Continues on Page Three:  
Examining  Some Basic Concepts

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Religion and Reality              ---        Faith  ^and  Reason        ---   10 10   Reality and Religion

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**   Footnote-01  
One should note the absolutely awe-inspiring shift in position of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the use of murder to promote one's religion.   The Roman Catholic church is  an organization with a 2000-year-long history of murder in the name of God and a sacred book filled with descriptions and accounts of mass murder by none other than God, himself,  and here's the church leader having courage enough to publicly denounce murder in the name of God.   Congratulations are definitely in order.   

Now if we could only get them to stop ignoring and and start  focusing  on the 40,000 innocent children who starve to death  every day or die of curable diseases.    Instead they spend their time, effort and millions of dollars forcing unwilling women to birth still more unwanted children in an already overcrowded world and base their entire forced motherhood campaign on an ancient, unprovable, conception-magic-act fairytale.