The Name Hardly matters to the Victim!

Submitted by A [Keen] Student of Islam (India), Jun 28, 2005 at 16:22

Dear Dr.Pipes

A most interesting discussion will, I think, result from your thought-inspiring article.

If the equation Yahweh = God = Allah is accepted by present votaries of the three faiths most responsible, on the basis of belief alone, for the worst genocides in history and human misery generally, it is sure to portend only painful annihilation for the rest who are denounced by these three for worshipping "other" false gods! Those others, it must be remembered, are also human beings and have an equal right to their own worldview. Moreover, they have always accepted, as a matter of principle not expediency, the divinity of the gods of others - be it Yahweh, God or Allah. But all they are going to ultimately receive, as a reward, is an ignominious doom because their catholicity is unidirectional.

To the unfortunate victims, therefore, the equation is of no moment because it makes no difference at all which god it was in whose name they were persecuted and annihilated! They will be liquidated in the name of one of the three "gods" anyway.

Nevertheless, human thinking, with rapidly increasing awareness and knowledge about man and the world in which he lives, ought ideally to be steadily phasing out the need and influence of "god". Surely, we have passed that stage of primitive thinking in our enlightened age of reason!

What is therefore most alarming is that a nation that was one of the earliest to constitutionally separate the state from irrational religious dogma with the famous First Amendment, is today publicly engaging itself in ridiculous theological issues, as the reference to Bush's ‘learned' comment in your article indicates! It is hard to imagine that it is the same nation whose President, Thomas Jefferson, had said "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg"! Is it the same nation that gave the world someone like the great thinker Thomas Paine who said, "Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is no more derogatory to the Almighty, more unedifying to man, more repugnant to reason, and more contradictory to itself than this thing called Christianity"? The same nation, that says it stands for freedom and welfare of the human race, is today embroiled in a legal battle over whether or not the Ten Commandments purportedly issued by a jealous god may be displayed on public grounds or in government offices! Or, is all the raving and ranting about "freedom", proffered by the US as a reason for interfering in other countries' affairs, merely a clever ploy for monopolizing the world's resources? One truly wonders!

In the ultimate analysis, it was man who actually made god in his own image - not the other way round! So, all the ambitions and aspirations of so-called "prophets" (for which claim there is no evidence except their own averments – something that won't do even in the lowest court of law in our times!), which must have seemed rather appalling even for the primitive sensibilities of the people they led, were sanctified as commands from a fabrication called god – call him by whatever name you choose.

Faith, it is said, can cause miracles. And indeed the truism seems to be true. Otherwise how can one explain such gruesome bestiality in perfectly normal human beings, which one is astounded to find described so elaborately and extensively – often even gleefully - in a the presumed "Holy" Bible or Quran?

Jehovah, God as well as Allah or any other "god" for that matter, are essentially names for perfectly fabricated devices used by very clever people to manipulate, subvert and control the failing called ‘faith' that is intrinsic to every human being. The sooner mankind as a whole begins examining this weak spot in its psyche in order to limit it, the happier will it make the True God, if at all there is one…

Regards

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