Again I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Mark Twain:
“Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion –- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven.” (The Lowest Animal)
Again I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Gandhi:
“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.”
And again I’m reminded that at the core of ALL major world religions is the concept of loving one another. How and why have religious extremists (of ALL religions) strayed so far away from the central teachings of their respective religions?
I’ve never watched the TV show “West Wing” but there’s a great exchange between the “president” (Bartlett) and a holier-than-thou talk show radio host:
BARTLET: It’s a good idea to be reminded of the awesome impact, the awesome impact… I’m sorry. You’re Dr. Jenna Jacobs, right?JACOBS (obviously pleased to be recognized): Yes, sir!BARTLET: It’s good to have you here.JACOBS: Thank you!BARTLET: … the awesome impact of the airwaves, and how that translates into the furthering of our national discussions, but obviously also how it can … how it can … Forgive me, Dr. Jacobs. Are you an M.D.?JACOBS: A Ph.D.BARTLET: A Ph.D.JACOBS: Yes, sir.BARTLET: In psychology?JACOBS: No, sir.BARTLET: Theology?JACOBS: No.BARTLET: Social work?JACOBS: I have a Ph.D. in English Literature.BARTLET: I’m asking ‘cause on your show people call in for advice – and you go by the name Dr. Jacobs on your show – and I didn’t know if maybe your listeners were confused by that and assumed you had advanced training in psychology, theology or health care.JACOBS: I don’t believe they are confused, no, sir.BARTLET: I like your show. I like how you call homosexuality an “abomination!”JACOBS: I don’t say homosexuality is an abomination, Mr. President. The Bible does.BARTLET: Yes it does. Leviticus!JACOBS: 18:22.BARTLET: Chapter and verse. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I had you here. I wanted to sell my youngest daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She’s a Georgetown Sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be?(Bartlet only waits a second for a response, then plunges on.)BARTLET: While thinking about that, can I ask another? My chief of staff, Leo McGary, insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself? Or is it okay to call the police?(Bartlet barely pauses to take a breath.)BARTLET: Here’s one that’s really important, because we’ve got a lot of sports fans in this town. Touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you?(The camera pushes in on the president.)One last thing. While you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the Ignorant Tight-Ass Club, in this building when the president stands, nobody sits.(Jacobs sees that, in fact, the president is standing and she is the only one in the room sitting. After a moment, she rises, holding her tiny plate of appetizers. After the president exits, Sam Seaborn sternly approaches a thoroughly belittled Jacobs.)SAM: I’m just … going to take that crab puff. (Sam snatches Dr. Jacob’s crab puff, then hurries after the president.)
Dear Dr. Laura,
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly
states it to be an abomination. End of debate.I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?
g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?
i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.
After Bush was re-elected to a second term in 2004, a similar letter was circulated on the Internet, which brought up many of these same questions.
When I was a little girl, my dad (who had a knack for meeting interesting, diverse people) met and befriended an Iranian man who was attending the JAG school at UVa. Related by marriage somehow to the Iranian monarchy (which was in power in the mid-1960s) and serving as a colonel in the Iranian army, he was in this country to study international law.
He was a guest in our home a few times and I found him fascinating. He spoke six or seven different languages (which amazed me) and I remember asking him to tell me the word for “horse” in all of them. 
While I’ve never been too knowledgeable about Middle Eastern politics, there was a period of time after WWII during which Iran became more progressive. Women were given the right to vote and dress became more Western in style. In 1969 when the Apollo 11 astronauts delivered “good will” messages from world leaders to the lunar surface during the historic first moon landing, the Shah of Iran sent the following message:
“On this occasion when Mr. Neil Armstrong and Colonel Edwin Aldrin set foot for the first time on the surface of the Moon from the Earth, we pray the Almighty God to guide mankind towards ever increasing success in the establishment of peace and the progress of culture, knowledge and human civilization.” ~ Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Aryamehrm, Shahanshah (NASA History)
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 (which is also known as the Islamic Revolution) ended the 2500-year rule of an Iranian monarchy. The Shah and his family fled the country and the Ayatollah Khomeini, the new leader of the Republic of Iran, established a theocracy: a government based on Islamic ideology. According to the Iranian Constitution, its army is responsible not only for “guarding and preserving the frontiers of the country, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of jihad (Holy War) in God’s way; that is, extending the sovereignty of God’s law throughout the world.” (Iranian Constitution)
In April 1979, we learned that my dad’s Iranian friend — the man who could say the word “horse” in seven different languages — had been sentenced to death and executed at a prison in Tehran for the crimes of “corruption on earth” and treason. A yellowed newspaper clipping that documents his death is taped into the back of a book of poetry that had been one of his gifts to my father….
Iranian human rights lawyer and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, said in a 2006 interview that many of Iran’s interpretations of Islamic religion were wrong and that, as a lawyer, she was working to correct them. She said that the people of Iran were ready for a democracy, but added that “democracy cannot be imported to our country with missiles and bombs.” (Amesty International)
By 2008, however, Ebadi admitted that Iran’s human rights record had “regressed” over the past two years (Reuters India) and when a peaceful human rights advocate in Iran was executed in August 2008, it was another reminder that the Islamic government has become more violent against — and intolerant of — those who oppose it, even through peaceful means. (Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation)
In this country, we’ve just witnessed the election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama. While 52% of the voters in the United States helped to make this happen, a small portion of the 48% who voted against him (if they voted at all) are violently opposed to this historic milestone, simply due to his race.
The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama is responsible for monitoring the activities of “hate groups” in this country. Since the election, it has reported “hundreds” of race-related threats and crimes. The map below shows some of the groups they are monitoring. If you click on the image you will be able to see the groups that are identified — perhaps even in your home town.
Intolerance — by racial extremists or religious extremists — is a repudiation of the principles on which this country was founded and a repudiation of the basic tenets on which all religions were founded. As I wrote in a previous article, the United Nations (in 1999) stated that a focus on “education and dialogue” was seen as the only way to eradicate intolerance. (UN Report).
The Southern Poverty Law Center offers resource materials for teachers at no cost. If you are a teacher, I urge you to sign up for their magazine called “Teaching Tolerance“. You can also “Stand Strong Against Hate” by signing up on their site as a “voice for tolerance.”
If you are a person of faith and of tolerance, consider joining the Interfaith Alliance or a similar organization that seeks to “champion individual rights, promote policies that protect both religion and democracy, and unite diverse voices to challenge extremism.”
For reasons that I can’t fully explain — but know, intuitively — we, the people of this world, are at some sort of evolutionary crossroads. If the campaign and subsequent election of Barack Obama has taught us anything, however, it is that there is tremendous power in organized, grassroots efforts, especially among people who strongly desire to see positive changes in the world.
A book I recently purchased is called “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, MD. Simply explained, neuroscience has discovered that the brain is remarkably “plastic” and that our thoughts can change the physical structure and function of our brain. The NY Times offers the following review:
“The power of positive thinking finally gains scientific credibility. Mind-bending, miracle-making, reality-busting stuff with implications for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history.“
Our world is changing and as Stephen Hawking (British theoretical physicist) said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” We must educate ourselves and each other in order to create a new type of intelligence — one that transcends cultural, ethnic and religious differences and embraces the reality that we’re literally all in this together.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~ Gandhi
