The difference between religious fundamentalism and fanaticism is belief and action. One could be a fundamentalist in any given religion and believe in the literal truth of their holy scriptures. Most Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jewish people follow this strict dogma. For the most part, fundamentalists act within society's law, and while it may pain them that secular society doesn't adhere to God's will, they recognize and respect that they are part of a larger collective. Fanatics of Islam, where it is part of the government and mentioning in this, the Evangelicals who if they had their way would make it part of a government, fall more into more of this fanaticism in wanting religion in politics, on the other hand, are an extremist sub-set of fundamentalism who see only their own point of view. They seek to force their ideology on others through intimidation and are more than happy to break the law and commit religious blasphemy, including, murder in the name of their God. From the Medieval Holy Crusades, which were the Dark Ages of its time, (500Ad to 1500AD) to modern-day terrorists committing atrocities in the name of Islam and fanatical right-wing Christian crusaders and monarchism, to an illegal Israeli settlement in the Gaza strip and right-wing Christian groups threatening US government from within, it seems that strict adherence to one's holy book (ancient text vs modern times) of choice has been a source of much division throughout human history. It's interesting to think how many great scientific discoveries would have happened centuries earlier, if not for religion interfering during the Dark Ages and denying science over religion, which now is rearing its ugly head? What if Copernicus and Galileo were never tried as heretics?
Human beings did not become the dominant form of life on Earth by being easy to push around! This is if you are not gullible to cons, fanatics, extremists, and money-grubbers over a cause for profit, not using logic, calculation, free thought, reason, and thinking outside the box. In fact, even with the natural disasters that seemingly take us by surprise, a form of earths way of teaching us what we would not heed, and either partially or completely level our cities, the unawareness and destruction is due to poor foresight and planning. We human beings can if allowed do virtually anything. if not held up by an over-regulated choice of personal liberties, religious prohibitions that hinder and stifle. free consumer supply and demand market, a human being's freedoms and production in life. If we can't yet, we will with a bit of practice and free thought.
Before we get too high on ourselves, subsumed by what the Greeks in the dawn of human intellectual potential called philosophy(the free exchange of ideas and opinions), it's important to remember that we are not automatically geniuses, nor are we invulnerable, we are life long learners in a journey in life, our journey and no one else's. Not everything we imagine and create is good. Human beings are both our own highest achievement and our ow depending on if it sells, in that considering it good or bad. What we must do in order to move forward and flourish as a free species to get out of our own way, and others getting in our way, and stop damaging ourselves! Lead me, follow me or get the hell out of my way!
Religion is one of the worst offenders in this regard. This is especially unfortunate considering that it might be the best way to solve the problem, even if one defines religion as a belief in what is right and good in the world, and not in the traditional old-man-in-the-sky sense, the traditionalist vs the modern-day free thinker. The problem with the dominant religious forces in the world today is that modern-day free thought and critical thinking is a better choice than old ancient text and old institutional thought from the past. In saying this, therefore no restrictions on social media, the internet and free flow of information should not be stalled or hindered. Religious fanatics consist of organizations employing theology as manipulation tools keeping the flock subservient. By using this threat of eternal damnation, hell, as a well-selling fear tactic and fear sells, they manipulate groups of people to set others against others thus enforcing confused disorder, especially to the gullible young, the children and desperately gullible people. The main obstacle in the way of changing this state of affairs is that religious orthodoxy has existed almost as long as religion itself. Traditionalism vs modernism. Religion vs Secularism and in one day, singularity with technologies.
This is man's great dilemma: religion, man's creation, creates the same entity that it is supposed to extinguish! People, especially young people, are pulling away from organized religion, especially the mentality of the Tree of Life (religious programming, brainwashing) and the Tree of Knowledge, free flow of worldly information, freedom of expression and freedom of the internet. It's a tendency to maintain organizational power by oppressive means over the masses for their coffers. It's important to note, that they are pulling away from God and religions. The younger generation of adults, commonly called Millennials, maybe less actively religious than the previous handful of generations that came before. Albeit the form it takes is more individual and local than it is based in old-fashioned hierarchies. For example, the Christianity that young people practice on their own outside the existing structures is closer to a more private thing than belonging to a group, to the teachings of religions as than the mainstream churches have been for centuries. They don't need holy water.
This is man's great dilemma: religion, man's creation, creates the same entity that it is supposed to extinguish! People, especially young people, are pulling away from organized religion, especially the mentality of the Tree of Life (religious programming, brainwashing) and the Tree of Knowledge, free flow of worldly information, freedom of expression and freedom of the internet. It's a tendency to maintain organizational power by oppressive means over the masses for their coffers. It's important to note, that they are pulling away from God and religions. The younger generation of adults, commonly called Millennials, maybe less actively religious than the previous handful of generations that came before. Albeit the form it takes is more individual and local than it is based in old-fashioned hierarchies. For example, the Christianity that young people practice on their own outside the existing structures is closer to a more private thing than belonging to a group, to the teachings of religions as than the mainstream churches have been for centuries. They don't need holy water.
It's important to remember that for all his talk about God, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc in practice was much more of philosophy more than merely witnessed by men that were around Jesus written by a man and the other prophets of the time. Jesus challenged existing Judeah authority, first, the going against Jewish religious authorities and then the Romans to whom the power-corrupted elements within that structure of authority turned him over, so Jesus must have been the ancient hippy counter-culture we saw in the '60s, most of them are CEO's in Silicon Valley are in that generation. (This, to be perfectly clear, is not and was not ever an indictment of Judaism. Jesus was a Jew. It was always about power and the intoxication that comes with it). The way in which religions like Christianity and Islam initially spread was wildly effective, forcibly, empirically and through the historical overthrow of native peoples, The tenets of each of these faiths illustrated a path to reach one's moral potential, according to the ideas of brainwashing of the invading crusades and colonization of cultures being taken over. To become divine, but then again, who is perfect? And morality is but ideas that sell in civilization and are made laws by and appealed and repealed by according to an elective majority and representation.
If it wasn't for the tendency of religions to become a tool of the ruling class, it might never have been necessary for there to be more than one. In its most basic state, nearly every religion to ever exist has been about how to be a better person, but I argue to, with the new modern information flow and freedoms, one can develop and be self-taught through their own self-development.
If it wasn't for the tendency of religions to become a tool of the ruling class, it might never have been necessary for there to be more than one. In its most basic state, nearly every religion to ever exist has been about how to be a better person, but I argue to, with the new modern information flow and freedoms, one can develop and be self-taught through their own self-development.
Reminders of man's fallibility and weakness, but then again live and learn, using the past as a reference for not repeating the same mistake, concepts like original sin, but what is sin, in only that it is what a civilization determines what is sin in harming societies, or if not, it is not. They are added on to take advantage of believers' better selves, in order to keep them obedient using the best prison guard imaginable: themselves, the guilt complex in disobedience, the fear that sells, called hell. Humanity's great artists and free thinkers, however religious, nearly universally reject this self-imposed punishment and brainwashing enforcement of religious dogma. This is also, all partisan politics aside, why there are so few great conservative artists: in order to think and create, one has to be deeply invested in the idea that the new and unknown is good, rather than merely preserving the existing old order).
Ironically, so many of those that talk about immortality and the afterlife is the biggest threat to humanity's continued existence in keeping the world's masses in the dark to all information and free expression. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about all things and question more. It is his privilege to help humanities to endure by lifting their hearts, by reminding them of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past accomplishments in the world. The poet's voice needs not merely be the record of human histories, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail. These words, for sure, apply to all human beings.
Ironically, so many of those that talk about immortality and the afterlife is the biggest threat to humanity's continued existence in keeping the world's masses in the dark to all information and free expression. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about all things and question more. It is his privilege to help humanities to endure by lifting their hearts, by reminding them of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past accomplishments in the world. The poet's voice needs not merely be the record of human histories, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail. These words, for sure, apply to all human beings.
In the end, we only have ourselves, and the human mind and the modern technologies, the greatest forces in this world has ever known! The human mind and technologies have given us wings, enabling us to travel faster than sound, to visit other worlds, to unlock the mysteries of this world and in the future, the universe. The only things standing in our way are those most formidable of enemies, religious dogma, fanaticism, fascism, nationalism, extremism, and the despots. The only things in the way of our effectively becoming immortal (by holding the natural world at bay, which ironically is best achieved by living as one with it) are the political systems we've concocted to keep us from doing so, and all the philosophies that scold us for daring to be our best selves. This is where AI, biotechnology, and nanotechnologies come in and the exchange in ideas over social media, the internet and our algorithms of thought.
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