Skip to main content

Is Religion to blame?

I was having a discussion with an atheist friend of mine on religion about a week ago. A point that he made that stuck to me most was when he asked. "isn't it ironic that religion seems to be behind every major conflict?" It wasn't the first time I had heard such a statement, but the sad part is it seems partly true on the surface. From the crusaders, Spanish inquisition, Schmaldalic wars and thirty years war in the past to present day conflict such as Israel-Palestine conflict, religious riot in Nigeria, Sunni-Shiite conflict in Iraq, 9/11, Sudan, Uganda and other conflicts not mentioned here.


A look at the Qur'an and the Bible
I grew up as Muslim but am now a born again christian, so I have some idea about what each religion says. Muslims have used the word Jihad to justify most of the conflict they have been involved in. Most people both Muslims and Christians associate the word Jihad with the word Holy War. Christians have also used the bible to justify acts of wickedness.


What does the Qur'an say about Jihad?
The Qur'an divides Jihad into two, the higher jihad and lesser jihad. The higher jihad is the struggle within one's self to remain holy while the lesser jihad involves the spread of Islam. Isn't it funny that the lesser jihad is what is used to justify conflicts. The word higher jihad shows how important it is for every Muslim to make himself pure. If the Muslims who are involved in jihad conflict paid more attention to the higher jihad, I don't think there would be a lot of war. This is because I believe focusing on the higher jihad would help them carry out the lesser jihad without bloodshed.

What does the Bible say?

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
Matthew 22:36-40
A man came to Jesus and asked him what is the greatest commandment, and he said "Love your God with all your heart and soul is the greatest commandment and the second is love your neighbor as yourself."  Loving God means spending time with him and his word. It is the greatest commandment because it is only through it we could become the Christian God has called us to be. We cant truly love others if we don't have a great relationship with him. If all Christians follow the second commandment, there would be a lot less religious conflict. We cant obey the second if we don't concentrate on the first. We must first love God before we can have the strength to love others, because he is the only one who can give us the strength to love others. Christians who have caused religious conflict have ignored the greatest commandment given by Jesus, which is why it is hard for them to obey the second. There is no way you can obey one commandment and ignore the other because they are alike, just like Jesus said in Matthew 22.

I believe the world would be a different place if followers of both religion practiced what is written in their Holy books. The problem with the world isn't religion but people who use religion as an excuse to justify their selfish acts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tips to getting Job without Experience

The most common complaints among new entrants into the workforce is that most jobs require one form of experience or the other. From my conversations with new job entrants, lack of experience is one of the reasons for their inability to secure a job. They wonder how can I get a job without experiece when most job vacancy requires it. This article is about how to get a job with little or no expeeience. 1. Positive Atitude and self confidence: The most important step to take when seeking employment is to have a positive atitude and self confidence. You must believe that you would get a job and you are qualified enough to get one. What we think is what we become, so be mindful of your thoughts. Employers like to hire people with posituve atitude and self confidence. 2. Identify your skills Identify and list the skills that you posses which you know would be useful in the workplace. Skills such as microsoft office expertise, data analysis, programming, writing and other basic skill...
Post a Comment
Read more

Classical Movie Tribute: Victor Fleming

Wizard of OZ (1939) and Gone with the wind (1939) were both directed by one man named Victor Fleming in the same year. These two movies are always mentioned in different top 10 ranking of the greatest movies of all time. For example, these two movies are ranked in the top 10 of AFI's 100 greatest America's greatest films; the only director to have achieved such a feat. How do you direct two of the greatest movie ever in the same year? Victor Fleming was a Hollywood movie director during the golden era. He worked at MGM most of his career but died in 1949 at the age of 59. He had also directed some of my other personal favorite classical movies such as test pilot (1938), captain courageous (1937), Joan of Arc (1949), Red dust (1932), Tortilla flat (1942), Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941) and the Virginian (1929). I have read about other great classical movie directors such as Orson Welles, Frank Capra, William Wyler, Erin Lubitsch, George Cukor, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcoc...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Tips to Ace your Job interview

The moment someone gets the call or email informing you that  you've been selected for the job interview, they tend to become nervous and spend time agonising about how to pass the interview. This article would give you some tips on how you could ace your job interview. 1. Dress Properly: You need to plan your wardrobe ahead of the interview. Make sure you wear an outfit that fits into the company dress code or culture. Take time to research what the company's dress code is and dress appropriately. If you dont know the company's dress code, wear something formal such as wearing a trouser, shirt and a tie. It is better to be over dressed than under dressed. First impression matters a lot: your attire influences your potential employer's first impression of you. Stay away from outfit that reveals too much and  make sure your clothes are properly washed and pressed. 2. Arrive Early Make sure you arrive at the venue of the interview. Plan to arrive atleast 30minutes bef...
Post a Comment
Read more