Celibacy in religions

This blog isn't in reference to Catholic laity being allowed to marry, but rather the priests. There has recently been limited acceptance of Anglican married men as priests. But there still remains strong resistance to the idea, and even now very few married men will be ordained. Which brings up the question of why should married men be ordained? What is there then to separate him from the laity?
The purpose of celibacy is for purification of mind and actions. Those that follow rules of celibacy should abide by them meticulously, according to the levels prescribed by the particular religion. What shouldn't happen, as it already has in Catholicism, are incidents of rape and sodomy of any person by the ordained. If you are truly committed to celibacy, then there should be no lapses. Why there is such controversy in Catholicism is confusing as well? Since when have the celibacy rules been overly strict? Opponents of the rules of celibacy are merely selling short the willpower of the human mind. They are more than likely those people weak in mind and actions.

If you want to hear of true celibacy, look at the santos of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Here, the Hindu monks cannot even look at, think of, or touch women. That strictness puts to shame the celibacy set for priests in Catholicism. And yet, there are no reports of child rape. Perhaps if Christianity cannot get a proper handle on its "celibate" priests, it should do away with the celibacy rules altogether.

Christians reject Mormon

Mitt Romney is a Christian. He is as Christian as any Mormon can be. Unfortunately, that isn't enough for some. According to the amount of votes Romney received in 2008, he should be the prime candidate to receive the Christian nomination in 2012. Sadly, 18 percent of the Republican party has already stated that it could never vote for a Mormon president. That is, for me at least, a very poor reason not to vote for an otherwise worthy candidate.
So my question is why does religion play such a big role in deciding the president? Since when did the presidency become a theological position? There is a separation of church and state for a reason, primarily so that there is no religious persecution. Ironically, every single president to date, (perhaps excluding Barack Obama) has been Christian. I can't help but wonder what connects peoples ideas of morality to Christianity. Is Christianity moral for having priests that have individually raped 100s of boys and girls? Is Christianity moral in calling for a modern crusade on Islam? Is Christianity moral for actively supressing women from being ordained without any religious dogma supporting that view?
What exactly has made Christianity the standard for other religions? The fact that it preaches universal love and almost never practices it? The fact that its the oldest religion in its own warped Adam and Eve conception of the universe? Nothing that I can see.

Christians Say No

Having lived in California my entire life, I must say that the most ignorant and stubborn religious group I have encountered is Christianity. Not only have I been stopped frequently to be preached to, but I have also been approached with comments such as "are you a terrorist?", "your going to hell", and "why is there a gunshot in your forehead". Sadly, I can only ponder what Southern California would be like if people only pushed themselves to learn of other cultures and religions.

This religious stubbornness hasn't just led to personal harassment however. It has also led to Buddhist, Hindus, and Jains having a difficult time constructing places of worship. One example is the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which is a Hindu sect of Vaishnavism. This religious group has been attempting to build a mandir in Chino Hills since the late 1990s. Unfortunately for them, Chino Hills is predominately Christian. That means that constant hindrances will be present and they definitely have been. One knock that the city, under the vehement protest of Asian and Caucasion Christians, has tried to use against the mandir is the 40 foot height limit zoning regulation. That is ironic considering there are numerous buildings (including a Christian church) that far exceed this amount. More of the dispute can be read here.

Evolution vs. Creationism

A classic battle in American politics has always been between the creation or evolution of the world.
Since the Scopes trial, the religious right (Christian fundamentalist movement), has had its hands full in trying to implement Creationism also being taught in schools. Whether for better or worse, there has been no success with the Supreme Court in this plan.
The reasons for American rejection of Darwin's evolution theory are many. It has always been part of American understanding that God and evolution just cannot coexist. Some are starting to combine the two, with the stance that perhaps God started everything and then took a laissez-faire policy.
Perhaps for there to really be peace between science and religion, people need to realize that science is not always a threat. Personally, I see scientists as rationalists with poor reasoning. They claim to want concrete proof without the presence of faith. Unfortunately they would be hard pressed to find any decision or action taken without the involvement of faith. Whether that be faith in a diving being or personal motto, is besides the point. Faith is an integral part of everyone's life.
Another point is that science and religion both need one another. Science can provide the proof for how things work. For example, Issac Newton could say the apple fell on his head, but he could never say why. And that is frankly what religion does. It answers the question of why? And it answers is with God.

Religious Animal Slaughter

The use of animals for sacrifice is well documented in numerous religions. Hinduism was once a participant of animal sacrifices up to the 1800s, until Lord Swaminarayan helped end violent sacrifices. They are of course widely mentioned in the Jewish Bible as the most common means to make up for personal sins.
Religions today still take part in the act, something that causes dismay for animal right activists. One religion in Nepal which pledges allegiance to the goddess Gadhimai, slaughters up to 200,000 animals yearly.
The issue here has become a global one. PETA and other organizations are lobbying hard to put an end to these near savage rituals. What is perhaps even more confounding is that the rituals are performed for materialistic gains. Unfortunately, animal activist groups can hope to achieved very little because the persecution of religious beliefs is difficult in many countries.
So just as in America where televangelist "Christians" can pretend to spread the message of Jesus and steal the few dollars of their avid followers without being persecuted, so can this religion in Nepal. Sadly, religion seems to have been given priority of human rights.

Are Muslims a Target?

Throughout American history, violent acts committed by a Muslim have put the rest of the American Muslim population in danger of scrutiny and persecution. Some examples are 9/11, the Fort Hood shootings, and the publicized reporter beheadings. What some people say however, is that Islam has moments of unexplainable violence just as the religions in the world.
The case can of course be made for Christianity, which is reported to have a following of over 1.75 billion people. Many were without a doubt made through coercion, torture, cajoling, and brainwashing. Especially including in this are those is South America and Africa. On top of that are the Christian crusades that occurred in the middle ages, that were aimed at Muslims, pagans, and other Christians.
The case can be made certainly for Judaism, albeit perhaps with self-defense in mind initially. The violence with which Jews attacked Muslims on the day of the creation of Israel is mind boggling.
The case for Hinduism is a delicate situation. One claim is that Hinduism has acted violently to Muslims in India. Here is defense against that claim: Hindus have given Muslims their own Islamic state in Pakistan and yet the third highest amount of Muslims continue to live in India. Another claim is that Hindus have shown violence against inhabiting Christians. Well my defense of this is as follows: which religion in the world would not react against a foreign religion not only entering into their country, but cajoling and buying off Hindus with gifts of money, education, and homes. Which religion wouldn't be angry if churches were built every two thousand feet in small towns? Which religion wouldn't take a stance against another religion trying to incite hatred? This is the delicate situation with Hinduism, which has by far shown the most restraint. Need the world be reminded of the destruction of thousands of Hindu temples under Moghul role? Does the world need to be reminded of the British's ransacking of Indian wealth? If anything the rest of the world religion's could learn a thing or two from Hinduism.

Christian Nation?

A widely debated fact has been whether or not the Constitution and our founding fathers were Christian. Looking at the laws, it would be safe to say no.
But then there are certain facts, such as the need for a Scopes Trial that definitely bring questions to mind.
1 Question that came to me is : How are there so many more Christian schools than a school for any other faith? I am 100% certain that if a Muslim community wanted to build an Islamic school in America, the idea would be shot down quickly.
Yet how is it that Christian schools get the green light all the time. To give a hint, it isn't coincidence. It is because Christianity is given a subjective advantage over other religions.
Evidence of this is present even today, with a recent example being an attempt to make singing of Christmas songs, including those pertaining to Christianity, to be mandatory in schools. The odds of the measure being passed are very long, but nonetheless, the fact that some support for such a preposterous idea exists shows Christian dominance.
This is an obvious violation of the Constitution and an alarm to Americans across the country: Those Christian Psychos are still out there.

President Obama

By now, everyone either hates or loves President Obama. Because of these trying times, and the unprecedented actions taken by the President, most of the country has become polarized.
The actions I am talking about doesn't necessarily have to do with politics. In my opinion, politics is a poor excuse to argue and form prejudices. The actions I am talking about are the ones Obama has taken pertaining to the human race. No matter if people hate or love Obama, they cannot deny that he has tried to reconcile with old enemies and extended hands of friendship to all kinds of people.

Some examples are Obama's participation in the Indian festival of Diwali, speech calling for peace with Middle Eastern countries and respect of Muslims, and bow to the Japanese emperor.
Of course Americans had something to say about the last one.
Some problems that Americans have is that it makes it seem as if America is subservient to Japan. Instead America should give off feelings of pride, strength, and decisiveness.
Sadly, it seems as if Americans need to get off their imaginary pedestal and see that no longer is America the strongest country in the world. Since when did the most powerful nation boast a muti-trillion dollar debt? Since when did the strongest nation have more than ten percent unemployment? Since when did the greatest nation have currency equivalent to less than half a Euro?

Its time that Americans woke up and saw that any status that America has enjoyed for the last couple of centuries is gone. It seems as if President Obama is one of the few who realizes this, and is thus trying to dispel that old image and reach out to other countries.
At least someone is awake.

Fort Hood

As everyone must know by now, there was a recent tragedy in Texas involving the murder of 13 soldiers by, wait for it, another soldier. Perhaps even more ironic is that the soldier was Muslim. Guess what the newspapers are say? "Surprise, Surprise". More on the incident can be found here.
The purpose of discussion here is not the event but rather the fallout.
The first thing that Americans look to as the motive is Islam. The shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan, is a staunch Muslim that was quoted as saying he was more faithful to his religion than America.
Why in the world is that such a big issue? All religious people would say the same thing, whether Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or Sikh. Since when has a country taken priority over belief in the supernatural?
To throw a real wrench into the American Brain Trust, there have been no emails or written letters that suggest any plan of action in correspondence with other Muslim leaders. So what is really going on here? A guy that performed insane acts isn't being persecuted as an insane man, but rather a Muslim one.

Christianity tries a new tactic

As seen from prior posts, Christians have tried a number of different tactics in getting people from around the world to proselytize. When they first encountered the Native Americans there were copious forms of torture and brainwashing. In Central and South America there was also coercion and violence. In India, there was bribes to the poor with promises of homes and appliances. All of these are well documented. It seems that Christians in Malaysia have tried an alternative method to indoctrinate Muslims. They actually resorted to handing out Bibles with the word "Allah" inserted instead of God. Muslim leaders caught wind of this and quickly took the bibles away. More on the story can be read here.
The theme of this blog then is means Christians have in trying to convert people. Why Muslims and Christians are at such odds with each other is puzzling. Muslims and Christians both draw their origins back to Abraham, albeit to his two different sons. Both believe in the divinity of Jesus as a prophet. Both share a number of holy sites in Jerusalem. Yet, both sides attempt to take followers from one another. In reality this squabble seems foolish and unnecessary. Perhaps both religions should take a leaf out Hinduism. Never have Hindus attempted to convert others. Perhaps what is most compelling about Hinduism is that it doesn't tolerate. Yeah, that's write Hinduism does not tolerate. Rather, it accepts.

Sikhs Were the Odd Ones Out

For those that truly think politics and religion have no connections, probably have not heard of the events leading to Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984. Gandhi had been suspected of corruption and was used to ruling with something of an iron fist. She was also known to have sided with a Sikh extremist in helping win the position of president. Unfortunately that plane backfired on her when the extremist and his group holed themselves up in the holiest of Sikh locations, the Golden Temple. Gandhi responded by sending in troops and firing on the extremist group within the temple. Obviously Sikhs did not take kindly to this, and a while later Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh body guards. Hindus retaliated with violence aimed at Sikhs throughout Northern India. The tale of one survivor, Harmeet Shah Singh, tells of his experience. He literally had to pull out of schools and be sent to his relatives dressed as a girl to assure safety.
However, as the saying goes "Time heals all". That is the case here. Today the highest individual position in India is held by none other than a Sikh. The second highest position is held by a women. Who is to say now that America is the most tolerant and accepting. Since when has American had a president that was not Christian? Since when has an independent party won an election? Since when has a women held even a top tier position? If India were really so BEHIND America, I would assume its not such a bad place to be.

The Violent Image of Islam

For all that don't know of the very recent shootout in Fort Hood, Texas, 13 soldiers were killed and several others wounded by what seems to be another soldier. The man's name is Nidal Malik Hasan. He served as a psychiatrist at the base and would often listen to the traumatizing experiences of was veterans. Whatever the reason, he opened fire and was shot in the crossfire four times. Somehow, he survived and is in stable condition. More on the event can be FOUND HERE. The topic here isn't about the actual event however, but moreso about the shooter's name. The fact that it could be Muslim, presents a threat to Muslim Americans all over the country.
Muslims have never had an image of being tolerant and peaceful. They are the group that attacked the World Trade Center. They are the group that rioted violentally when the Danish newspapers published simple cartoons of Muhammed. They are the group that kidnapped a US reporter and made a video of his head getting sawed off. There are many reasons as to why Americas hatred of Muslims is warranted. The one thing that Americans must remember however is that the media portrays only a small portion of Muslims. Many condemn extremist actions or violence of any kind. It is these Muslims that need to be extremely cautious the next couple of weeks. Americans, as noted in the past, do not like to be bullied. Nor do they like having fellow Americans, and especially American soldiers killed. They will more than likely be looking for any opportunity to present itself in carrying out revenge.
So the message here, is simply that whether Mr. Hasan was Muslim or not, not many Americans will care to find out, and that in itself should make Muslims Americans all the more wary.