THOUGHTS ON 9/11
After the holocaust of September 11th, 2001, the pope said that religion can never be a justification for bloodshed.
His Bible which he says is the word of God says that God commanded many wars. This God who the pope claims to represent on earth even commanded strikes against sections of Israel not because they were going to attack his people but simply because they had lost their faith. The dishonesty of the pope is awful. The pope considers religion to be a good enough reason to prevent Third World women having access to contraception though birth will bring them great suffering and perhaps even kill them which makes his grand words insincere. Though men can trick the people to thinking a war that is not just is just we have more hope of doing something about it by education and by the fact that we can talk to all involved. But if a God who permits evil and suffering for an alleged good purpose commands a war that seems unjust the situation is hopeless. God has his own reasons and doesn't give them but still commands obedience even as he commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to him (Genesis 22). Therefore anybody who believes in God and takes him seriously is bringing the world closer to danger.
To oppose a prophet who thinks God is commanding war and bloodshed would be hypocritical for God could do that and there is no unmistakable verse of scripture that forbids bloodshed in the name of God. The fact that Islam and Christianity both have to admit that their holy books could be interpreted in such a way – consider the wide variation in interpretation in Christianity alone as a warning - as to sanction violence is reason enough to oppose them because they would have to say that anybody who wants to force their religion on others and persecute critics has a right to their opinion.
Those who say there is one true religion must admit that religion is dangerous for they will see other religions as false and in opposition to the truth. Suicide bombers kill for religion because they think they will awaken in paradise. They are the people who sign the affidavit that religious belief causes death and destruction and even peaceable forms of it are dangerous in their own blood. Once you choose faith over reason and human welfare, no matter how decent you are, you are advocating what could snowball into an openly destructive form of faith. All suicide bombers started off believing that God came first not people (a belief advocated by the evil Jesus when he said that the greatest command is the love of God and the second greatest and therefore less important one was love of neighbour – so people are to be valued for God and not for themselves, it is really only religion that ultimately matters). Their belief that religion mattered not people was the seed that grew into the tree that led them to bring on their horrific deaths. They were murderers in their attitudes long before they murdered. Whoever devalues people is a killer in his heart and desires no matter how much charm he pours out on them. Human beings are shockingly irrational. Be aware of this. Religion then comes along promising a pie in the sky and invisible blessings and fantasy friends. It is a dangerous poison when it offers itself to beings as irrational and often stupid as us. We are bad enough without it.