Religion has been the one force over the Eons that has been the cost of many lives, Countries, Government’s, Ideology through the world since beginning of time. There is nothing that brings up more passionate views not shared by all. Everyone thinks their religion is the true way and link to God. Believer are willing to kill themselves and their families over a belief. Some are Brain Washed and used by Zealot’s, Clerics, Rabbi’s, Bishop’s, and Conquerors to do their bidding. In order to Understand this all we have to look at Religion as an Idea. I believe Religion is An idea brought to us by a either Devine power. Or from Someone who was tired of the miss behaving masses.

I’m sure as First humans started to walked upright. Someone looked up and wondered what is all that light above and who makes the rain. Why it’s so cold but in the Sun it’s warm their has to be a reason. that’s because out of all the strange creatures on earth. We are the ones to ask WHY ? Like the 2 yr old just learning to speak. Why does that bird fly, why does the sky look blue, why is that strange man with mom..LOL With Religion you have to have  open mind. You can not take things so serious and not be willing to learn. Religion has changed over the thousands of years and not all books have the same timelines or beliefs. Even in the same religion the story’s and writing’s have differences. There Stories brought down over the centuries as time goes on.

I remember a English Teacher of Mine who had us do something. She gave us a simple 2 sentence story. She then had us say it in each others ears so others couldn’t hear. By the time the 20th Student had gotten the story. It was so different then the original Statement was. The bible and other books are exactly like this also every time it gets written something changes. Would they have loved to have had our technology today we would be certain about what people said. Unfortunately many take the writing’s literally and interpret them wrongly. Take the Quran it teaches killing is wrong except those that oppress or those that do not believe. Read This passage this leaves allot of room for interpreting. The passages I made in Red are often taken as Excuse for Radicals or can be interpreted as a cleric see’s fit.

 Nor take life – which Allah has made sacred – except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, We have given his heir authority (to demand Qisas or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life; for he is helped (by the law)” (al-Isra’ 17:33)ion.

Now take a look at this longer passage:

“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors. And kill them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, kill them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith. But if they cease, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression. The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.” (al-Baqarah 2:190-194)

They see the West and Jewish or Christians as the oppressors. Read this passage that I have found.

Quran (2:216)– “Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is  possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing  which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.”

Not  only does this verse establish that violence can be virtuous, but it also  contradicts the myth that fighting is intended only in self-defense, since the  audience was obviously not under attack at the time.  From the Hadith, we  know that this verse was narrated at a time that Muhammad was actually trying to motivate his people into raiding merchant caravans for loot.

Quran (3:151) – “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that  they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority”.

Quran (4:74) – “Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for  the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious,  on him We shall bestow a vast reward.”  The martyrs of Islam are  unlike the early Christians, led meekly to the slaughter.  These Muslims  are killed in battle, as they attempt to inflict death and destruction for the  cause of Allah.  Here is the theological basis for today’s suicide bombers.Quran (4:89)– “They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the  same footing (as they): But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in  the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize  them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or  helpers from their ranks.”

Quran (5:33)– “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and  strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered  or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides  or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this  world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement”

Quran (8:12)– “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore  strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them”  No  reasonable person would interpret this to mean a spiritual struggle.

Quran (9:5) – “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters  wherever you find them, and take them captive and besiege them and lie in wait  for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the  poor-rate, leave their way free to them.” 

According to this  verse, the best way of staying safe from Muslim violence is to convert to Islam  (prayer (salat) and the poor tax (zakat) are among the religion’s  Five Pillars).  This popular claim that the Quran only inspires violence  within the context of self-defense is seriously challenged by this passage as  well, since the Muslims to whom it was written were obviously not under attack.   Had they been, then there would have been no waiting period (earlier verses make  it a duty for Muslims to fight in self-defense, even during the sacred months).   The historical context is Mecca after the idolaters were subjugated by  Muhammad and posed no threat.  Once the Muslims had the power, they  violently evicted those unbelievers who would not convert.

So the Book is written during a period that was filled with oppression, dis-belief, land quarrels. I can tell you the Moderate Islamic Muslims movements are scared. And have been hijacked by those more Radical groups. Now that they have Seized power in many countries we all are in trouble. There is a khilafat that’s happening and they have there way they’ll kill us all. Khilafat movement is back in the day when the otterman empire controlled almost all of earth. This would be a Islamic Law governance controlling all of the middle east. Would not be a nice place to live some of the laws are harsh and strict. Women should really be nervous you could be stoned to death for loving some one. Women should read some of the laws because you will have no rights.

This is why I say the Religious wars are coming and there is no getting around it.  I wish the Jews would rebuild the Temple and the Second coming will happen like in the Bible. I think until the second Coming happens there will be nothing but murder, turmoil, posturing for position and strength. And if this never happens then we are all in trouble. Unless a Person of God shows up and with Powers. If your a Atheist this is all for nothing. Has this is all been created to keep the moral code of the Masses under check. It seems more of the world is now non believers. God is systematically being ripped and wiped away from schools, colleges, institutions. Part of the problems has been the church’s attitudes not changing with the times. But that’s the whole idea and part of religion is Laws that don’t change. But you can attribute allot of broken families and crime to the lack of religion in peoples lives these days. No one goes to a church, synagogue, mosque etc. anymore.

I personally grew up believing in God and Moses and went to temple. Then as I got older and started learning about Evolution I started to question. I have always been drawn to the sciences and History growing up. Now how could the Earth be millions of years old yet the oldest Religious Books are 10.000 years old. Lets face it the Earth is allot to create in 7 days. So I questioned why would people write these books and tell these stories. We have to understand the times they were written in. You had large society’s with oppressive rulers. You had lawless groups running around killing at will, raping, murdering, stealing. This started to happen almost from the time we stood upright and hunted in groups.

I’m sure if you look at early humans in Africa forming groups. That they had there own Gods and superstitions. This was how culture was born and cave paintings started reflecting these stories. This eventually lead to a early religion with Gods, Practice’s, Superstitions. there were no cops only leaders and tribes that made up laws. Some were good, some were crazy like the Mayans who slaughtered 10’s of thousands for the Sun God. The Egyptians had many gods and weird practice’s, they wrote them down in books and on walls. That was really the birth of real organized religions and there were many back then to choose. Jews being the first large and Faith based Religion and wrote the First Bible. I personally would like to think that a Jew who was the Son of God came to earth. We really needed salvation back then. That Moses lead the oppressed Jews out of Bondage from Egyptian Rule.

Besides the Jews, Egyptians, Arabs there was nothing else in the Middle East. Jewish people were the first to inhabit the lands. I f you go before the times of Israel and Judah there was only the Nubians the very first people. Many Jews were of Nubian, Arabs, Persian, African decent. They were enslaved and kicked off lands by almost everyone else in the area. After the fall of Jerusalem   (587/586 B.C.) and the decree of King Cyrus of Persia that permitted the Hebrews to return to their homeland. So I don’t buy this whole Palestinian question. Because before there was even a Palestinian people the Jewish people were their. I do believe that the Palestinian people should have there own State or Country. But that it should not be in Jerusalem ! that was Jewish before and will stay Jewish. I don’t think the whole world would want that to be controlled by Radical Islamic Rule. If Hezbollah or Muslim brotherhood gets control of that you’ll never set foot in Jerusalem without being Muslim. The whole City will be lost to the world no one will ever see the wonderful Temples and mosques, buildings.

So as I get older I ask myself is their a god ? is there more to life after this one?. As I get closer and my own mortality this comes into question. I myself seeking for deeper understanding of the world. I see my self yearning for a deeper understanding of life and what the whole purpose is. Maybe this was the whole birth of Religion in the first place our yearning for an answer. Goes back to when we first sat in a tree and looked up at the stars. Humans have always wondered and question our Environment and our meaning. We are self aware and recently finding out we are not the only ones. Chimps, Dolphins, Elephants, are self aware also. So it seems any human or animal that lives long has a decent brain seems to have this question. chimps are seen staring up at the stars and pointing in captivity and in the wild.

Buddhist aspirations of mine have lead me to love this religion.  In the 2,500 years since the Buddha’s enlightenment, Buddhism has spread over many countries, split into numerous sects, and adopted a wide variety of beliefs, practices, rituals and customs. However, an essential unity centered around the teachings of the Buddha underlies these differences. The Buddha said of death:

Life is a journey.     Death is a return to earth. The universe is like an inn.     The passing years are like dust.     Regard this phantom world     As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,     A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,     A flickering lamp – a phantom – and a dream.

This pretty much sums it up for me but I would like to think there is something more after death. Not just re-incarnation into something else ! anyone else who had had or seen a ghost. Knows there has to be something on the other side at the minimum there is residual energy. My personal belief is that at the moment of death Time Stops. For that person that moment can last for ever. Like in a dream you can move back and forth through your life. I believe you can do the same as time stops for you. Having gone through Surgery a few times. I once remember seeing myself on the table being able to hear everything. My first out of body experience was pretty cool.

Kabbalah a teaching over 5000 years old.

The Kabbalah itself consists of a large body of speculation on the nature of divinity, the creation, the origin and fate of the soul and also the role of human beings. It generally is subdivided into four sections: meditative, devotional, mystical and magical. It is for this reason that Kabbalah is regarded as an esoteric offshoot of Judaism.

Physicists (Sir Isaac Newton), Philosophers (Plato), Mathematicians (Pythagoras), Artists (Michelangelo), Explorers (Christopher Columbus), Inventors (Thomas Edison), drew from the teachings of Kabbalah to further their life’s work. Today, the great minds of our generation (you) are finding meaning &  power  in these same teachings.

Many are teaching that one must also utilize “PaRDes as a tool for Torah study,” with the qualifier, “that this would be within normative rabbinic Judaism (and should be in ours), not necessarily just Kabbalah, that is why the rule for being 40 years of age and extensively schooled in Torah was the original prerequisite for understanding Sod.” and in order to understand the meaning of the Scriptures. You could only study these teachings of you were of 40 years of age or older. You needed to have the life experience and Scripture behind you to understand.

So religion is a touchy subject with many hard beliefs people will defend their religious views to the death. Three things you don’t discuss at holidays with family is Politics, Religion, Taxes.