We live in a world where it seems that violence can be justified, as along as we can persuade ourselves that it is in the cause of right. We take this ‘truth’ in almost with our mother’s milk as we are fed a diet of cartoons, and then, as we grow older, films, that seem to say – ‘As long as you are a goody, it’s OK to kill the baddies’. I can remember from my childhood the westerns that almost always portrayed cowboys as the goodies and indians as the baddies. More recently we have a multitude of action films starring people like Bruce Willis that promote this view that we can stamp out evil by force.
If we are not careful, we imagine that you can divide the world up into good people and bad people. (we ourselves of course, are always on the side of right!) Today, for example, many people in the West suspect all Arabs of being bad. Imagine that you are in the secret service, and an Arab suspected of being a terrorist, and with possible links to terrorist organisations, is brought in for questioning. There has been a rumour going round that the next terrorist attack will be targetted on a school somewhere in the UK. How far would you go with this suspect, bearing in mind that he denies being a terrorist ? Would you torture him to see if he knows anything ? (Only today, as I write, George Bush has admitted that the CIA has set up prisons outside the US where tactics of ‘co-ercive interrogation’ are used in the fight against terrorism)
The Russian writer Solzhenitsyn wrote – “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
When we attempt to stamp out evil using violent methods, we will always find oursevles compromised, and even the fruit of victory will end up tasting bitter.
So what should we do ? Do we let evil go unchallenged and unchecked. Of course not. The nation of Iraq needed to depose Saddam. But the methods chosen were wrong. The US and Uk governments were presented by a group of Christian activists with a detailed plan of oppostion to Saddam, but they did not pursue it, and chose the option of armed intervention instead.
In the Gospels we see the Christian way. Jesus confronts evil directly, but he deals with it through his suffering and resurrection, and not by force. Even God with all his power cannot stamp out evil if it means going gainst God’s nature to do it. We have some shining examples of the way of Christ in the last 100 years, notably Mahatma Ghandi, himself a Hindu.
May we be creative and determined in our opposition to all that is evil in our world, and be strengthened to follow the way of Christ.
Five Short Words 
The world needs true wisdom and an end to all religionsHello John and all,The fact that religious leaders claim to be preaching truth and wisdom when they consistently prove they are unable to understand what either of those two concepts means is highly instructive. While bedeviling us all with their holier-than-thou pretenses, they consistently support and/or perform blatant evil. It is very sad to see people who are trying to do or be good duped into providing material and political support to obviously duplicitous scoundrels. A very long list of authors and researchers have proven, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Christianity and Jesus Christ are purposeful deceptions fabricated by the Roman Empire and imposed by the Vatican and its cohorts. Two millennia of history have presented us with an amazingly long list of Vatican deceptions and blatant evils as stark and undeniable proof of who and what they really are, despite what they say. What the world needs is verifiable wisdom, not to be duped down the path of faith and religion again while hoping that religious leaders are telling the truth.Doctrine of Two SpiritsThe context and meaning of many ancient texts and concepts have long been been confounded and thereby lost on those deceived and/or deluded by the assertions of religious leaders, founders, and others. Over the millennia, ancient wisdom was purposely recast and obfuscated into religion and mysticism to serve the greed and ambitions of monetary, political, and religious leaders who sought to hide pivotal knowledge from subjects and enemies alike. Consequently, the interpretations presented about the sources and meaning of these texts and the philosophy and cosmology of ancient Hebrew sages is completely wrong. Before you scoff and write me off, you should understand that I speak from personal knowledge and experience and have published overwhelming proof of these assertions.Many Christians speak of the straight and narrow gates, doors, or paths without comprehending the true meaning of this symbolism. Thanks to historical and doctrinal errors resulting in confusing language in the New Testament and other sources, the true meaning of these verses and other philosophical discussions of dualism are so poorly and vaguely presented that people have been forced to rely on the interpretations of religious leaders, that have unfortunately been the primary sources and perpetuators of confusion.The \”Doctrine of Two Spirits\” is the refinement of pivotal ancient wisdom that is the basis for truly understanding morality, dualism, and karma. It is likewise the refinement of the precept from the Dead Sea Scrolls “Community Rule” defining human character and behaviors and the foundations of ancient wisdom symbology. The Two Spirits (ways, paths, inspirations) symbolize Good and Evil. Each is further divided into seven sub-spirits (qualities and behaviors). This maxim unequivocally reveals the Creator’s true nature and Her “judgments” of humanity prophesied to be delivered by Melchizedek. Read More… Doctrine of Two Spirits
LikeLike