Chicken & egg syndrome

Submitted by Jack Ajzenberg (Canada), Aug 13, 2002 at 12:07

As is almost always the case, your lucidity in this regard allows readers to broaden their respective understanding of specific issues related to the Middle East Imbroglio. In this instance the issue is arguably, the importance attributed to the theological & sectarian nature of Islam & its variegated missives& declarations.

How important are the declarations of religious leaders to their respective masses when religion in this instance & for that matter in most every instance serves as a tool for those wielding power? Can one cogently assert that Islam radical or otherwise, Christianity in its various incarnations, Judaism,& other principal religious doctrines are effective tools for maintaining order at both the most fundamental & broadest levels?

I believe that religious doctrines have always done so & this is perhaps the reason for longevity of major religious doctrine, adapted to the social-political & cultural requirements of the elites presiding over the variegated masses & concurrently wielding power.

Without the idea of god, omnipresent or wrathful or merciful or all these things combined alongwith other attributes, where could the individual turn for..hope?

I further believe that no matter what the religious message & no matter the source, change will never occur unless the individual is prepared & dedicated to change at the most basic level,individual level.

In other words, &at the individual level, after waking in the morning & clearing the cobwebs from a,night of dreams, the first question must be who can I better understand or better love this day rather than whom can I better hate or more effectively kill.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".