CNN God’s Warriors

Last night and tonight, I watched the first and second segments of Christian Amanpour’s documentary entitled 'God’s Warrior’s'. Watching this, I found myself engulfed in disbelief, awe and amazement at what faith can accomplish. When faith is used to try and transform the masses, it destroys civilizations, neighborhoods, homes, cities, kills children and demolishes peace- to say the very least.

Contrarily, faith can also establish peace, renew hope that has been lost, build the impossible…yet what I feel we must realize, is that these types of transformations can only happen successfully on a personal level. We can share our personal faith en mass, but to try and transform the mass with faith, is a loosing battle.

I am focusing my thoughts on the Abrahamic religions, featured on this CNN special, all of which are built upon one another, Judaism being the first, followed by Christianity and Islam. Without Judaism and the Torah, none of the others exist. If taken from an agnostic standpoint, it is the greatest trilogy of all time.

The Fundamentals:

Judaism, beginning with the covenant between God and Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people (as well as the patriarch of Christianity and Islam), prophesied the coming of a Messiah.

Christianity thereafter was born with the faith in Jesus and in the belief that he is the Messiah. (Jews are still awaiting a Messiah to come and do not recognize Jesus). Christianity is a faith centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of God

….within this very point is where Islam was born. Although Islam supports that Jesus as the Messiah, born of the Virgin Mary, it also denounces the Trilogy (as it is contradictory to the One-ness of God) and further supports that believing in Jesus as God or any God-like counterpart, is where Christians were led astray. Muhammad is believed by Muslims not to be a founder of a new religion, but rather the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

Rooted not only in one God but also in the same patriarch, this by far is the greatest dysfunctional family of all time, and yes, I believe we are family. Each synagogue, church or mosque is rooted in the same stone, and built all in the name of the same God, a shared Father.

Since all three of these faiths have roots in The Torah, in the prophet Moses and his purpose, I would like to call to mind The Ten Commandments (read these slowly)

1) I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me
2) Thou shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth
3) Thou shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name
4) Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy
5) Honor your father and your mother
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery
8) Neither shall you steal
9) Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor
10) Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s goods

Focusing on these Ten Commandments, they seem so simple to follow. Yet the practicality of following them is almost analogous to John Locke’s view to the (perfect) State of Nature. If every person consulted these ten statements before making each decision in their day…what a world it would be. However reality (as we have come to know) is that there is no perfect state to nature. Adam and Eve bit that apple a long-ass time ago.

Human nature by definition is a vice. We desire, we seek power (not only from greed, but for protection or persuasion). In fact, protection of our human, or faith-filled existence in and of itself breeds a basis to break these commandments. War and politics of any sort, breaks these commandments, yet without them there is no guideline…Think about that impossible irony.

The reason I focus on these Ten Commandments, these rules of our (collective) faith, is because I am beside myself with how all “warriors of faith” as featured in this CNN special, not only break these commandments, but do so in the name of God- so blindly breaking yet another commandment in the process (see commandment 3 people!!)…. Double whammy.

The story of the “Fallen Angel” (a.k.a. the guy with horns), reads that he is real and seeks to tempt the other side at all times. Although unequal in Greatness, it should be noted that the story reads he/she/it is just as ever-present as God, working against goodness, always there to show you the flip side of the coin. Knowing this, these ‘soldiers of God’ should ask themselves, which side of that coin they are actually on, cause doing what they do in the name of God somehow, seems counter-intuitive.