The Wisdom of Peace

For a while now there has been a lot of talk about Iran and Israel going to war, many people feel that this could bring about a WWIII. And with the modern weapons that might be in play, perhaps the destruction of civilization as we know it.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein

It is clear to me that the present course man is on, unless we change, will eventually destroy us as a race. Many believe that religion is the problem, I believe that if people payed attention to the true message of religion it would be a solution. As an example of the wisdom passed down to us I have taken some quotes from men of different faiths and linked them together to form the following paragraph that I believe sums up much of their teachings:

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. To overcome evil with good is good, to resist evil by evil is evil. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get. If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart. Peace will be when you accept it in your heart. You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. Non-violent resistance implies the very opposite of weakness. Defiance combined with non-retaliatory acceptance of repression from one's opponents is active, not passive. It requires strength, and there is nothing automatic or intuitive about the resoluteness required for using non-violent methods in political struggle and the quest for truth. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Instead of listing the names of the men that gave these quotes in order I will mix them up so that it may not be instantly clear who said what, because if what these men said were so similar that you can not tell the difference between when one quote ends and another begins then why would it matter who said each one?

-Martin Luther King Jr, Hiawatha, Jesus, Buddha, Apostle Paul, Gandhi, Mohammed, Lao-Tse, Apostle John, Confucius

It seems that the direction these men gave is to let 'God' take care of the evil. While your job is to have peace in your heart. Does the religious one lack the faith that God has the power to handle the wicked? If you claim to have faith then why do you feel the need to do his job for him and ignore your own?

Unfortunately many people claim that this line of reasoning from men that are recognized to be some of the wisest in history, is naive. I believe that shows where the wisdom really is...not with the accepted modern tradition.



"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." -Martin Luther King Jr.

I pray that one day the people of this world will see the wisdom in those words before we wipe ourselves out from existence.

That's the key (to expand our hearts).

There are a few good morals and teachings found in religion.
But I would discard the other 99.9% of it.

reply to post by The_Phantom


I agree with all those names except Muhammad. The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses. Yeah bad example using him. Stick with Jesus, or Buddha or Hammurabi even but not him.

Using Muhammad is like saying Hitler was a man of peace.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
reply to post by The_Phantom

 

I agree with all those names except Muhammad. The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses. Yeah bad example using him. Stick with Jesus, or Buddha or Hammurabi even but not him.

Using Muhammad is like saying Hitler was a man of peace.

I used Muhammad along with the others because he has many followers, and it's as important for them to get the message of peace as it is for anybody else. If you believe that it was unwise of Muhammad to be violent and that it made the world a worse place instead of a better one, than you may agree with what he taught about peace. Perhaps he should have listened to his own advice. He is also the reason that I did not put the names in order with the quotes, if you can't instantly tell the difference in the paragraph between what Muhammad said or Buddha then it must have fit in with the wisdom of peace. Now, if those that call themselves Christians say he was evil but they use his methods, how are they better? No, it's much better for all people in the world to take the advice of peace from all sources that they come from. Anybody that has taught peace has taught the correct path. After that it is a matter of walking the path, and that hasn't always been the same story.

There is a big problem, but I agree it isn't necessarily with religion itself. What most religions teach is good behavioral practices, but the problem lies in that people are constantly manipulating these religions to suit their particular agendas and desires.

For instance, the "terrorists" who use Islam as justification toward killing innocent people. There are other Muslims who believe this is wrong, and they would be right, and this brings us to another problem. Religion can sometimes be vague enough for gray areas to be present.

Any intelligent person can probably infer what those areas and parts actually mean based on context clues, or other teachings in the religion, but there are still those who will abuse that gray area with their own motives in mind.

So it isn't really religion that is the problem, it is man. If religion didn't exist, I guarantee it that people would find something else that would bring about the same ends. IMO the mainstay of all religions is peace on Earth, and loving and respecting one another. Apparently this is impossible for a great number of individuals, and that is a shame.

Originally posted by Dr Cosma
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Dr Cosma because: (no reason given)

Pick up a Quran

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by Dr Cosma
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Dr Cosma because: (no reason given)

Pick up a Quran

Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. -Al-Baqara 2.62

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by Dr Cosma
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Dr Cosma because: (no reason given)

Pick up a Quran

I don't think so.

I would like you to post some sources for those claims. They are pretty big claims.
You posted it not me.

If you're so quick to post that then be just as fast in posting the source or we'll just have to take your comment as BS.

Anyone can write up anything, I could tell you my dog has wings and plays the piano.

Would you believe me?

Originally posted by The_Phantom

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by Dr Cosma
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Dr Cosma because: (no reason given)

Pick up a Quran

Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. -Al-Baqara 2.62

'

There are 135 verses in the Quran inciting people to kill, granted the Old Testament bible is no better but i don't follow whats in the Old Testament, i follow what is in the New Testament and what Christ has told us to do and how to live. The Old Laws were created to damn mankind which is why Christ fulfilled them, at least through his grace we don't burn for eternity. The 10 commandments (top 10, theres 613 total) are a good start to live by and helps put you on the path to peace.

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by The_Phantom

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by Dr Cosma
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Dr Cosma because: (no reason given)

Pick up a Quran

Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. -Al-Baqara 2.62

'

There are 135 verses in the Quran inciting people to kill, granted the Old Testament bible is no better but i don't follow whats in the Old Testament, i follow what is in the New Testament and what Christ has told us to do and how to live. The Old Laws were created to damn mankind which is why Christ fulfilled them, at least through his grace we don't burn for eternity. The 10 commandments (top 10, theres 613 total) are a good start to live by and helps put you on the path to peace.

My goal is not to defend Islam, it's to show that all faiths teach that peace is ultimately the best path. I am aware that the Quran gives people the right to defend themselves against aggressors, and even that I am not for, but most would not have a problem with that concept. Can you please show some quotes that prove your statement that it incites people to go kill...and please show context, so that it is clear what the subject was about. If you are successful in proving that the Quran incites killing, I will remove Muhammad from my OP as he would at that point not fit into my view of somebody that told his followers to be peaceable.

Originally posted by The_Phantom

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by The_Phantom

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by Dr Cosma
reply to post by lonewolf19792000

 

The peace Muhammad brought came with the price of your life. This is also the same man who said "if a man changes his religion, kill him" and who murdered a woman's father, brother and husband in front of her and raped her in front of their corpses.

Could you link some sources? I'm interested in reading that.

edit on 18-11-2011 by Dr Cosma because: (no reason given)

Pick up a Quran

Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. -Al-Baqara 2.62

'

There are 135 verses in the Quran inciting people to kill, granted the Old Testament bible is no better but i don't follow whats in the Old Testament, i follow what is in the New Testament and what Christ has told us to do and how to live. The Old Laws were created to damn mankind which is why Christ fulfilled them, at least through his grace we don't burn for eternity. The 10 commandments (top 10, theres 613 total) are a good start to live by and helps put you on the path to peace.

My goal is not to defend Islam, it's to show that all faiths teach that peace is ultimately the best path. I am aware that the Quran gives people the right to defend themselves against aggressors, and even that I am not for, but most would not have a problem with that concept. Can you please show some quotes that prove your statement that it incites people to go kill...and please show context, so that it is clear what the subject was about. If you are successful in proving that the Quran incites killing, I will remove Muhammad from my OP as he would at that point not fit into my view of somebody that told his followers to be peaceable.

Is stoning people who commit sins (and by people i mean women), what you call "defending yourself against aggressors"? Stoning is still in practice in countries like Iran. The path of peace is much like a Doctor's oath to "do no harm".

I do agree with Jesus, Buddha, Confucious etc. They were for peace.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000


dude just answer the guys questions. if your going to claim something of that nature, take the evidence and show the proof without taking it out of the context. i am also interested in seeing the evidence in the claims that you have made against mohammed.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000


Still waiting to see those sources.