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Why Religions Shouldn’t Take the Bait
When individuals promote intolerance they tend to promote differences and suggest that those differences are bad.
Somehow this seems to resonate with people. You know: “They wear funny hats so we should be suspicious of them” or “they have strange accents, so of course, cannot be trusted.” But the most absurd is: “They believe in a different God so are delusional and not to be respected.”
What is even worse is that those who hate try to point out the differences between religions and, using those differences, attempt to create conflict between the religions themselves. This is the “divide-and-conquer” technique at work. In truth, what is common amongst religions is far more widespread and profound than what is different—and what is different is unlikely to affect another religion at all.
Every religion in its own way is trying to improve man. The difference is in the method.
Every religion tries to build unity. The difference is in the method.
There will never be only one religion on Earth—it is just not the way of our world. There is no reason to even want just one religion. But religious diversity does not mean religions should not recognize their inherent similarities of purpose. Maybe the problem is a failure to see past “the funny hats” to the true core of what each religion is attempting to achieve.
Religion is the essence of the people. No government, no institution, no club will ever be able to give purpose to man like his religions do.
But whatever the source of discord, it is this common purpose of bettering mankind that all religions should recognize in each other. Time spent observing the Christian, Jewish and Muslim focus on education is time well spent. This they have in common with the Buddhist, who also has a desire to understand man’s relationship with the universe, and this he shares with the Scientologist who also shares a love of education with the religions of Abraham. Further, the Scientologist believes that the right to help another is a most cherished right which you will see in all missionary religions that have crisscrossed our earth. And so it goes. Religions have so much at their core in common and the differences are most likely to be only in the delivery.
It’s time for religions to stand up, together, and take their proper place in society. Religion has been relegated to sweeping up after governments—feeding the hungry after governments have destroyed an economy, taking care of refugees after government armies have trampled over their rights and towns, and giving sanctuary to those persecuted by politics. This “after-the-catastrophe” approach is not working. It will only change if all religions work together, observe what they have in common and encourage each other to act in harmony while maintaining their core beliefs for the betterment of mankind.
Religions need to see that an attack on one religion is an attack on all religion. It is not by chance that totalitarian governments work to eliminate religion. Or mask themselves in “religion” to wield the power native to religion and use it for evil.
Religion is the essence of the people. No government, no institution, no club will ever be able to give purpose to man like his religions do.
Divide and conquer is what the enemies of man want: divide our religions with the use of propaganda to point out differences and make those differences seem more important than they are. All of our religions should, instead, bind together, allowing each to be different while recognizing what they share—an interest in bettering all people. No one else is doing it and more importantly no one else ever will. The world is waiting and time is running out.
