Posted on 02/21/2025 7:59:29 AM PST by Ozguy1945
53 years ago today, on February 21, 1970, the Simon and Garfunkel album “Bridge Over Troubled Water” hit number 1 on the UK charts and stayed in the chart for 300 weeks.
That is astonishing longevity in popular music.
I use this day to wonder at the similar words Eloha (God in Hebrewism and the Old Testament), Ilaha (Arabic for deity) and Aloha (Hawaiian for love and welcome).
The Abrahamic religions are all cousins.
They should be able to live in peace.
But they can’t.
This leads me to the thoughts of Hawaii's Tulsi Gabbard:
"When a person thinks, I am a Christian, this other person is a Muslim, therefore he is my enemy, or I am a Muslim, this other person is a Hindu, therefore she is my enemy, they reveal their own lack of spiritual depth.”
“The best way to honor our troops, the less than 1% of our country’s population who voluntarily put their lives on the line in service to our country, is by making sure that when they are sent into combat, it is the last option, not the first, and that the mission is worthy of their great sacrifice.”
“While in the Middle East, I saw how quickly religious sectarianism and bigotry can lead to the disintegration of a country – how leaders manipulate people to fear others who are different, who look different, or who have different beliefs.”
"We need to stop judging individuals based on their race, profession, gender, religion, or anything other than their own individual behavior and character.”
“Finding common ground means reaching out with respect and aloha – despite the issues that divide us, despite the hurt, despite the fear – and recognize what unites us as human beings.”
Thank you, Tulsi.
Aloha.
(Excerpt) Read more at from-eloha-and-ilaha-to-aloha.com ...
Islam is the exception; it tolerates no other religion unless in servitude.
True dat.
But unfortunately, extending your hand in peace and understanding does not work with all religions and cultures.
Reaching your hand out to Islam is like trying to shake hands with a running chainsaw.
Talking peace to an invading army of Vikings tended to not work very well either.
I have, and will again, note how Trump’s pivot against Ukraine in the pursuit of peace coincides precisely with Tulsi taking over the intel briefings.
He’s finally getting agenda-less info, not filtered through Biden holdovers.
The Abrahamic religions are all cousins.
Islam has no Ten Commandments.
Islam condones rape as righteous.
Islam calls for world conquest by force, and forced conversions.
Christianity does not do that (in spite of counter-examples).
Neither does Judaism.
These are serious, major differences between Christianity and Judaism vs Islam. Islam is a complete re-writing of the Jewish holy scriptures, while Christianity is a continuation of the Jewish holy scriptures.
At least one major religion includes, not merely an object (say, a deity) and a course of worship, but includes as well a complete legal system that it believes must be implemented world-wide at the throw of a stone, at the point of a sword or gun, or at the explosion of a bomb, and this is incorporated into its core belief system.
At least one religion not only bows and bends and gestures, and genuflects in prayer, but also includes a comprehensive political scheme, a system of ruling entire nations, the subjects of those nations never being allowed to alter the system, no matter how corrupt, evil, and treacherous it is; such subjects will be executed if they try.
At least one religion not only chants and sings "spiritual" tenets, but also actually musters and trains fighting forces as one of those tenets, and intends world domination, if not by reasoning, then by coercion and threat, and is quickly aroused to attempt making conversions by shamelessly killing people. And that is an integral, inseparable part of "religion."
At least one religion in this world, as described in these paragraphs, has been recognized as having these characteristics by great and noble men, leaders of free countries, for many more than a thousand years.
So, to say that it is necessarily wrong to look at a religion as an enemy, or to say that we must always respect those of other religions is just too simplistic to be the position of anyone who is in any position of power or great influence in government.
MLK who you don’t really hear about had a great speech. On this topic. Funny how the left has forgotten that speech.
The Abrahamic religions should be able to live in peace, but they can’t?
This writer should take a closer look. Of the Abrahamic faiths, are there any which seem to have more trouble living in peace with other faiths? Are there any which advocate violence against those who are not of the faith?
This writer may discover that peaceful coexistence is difficult due to the attitudes of adherents of one major faith, and not due to the attitudes of the others.
The spirit of Aloha, “Kill a Haole Day” is real.
I agree with her completely!
“While in the Middle East, I saw how quickly religious sectarianism and bigotry can lead to the disintegration of a country – how leaders manipulate people to fear others who are different, who look different, or who have different beliefs.”
Truth and experience, Hopefully she uses this as her and our values but doesn't use it as a hard rule--shunning all apprehension or fear from differences. If they hate us because of who we are, then they can't be afforded the disarmament of apprehension. You can use this value as an individual, risking your own life, but not for a nation and many lives. Complete altruism would be our demise.
"We need to stop judging individuals based on their race, profession, gender, religion, or anything other than their own individual behavior and character.”
I'm very apprehensive here, it is too much like the coexist bumper stickers--this isn't nuanced enough for me-- color me dubious.
“Finding common ground means reaching out with respect and aloha – despite the issues that divide us, despite the hurt, despite the fear – and recognize what unites us as human beings.”
I agree to an extent.
I'm quite pleased we have her, I think she's an honest person and certainly smart and experienced.
The Abrahamic religions are all cousins. They should be able to live in peace. But they can’t. …Islam is not an “Abrahamic religion”. Watch some videos by David Wood, Ridvan Aydemir, Robert Spencer, Jay Smith, Hatun Tash et al and you will understand that.
All cultures and peoples have the paired concepts of "We are The People" "They are The Others". Without those two concepts they are not "a people", they're just a bunch of random individuals.
I daresay the haoles did not endear themselves to the natives back in the day. Even the most peaceful and loving people might get annoyed and aggravated over losing their homeland to a bunch of invaders.
Perhaps the natives would be happier if the Americans gave the islands back. But we're not about to do that for our own reasons, including the need for a mid-Pacific base. So it is what it is, and everybody just has to deal with it.
“despite the hurt, despite the fear – and recognize what unites us as human beings.”
Do you even hear yourself, Gabbi?
(hat tip to VP Vance)
Hurt and fear do NOT unite us.
.....“Finding common ground means reaching out with respect and aloha – despite the issues that divide us, despite the hurt, despite the fear – and recognize what unites us as human beings.”.....
Right!
But Christians must evangelize, while respecting people of other faiths who show good will.
The writer, Geoff Fox, from down unduh....is an idiot. Such falsehoods, both naive, and from lack of a rigorous analysis of the different religions in his writing.
The idiot thinks the hatred is from the religious viewpoint only. Nah, it’s also about control of land, food, survival, and procreation.
When one religion attempts to subjugate others there is no peace, even if the genetic and religious relation of the parties is close.
Writer of the piece is an idiot.
Don’t cast your pearls before swine. Everyone knows what a swine is. It is a hateful, potentially lethal entity.
we all always have to be careful about not following leaders without questions and without thinking about the details
you are doing this, Irenic
thanks
I liked your thoughtful responses to the Gabbard quotes I revere
to change the subject and take a leap into the unknown, in your eyes, is american football a symbol of freedom at its best .........
which is thoughtful, organised and free but not to the point of mindless Godless anarchy .........
the phrase hand of God was given to Maradonna; which, if any, quarterback was more deserving
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