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Politics : Islam, The Message -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James Calladine who wrote (297)	11/20/2001 11:07:11 PM
From: Bag of Pucks	Respond to of 758

What I find compelling about Buddhism is that there is only one Truth although many paths to enlightenment. So the question is not "what Buddha would say is right" but what the Truth is (as there can only be one Truth). But you are right, religion has been passed on from one generation to another using many different mediums whether it be the written word or word of mouth. There are pros and cons for each method but the trouble I find with the written word is that it is so final and so subject to one (group?)'s interpretation and circumstances in history. This latest terrorist attack has demonstrated that religion matters most during times of crisis - as witnessed by the numbers of worshippers flocking to churches in US. When times are good, people forsake religion and this happens in Buddhism too. So it comes to me as no surprise that the impoverished of the world and unfortunately that includes Afghanistan have turned to religion. But before I go there, my theory is that many of the ancient religions were written or formed, no doubt in times of their crisis. In general, the crisis during those times is 'not two consecutive quarters of economic contraction' but which tribe is slaughtering who. So, I deduce that the language of the day may have been, shall we say 'a bit violent'. As anyone in media will attest, the message has to fit the times in order to be effective. Anyways, back to Afghanistan. Not to generalize, but I think that many people have turned to religion to try to find answers and search for the 'meaning of life'. If I was scraping just to find my next meal, why wouldn't I want seven virgins to serve me in my afterlife!?! It is unfortunate that people like the Taliban have taken control and have used their own interpretaions of Islam to suit their own means. As far as I'm concerned, Bin Laden is nothing more than a cultist (a rich one at that) who has turned his followers against Western civilization (America in particular). He is not much different from Jim Jones who turned his followers upon themselves. Disclaimer: the Truth referred to herein does not imply that other religions are false. What is - is... just like the rules of this message board as stated by TLC. I have not reached enlightenment. Forgive me for my ignorance. hkl