agree with above... well said.... re Canadian diamonds ...
and my take on earlier comments re: religion in American life (KFC): Yes, and the Untied Fruit company (dole?) jury rigged an Marine invasion of the independent, sovereign county of Hawaii, and enslaved many of its citizens so American (US) plantations (cheaper pineapples and sugar cane) could be created by 'entrepreneurs.' Christians were there to missionize the poor hawaiians....
The West has done this repeatedly, and continues to do it to many peoples and countries. In much of South America, capitalism is almost always associated with another word: "savage."
We don't have to examine the treatment of American Indian tribes at the hands (and long arms) of the European Americans. Nor look to deeply into how many children were treated in their "boarding schools." - the real truth is not mentioned very often - because it is truly obscene. (Many were, at times, 'unofficial' child brothels for the use of the ruling faith.)
And its not about conformity - because the Cherokee tribe TOTALLY adopted European / American living style, living in towns, written language, newspapers, etc. and they were still repeatedly dispossessed and given small pox presents by the US government.
Least you think westerners have a monopoly on this behavior - just look around - no monopoly on this score, every faith, when it has political power uses it (and the accompanying sword) to expend their 'faith.'.
I wish the idea of humans having a sinful nature based on Christian fundamentalist (bible believing / evangelical, etc) doctrine were true - makes the solution so simple. But history has shown that each of these holocausts, and systematic oppressions of a less power people/nation/grouping has almost always been both justified by the predominate Christian faith, AND gone hand in hand with their missionaries...
Remember, Martin Luther, founder of Lutheranism, (a good Christian in many ways, and the 'igniter' of the reformation) also became the patron saint of Nazi ideology. His book about Jews was repeatedly used to justify Nazi treatment of Jews, up to and including the Holocaust. The night of broken glass, the night the Nazi brown shirts organized a nationwide attack, burning, and destruction of most Synagogues in Germany was scheduled for Martin Luther's birthday.
....whether it be the slavery imposed on Hawaiians, or on the pre-colombian peoples ripped from their homes, .... en-mass and made slave-miners in the gold and silver mines of the Americans, (but also converted to Jesus) .... or the Africans enslaved in the US and central America (US zone of economic colonies). And, even today, the 'bible believing / evangelical / missionizing Christians generally tend to side, politically, with the rich and powerful in the USA. Generally, they prefer "..the poor you have with you always..." to the repeated cry of the prophets: "Do justly, love mercy...' '.. plead for the widow and the orphan..." etc. Simon and Garfunkel sang the truth... Missionizing Christians are big on charity - brushing the crumbs off their tables for the poor, but they oppose addressing the root causes of systemic poverty, systemic injustice, and systemic economic inequality. One sad commentary on this is that when Martin Luther King and his associates were campaigning to lift some of the oppression from Americans of African descent living in the USA, very few while Christians marched with them. King, was Christian - most of his friends were. Where were his white Christian brothers and sisters? (Probably sending emails about Obama being a monkey without his birth certificate.) The majority of 'whites' that marched with the blacks in the civil rights movement were not Christians - but Jews. Go figure.
No, as long as any faith weds itself to a political OR economic ideology, (and make no mistake, neo-liberal economics -sometimes called supply side, or free market, or capitalism ((Adam's invisible hand / Ricardo)) IS an economic ideology) and attempts to use the government to spread, enforce, etc its 'morality' on others... I remain on guard. Secular states are the only protection. And, yes, I know this is an ad hominim argument, but so are the 'testimonials' the missionizers use to 'authenticate' their stances.
Yes, i am very distrustful of ANY religious / faith system getting control of a government. And I know WWJD doesn't work. Lest you think I am some sort of anti-christian crazy, far from it. I was an ordained minister of the gospel for many years - and I have translated much of the so-called "new testamant' from Greek into English. I just made the mistake of actually reading the Torah and the prophets in context - not merely as a set of texts from which to cherry pick quotes and mis quotes in an ultimately dis-ingenious attempt to make Christianity the true heir of the historical jesus and of Judaism. It is neither. So, I converted to Judaism. But i don't want orthodox Jews running / controlling ANY government either.
Bottom line, for me, is this: how we treat the least powerful persons in our lives, and in our society, is the truest indicator of our values and commitments. I won't write about this anymore... nor will i try to hijack the thread further (just learned about hijacking...) But i also could not let the missionizer statements go without bearing witness to my experience and my commitment that a secular society is the only place where ALL people, of whatever faith, (or non-faith) can truly live, work, and cooperate together. With kindest regards, Elana
Now... back to why I am really here.... gaming...
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