Jesus himself explained how it works in one of his polemics against the Pharisees of his day- who were similar to our right wing Christians in that they used religion to gain status and political power and control the people. Here's what He said:
Matthew 23:13
"Woe to you,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of
heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those
enter who are trying to.
Similarly, we have lost the sense of spirituality in politics. Many people who are working hard to save the Constitution and to restore some sort of ecological sanity, good people who care about people in other countries, of other colors, have lost faith in a universal, benevolent God. How could such a Being allow His name to be used to shred the Constitution, kill a million Iraqis, enrich greedy corporations at the expense of consumers, workers, the environment, etc? How can the Bible be used to support tax breaks for the rich, lying at all levels of government, aggressive wars against nonbelligerent nations, torture, and all other horrors of our day?
Yet we cannot afford to lose our belief in a higher power. This is what enables us to agree on the values which are named in all the major religions and belief systems- truth, justice, fairness, kindness, subordination of ego to higher causes, universal brotherhood and love, stewardship of the environment. Religions are intended to help us realize our oneness so that we can cooperate for the good of all. But most of the major religions have been usurped by Pharisees and used to divide and conquer, and to justify conquest.
Is there a remedy? Yes, there is.
The scriptures of each major religion recognizes the validity of the others. They all recognize that a good person not of that religion, one having "the requirements of the law written on his heart" (Romans 2:15) is acceptable to God.
Understanding this allows us to accept good people of whatever faith, or no expressed faith, and connect with them to do the holy work of saving the planet from greedy people and our own stupidity.It re-opens the door to the wisdom of the ancients, as written down in all the scriptures which showered many cultures 2000-5000 years ago. The ancientsprophesied about our time and gave us guidelines to move to a higher level of consciousness. We need their wisdom if we are to unite our intelligence around the globe and work together.
Understanding that all religions connect also enables us to rejectfirmly the nonsense that Creator gave a blessing to one group and excluded others. It undercuts the use of religion to divide and conquer. It also exposes the distortions of scripture that justify war, torture, exploitation, and the other horrors that the cynical Pharisees of our day have foisted upon us. Scriptures show the way to peace, if we read them correctly.
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