MY VIEW The primary source of strife on this planet in the past and in the present is 'institutionalized bigotry', either of the form that says some races are inferior and should thus be enslaved like we had with the blacks, eradicated like we had with the native indians and Jews, or just plain suppressed like we have with women. Most of these issues have been resolved in present time, the 'civilized world' has pretty much won that game and except for a few stragglers who don't really stand a chance, the world is well on its way towards legal equality for all. But there is still an area of bigotry that has not been resolved and which is older than old, and going to be really hard to eradicate. That is bigotry engendered when a religion teaches that some people go to hell forever and others go to heaven forever. In the first place it is wrong, its like teaching that the earth is flat, or is the center of the universe, or the only planet with life on it. It's just plain wrong. People get reborn and don't remember, the reasons for which are still under study and which are very hard to confront. Many people would rather go to hell forever *THEMSELVES* than remember why they don't remember. Now some religions teach that only bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. On the surface that seems reasonable, but it is just as insidious as the rest, for it implies there are people who can not redeem themselves, and thus relieves the rest of us of the burden of making sure they do. "This dream ends forever when the circle of friends are ALL holding hands again." The idea that some people can not redeem themselves to everyone else, keeps us comfortably numb in our righteous hate, as long as we hate the proper people. It creates a state of eternal unforgivingness in everyone else that was harmed by the bad guy, which acts as a yoke around their neck sinking THEM to the bottom of the spiritual sea. This yoke alone will eventually turn any 'good' person into a 'bad' person just like the one he hasn't forgiven or tried to understand and help redeem. People can only redeem themselves within a supportive context that allows that they do and in fact insists on it. Part of that context is they get as many lifetimes as they can stand to do it in, on an array of different planets and places to be. Eventually everyone comes clean, owns up, and becomes civilized and worthy of the inward state called 'heaven'. At that time however they have also, in the same breath, mastered 'hell', and can hold both in their hands with equal aplomb. That is called enlightenment. People actually only end up in 'hell' when they themselves are trying to send something or someone else to hell forever. Since it can't actually be done, they end up in hell themselves, its quite automatic. It's like the recoil of a gun, no way around it. Eventually they see the folly of their ways and give it up and take up a more enlightened life. It might take them 1000 lifetimes though. Hell is not some place you go after you die, hell is someplace you live after you are reborn. So is heaven. Worse though are the religions that teach that deeds do not determine who goes to heaven or hell, but mere acceptance of ideology, doctrine or particular prophet, messiah or savior. No matter how good the Jew is, if he doesn't accept Christ on his death bed as his savior, off to hell he goes. We call these Cults of Personality or the Cult of the True Believer. We call them Cults of the 'True Believer', because the fate of a being after death depends only on what they believe, not on the inherent goodness or love in their heart, the quality of their lives, or the repentance we all feel for our sins once we recognize the craziness of our ways and the ill effects they have had on the Cosmic All. Wisdom is contained in 4 words. SIN, WAGES, SALVATION and GRACE. Wisdom comes from recognizing WE HAVE SINNED, not that Christ died on a Cross, is our Savior, or is the Lord incarnate. Wisdom comes from understanding the WAGES of sin, our own wages that we deliver to ourselves for having sinned. Wisdom comes from understanding that salvation is salvation from those wages, to suffer no more for what we have done. Wisdom comes from the understanding that it is OUR GRACE that saves ourselves, not and never anyone else's. Wisdom comes from understanding that no one can die for our sins, not even ourselves, that we nail ourselves to our own crosses, and that we choose grace when we are tired of hanging out on one. All of these bigoted and very unwise religions are particularly odious in that they condemn a person to hell FOREVER for the sins of one life. That is just hideous, vile, unspeakable and insane, there are no other words for it, no matter what the miscreant has done, or how bad, or to how many. The people who worry most about other's getting their just desserts forever and ever, live in the cult of INNOCENT VICTIM, namely themselves. The sanest religions are the ones that teach we get born again to come back and live life in the mess that we made. It is unfortunate that we forget what mess it was exactly that we made, but this is part of the mess that was made, mass amnesia alloyed with delusive religions of hate and eternal damnation. We have all had our hand in the web of lies and suppression that we live in across millions and millions of years not just on Earth but elsewhere. It just has all come home to roost here for us now. What each being needs to ask is, 'Why am I reborning again?" and "Do I want to be reborn again?" To the second, most would answer quickly, no way, this place is terrible, I can't imagine anyone wanting to be here once let alone twice. But a little reflection will show that as long as one is being reborn willingly, with one's own choice, as horrendous as that might seem, it is highly desirable to be able to come back and continue with very long term translife time goals. Earth is quite a canvas to express one's artistic love on, especially if one has an unlimited amount of time to do it in, assuming the religious nutcases don't blow it to Kingdom Come. Even if they do, it can be rebuilt, or we can move on to other planets waiting for populations. Don't take that glibly, it won't be a happy day if the Earth is incinerated. I trust you have all seen the new version of 'On the Beach'. Although in present time it looks like the religious nut cases are our worst enemy, in fact the incoming asteroids are. If the retrograde forces of ignorance and bigotry were in fact to overthrow the forces of civilization and return Earth to a dark age suitable for 1000 years ago, they would soon be wiped out totally by one of the many asteroids that have Earth's name on them. So there is some Justice operating here. "Why did humankind invent the zero?" "To better describe themselves, after the Big One hits." Zero left." If we are being reborn in an ocean of amnesia, one can ask where all the new beings are coming from, since the population is expanding. The Earth is like an intergalatic city, people can and do move around from lifetime to lifetime. Although Earth is an intergalatic 'hotspot' at this time in the universe's unfolding, it is also an egress terminal for those seeking enlightenment. Thus Earth has the very best and very worst of what the entire universe has to offer in the way of people coming here to be reborn and the waiting line for bodies is very long. And it's not like it is well organized outside the body, it isn't, things are more like a wild west free for all. Thus who gets what body is a real story to tell. That many if not most fall into the trap of delusive religions of hate and eternal damnation is unfortunate, but that chance is part of what they knew they were buying into when they chose to get born. Homer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Homer Wilson Smith Clean Air, Clear Water, Art Matrix - Lightlink (607) 277-0959 A Green Earth and Peace. Internet Access, Ithaca NY homer@lightlink.com Is that too much to ask? http://www.lightlink.com