Extremist Religion Can Be Hazardous To Everyone's Health
Billions of people world wide have various religious beliefs, and many even have strong religious beliefs, but they go about their lives, they go to work, they go to their places of worship, and they don't hurt or bother anyone else over religion. If someone doesn't agree with them, they may wish it were otherwise, but they go about their business. If someone makes fun of them or their religion, they may not like it, they may even get angry, but they contain themselves and move on. Then there are those who have such fanatical religious beliefs, that anyone who dares to disagree with their religious view in any way faces severe repercussions. I just saw where in Bangladesh, a country with an overwhelmingly Muslim population, some Muslims rampaged through a Buddhist area destroying Buddhist temples and burning Buddhist homes, because of a photo posted on Facebook by ONE Buddhist which some Muslims felt insulted Islam. (The story said "one" Buddhist posted the picture, and the story provided no details about the picture.) The government there is trying to keep a lid on things now.
I needn't tell any half way sane person, this behavior is lunacy! It is nonsense out of the Middles Ages, which needed to die in the Middle Ages along with the plague, to which it bears a serious resemblance. It threatens EVERYONE! However, both the plague and such antiquated religious fervor survived the Middle Ages, and to be quite honest, no one really knows what to do about the latter. Unless you've been visiting another planet lately, and some people seem to do so, you are also aware of protests and violence in many Muslim areas of the world directed at the United States over a film made by a guy in California (born in Egypt), a film which was unknown to virtually every human being not visiting another planet before the violence started, which Muslims say insulted their Prophet Mohammad, a charge I believe is likely true (although I didn't see the film), but the extreme reaction to the film has only served to give it more publicity and to give Muslims an increasingly negative image in many parts of the world, an image perhaps exaggerated, since not all Muslims, nor even most Muslims, rose up and started lashing out at the United States. Folks, most of us probably get insulted every day, or at least every week, but people who are seriously troubled about their beliefs are the dangerous ones, since people who feel confident in themselves and any beliefs, religious or political, don't run around in a panic, lashing out at others, because someone said something about them. The fearful ones try to suppress differing views or go out of their way to prove their beliefs are stronger by attacking others. These are signs of weakness, not strength. Such insecure people wall themselves off, fearful someone or some view might actually change them, and they're terrified! "What if my beliefs are wrong? Ahhhhhhhhh! I don't want to know!"
Communism in eastern Europe built walls and barbed-wire fences, complete with armed guards in gun towers, for the announced purpose of keeping aggressors out of their "paradise," but the propaganda fooled no one, as the walls and fences were built to keep their own people from experiencing anything beyond their own imagined "Garden of Eden," because they were too afraid their own ideas and life style could not stand up in comparison or criticism. Such weak egos are VERY dangerous. Some people don't want to know or to search for truth. They are content with their beliefs, and they don't care how flawed their beliefs might be. "Two plus two is five," and they are happy to believe that and they don't want anyone telling them it's three...ah, wait a second, let's see... oh...four! The whole point is, weak leaders exploit the lack of education and backwardness of some to keep control of such people.
Like it, not like it, change requires criticism, something none of us is especially fond of when it is directed at us. Moderates, or people who really practice peaceful religion do not always speak up, so the fanatics take over. Remember, you may feel very strongly about your religion, but your religion is sacred to YOU, not necessarily to others. I try to accept people's religious beliefs, but behavior such as that mentioned above makes it very difficult. This kind of religious terror, however, is a reality and we're going to have to live or die with it. When you have "elements of a religion" (not everyone) say that no one can criticize their religion, or we'll kill you, there's no room for any discussion with such people. When you have these same elements attacking members of other religions or nationals from other countries, just because one person, or one small group of people affiliated with a particular religion or nation, insulted their religion, this has all the ingredients of major world tension for a long, long time to come; and that's if we don't blow the world to pieces over such things first.
Christianity also has fanatics and the history of Christianity is not pretty. It is filled with hatred, violence, killing and intolerance; and that's just among people who called themselves Christians! Christianity also has been highly intolerant of other religions, although some of that has lessened in more recent times, especially in relation to Judaism. Islam has also had such a troubled history within its own ranks. Christianity and Islam have had a very contentious relationship throughout history, but with periods of relative peace. People from both religions have perpetrated atrocities against members of the other religion. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between religious and political fanatics, since some fanatics wrap themselves in the garb of religion to spew their hatred. As I said, I generally respect people's religious beliefs, but some things are not purely religious, nor can we allow zealots to try to pull us back to medieval, or even to ancient, times.
WORD HISTORY:
Fanatic-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain. It goes back to Latin "fanum," which meant "temple." This then produced "fanaticus," which had the notion of "something derived from the temple," which then led to the extended meaning "inspired by a deity." The fervor of some religious people in Roman times led to the further meaning "frenzied or overzealous religious person," a further development of which dropped the religious necessity to become "mad, insane person." English borrowed the word in the earlier part of the 1500s, but its pronunciation apparently was strongly influenced by French "fanatique," a word Latin-based French inherited from its Latin ancestor. In English the word gradually assumed the meaning "overzealous person," a meaning even used in Roman times.
I needn't tell any half way sane person, this behavior is lunacy! It is nonsense out of the Middles Ages, which needed to die in the Middle Ages along with the plague, to which it bears a serious resemblance. It threatens EVERYONE! However, both the plague and such antiquated religious fervor survived the Middle Ages, and to be quite honest, no one really knows what to do about the latter. Unless you've been visiting another planet lately, and some people seem to do so, you are also aware of protests and violence in many Muslim areas of the world directed at the United States over a film made by a guy in California (born in Egypt), a film which was unknown to virtually every human being not visiting another planet before the violence started, which Muslims say insulted their Prophet Mohammad, a charge I believe is likely true (although I didn't see the film), but the extreme reaction to the film has only served to give it more publicity and to give Muslims an increasingly negative image in many parts of the world, an image perhaps exaggerated, since not all Muslims, nor even most Muslims, rose up and started lashing out at the United States. Folks, most of us probably get insulted every day, or at least every week, but people who are seriously troubled about their beliefs are the dangerous ones, since people who feel confident in themselves and any beliefs, religious or political, don't run around in a panic, lashing out at others, because someone said something about them. The fearful ones try to suppress differing views or go out of their way to prove their beliefs are stronger by attacking others. These are signs of weakness, not strength. Such insecure people wall themselves off, fearful someone or some view might actually change them, and they're terrified! "What if my beliefs are wrong? Ahhhhhhhhh! I don't want to know!"
Communism in eastern Europe built walls and barbed-wire fences, complete with armed guards in gun towers, for the announced purpose of keeping aggressors out of their "paradise," but the propaganda fooled no one, as the walls and fences were built to keep their own people from experiencing anything beyond their own imagined "Garden of Eden," because they were too afraid their own ideas and life style could not stand up in comparison or criticism. Such weak egos are VERY dangerous. Some people don't want to know or to search for truth. They are content with their beliefs, and they don't care how flawed their beliefs might be. "Two plus two is five," and they are happy to believe that and they don't want anyone telling them it's three...ah, wait a second, let's see... oh...four! The whole point is, weak leaders exploit the lack of education and backwardness of some to keep control of such people.
Like it, not like it, change requires criticism, something none of us is especially fond of when it is directed at us. Moderates, or people who really practice peaceful religion do not always speak up, so the fanatics take over. Remember, you may feel very strongly about your religion, but your religion is sacred to YOU, not necessarily to others. I try to accept people's religious beliefs, but behavior such as that mentioned above makes it very difficult. This kind of religious terror, however, is a reality and we're going to have to live or die with it. When you have "elements of a religion" (not everyone) say that no one can criticize their religion, or we'll kill you, there's no room for any discussion with such people. When you have these same elements attacking members of other religions or nationals from other countries, just because one person, or one small group of people affiliated with a particular religion or nation, insulted their religion, this has all the ingredients of major world tension for a long, long time to come; and that's if we don't blow the world to pieces over such things first.
Christianity also has fanatics and the history of Christianity is not pretty. It is filled with hatred, violence, killing and intolerance; and that's just among people who called themselves Christians! Christianity also has been highly intolerant of other religions, although some of that has lessened in more recent times, especially in relation to Judaism. Islam has also had such a troubled history within its own ranks. Christianity and Islam have had a very contentious relationship throughout history, but with periods of relative peace. People from both religions have perpetrated atrocities against members of the other religion. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between religious and political fanatics, since some fanatics wrap themselves in the garb of religion to spew their hatred. As I said, I generally respect people's religious beliefs, but some things are not purely religious, nor can we allow zealots to try to pull us back to medieval, or even to ancient, times.
WORD HISTORY:
Fanatic-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain. It goes back to Latin "fanum," which meant "temple." This then produced "fanaticus," which had the notion of "something derived from the temple," which then led to the extended meaning "inspired by a deity." The fervor of some religious people in Roman times led to the further meaning "frenzied or overzealous religious person," a further development of which dropped the religious necessity to become "mad, insane person." English borrowed the word in the earlier part of the 1500s, but its pronunciation apparently was strongly influenced by French "fanatique," a word Latin-based French inherited from its Latin ancestor. In English the word gradually assumed the meaning "overzealous person," a meaning even used in Roman times.
Labels: Bangladesh, Christianity, English, etymology, extremists, Latin, Muslims, religion, religious conflict
posted by Randy at 9:26 PM
1 Comments:
Nuns on the Bus are the kind of 'extremists' I like. They are great!
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