greggerypeccary wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2015 at 6:04pm:




Evil and childishly stupid at the same time.

You stand apart.

greggerypeccary wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2015 at 6:10pm:


Well said.

Soren wrote on Nov 20^th, 2015 at 10:56am:

According to Waleed Aly, ISIS is weak but it hides this because it wants us all to be afraid, very afraid. Its whole purpose is that our fear will turn to hate, and hate will ripen into ‘World War III’.

All people of good will who would stand against ISIS, Muslim or non-Muslim alike, must therefore come together in unity.  According to Waleed Aly, love, and less hate is what we need.

Waleed Aly is absolutely right that we do need love. But like the air we breathe, love by itself is not enough. It is not all we need.

We also need truth, and a whole lot more of it. John's gospel reports that Jesus came ‘full of grace and truth.’ Truth without grace becomes a police state. But grace without truth is every bit as dangerous.

Waleed Aly himself rightly identified the Paris atrocity as an “Islamist terrorist attack”. It is not hatred to ask what this word ‘Islamist’ actually means.

He was also right to point out that ISIS wants to set non-Muslims and Muslims against each other.  But this is not all ISIS wants, and saying this does not explain why they want it. It is not enough to say “ISIS wants to cause World War III,” for war is but a means to an end.  This tactic is a symptom of a problem, not its root cause.

Asking hard questions is not evidence of lack of love.  It is not victimizing Muslims to seek to understand the theology of the jihadis.  Asking how and why ISIS makes use of the Qur’an or the model of Muhammad is not vilification.

These points are important because the feeling of being unloved by itself is not enough to turn so many young people into killers.  There are many communities in the world which experience hatred, but this is rarely enough on its own to give rise to virulent, violent global ideologies.

No one could dispute that the tactic of intentionally using violence to incite fear and hatred is one of the weapons in the jihadis’ arsenal, but it is just that: a tactic. Hatred incited by violence is not the heart of the matter, nor the fundamental driver in this war.  It is but a symptom of deeper things.

Hatred can fuel this war, but love alone will not put it out.

Furthermore, a danger with Waleed Aly's rhetoric is that it could work as a wedge to separate love from truth, treating the two as strangers.  It could be used as a pretext to censor those who ask the hard questions, on the grounds that this is unloving.  In this struggle it is wrong to privilege either love or truth, for we will need both.

Truth without love can cause endless heartache.  This is true. But love without truth can cause a naive blindness which meekly tolerates abuse and leads to suicidal submission.

This is likely to be a very long war.  Relationships will be  strained.  And yes, we will all need a lot of compassion.  But without truth to strengthen it, love alone will not save us. 
http://blog.markdurie.com/2015/11/love-alone-is-not-enough.html?utm_source=feedb...

Karnal wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2015 at 8:50am:


We being all the personalities inside your head.

aquascoot wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2015 at 5:47pm:



Jesus Christ, you mean, aquascoot.         

I know,      ......that i can be a very trying person.

Dear Father, please forgive me,        ....for testing many, many people.         

i like christianity Yadda,  i like buddhism,  i like confuscius.

i have tried to research a bit of islam.
there is some good practical stuff about hospitality and generosity to strangers but, the people supporting islam are going to have to do a much better job of marketing it (if indeed it is marketable).

the catholic church, the popes, various corrupt christians held the church back, but the message is a good message and you cant keep a good message down.

is islam a good message?

i would appreciate if its supporters would explain what it has to offer.

i always found christianity was a good place to send people who were lonely, depressed, sad, feeling lost.
the evangelical churches provide something for these people.

is islam a place where the angry, the vengeful, the disturbed, the bitter end up?
is this why islam seems good at recruiting in jail for example?
if so, should they take these converts on?
is it tainting "team islam"

they have some explaining to do .
obviously not all 1 billion are extremist but what does your average muslim believe.

you would think that with 1 billion followers we would have David Attenborrough presenting documentaries on muslims every sunday night but they seem more evasive then Freemasons.

Yadda, i read that.
indeed, it does appear that it is the western politicians who are the insane people and ISIS know exactly what they are doing.

a good read and thanks.

i always thought the western leaders had totally misunderstood the situation.

When george Bush said the pilots on 9/11 had acted in a cowardly way....i thought , straight up, GW...thats just plain wrong.

aquascoot wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2015 at 9:58pm:



aquascoot,

I concur with your conclusion(s).      !!!!!





aquascoot wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2015 at 9:58pm:



Yep.

The Mark Durie article.

Mark Durie, has got his head screwed on, properly!         

He is a moral, and honest man.




The form of democracy which we 'enjoy', has taught Western politicians [they have 'learned'], that it is invariably in their own best interests, to always do what is 'for the greater good', rather than to do what is right [correct], and the most virtuous.

More pity, us!!!!!



i.e.
I have always believed, that if we [i.e. our government!] can be cajoled, to always protect the rights of the individual,      then [as a consequence] the greater rights of the broader society of men too, will always be protected.

Whereas, when the rights if the individual are subverted [through the 'ideals' of e.g. socialism], so as 'to protect the greater good', then we are all asking for trouble!

That way, leads to tyranny, and to the ready oppression, of the [i.e. every !! ] individual, imo.



Personally, i don't believe that a society of men can maintain a system of government,       which can protect man's liberty and freedom,        from man's stupidity and corruption.

Something about blood, and liberty tree's ???