Re: For all those who ponder...About Charities Elaine

Name    : 
E-Mail  : 
Subject : 

Comments:
: 
: Elaine,

: Well, a lot said there.  Gonna have to mull it and think upon it and answer, but the short answers are.......

: I am too much a pragmatist and a cynic to ascribe to Utopia as a possibility.

: I never advocated giving up our differences, religions etc.  I said that we should stress the commonalities.  As long as we stress the differences and take sinful pride in them, we will continue to get into trouble.

: I do not want one world order or one great society.  I do want the world to work together on world problems.  What will it take for that?  Invasion from without the planet by not-of-this-earth
: beings?

: And ah, don't get me started on Catholicism.  In my search for a belief system I did take the catechism and instruction.  I was told that anybody who was not Catholic (capital C) either went to hell or was doomed to purgatory.  Purgatory if unaware of the True Church, and hell if aware but believing otherwise.  I walked away.  That kind of bullcrap elitism is what allows folks to commit the things they do to each other.  It is one of THE polar issues.

: For the record, differences need not be polar issues.  The idea of MY difference being better than YOUR difference creates the polarity.  And in my view, the Catholic church epitomizes that concept.  I am more than willing to accept that a good Catholic Christian has as much chance of sitting with God one day as I do.
: What creates the polarity is that the Catholic Church states I will never sit with God because I do not believe in THEIR dogma.

: And now, I think I will retire for a bit, as you have successfully made of a pretty decent discussion a POLAR issue of it.  And why?  Because religion was mentioned.  However it does illustrate what I was trying to say.  Some folks will never give up the idea that their religion is the right one and everybody else is wrong.  And therefore we will never have peace in the world.  Even if all the other factors for conflict were resolved but that one, conflict will go on. I wasn't asking for anybody to give up the Catholic religion.  I WAS asking that the catholics and islamics and jews and christians at least agree that all have a valid way of coming to God.  And quite nicely, I think, we have seen an illustration of why that will never be.
: So conflict will go on.

: Pity.  

: Bill R
:   


Optional Link URL:  
Link Title:         
Optional Image URL: