Have you ever wondered why does the [b:b031573d59]BIG THREE (Judaism, Christianity and Islam)[/b:b031573d59] invoke such [color=red:b031573d59][b:b031573d59]bitterness, antagonism and violence towards it and also within it[/b:b031573d59][/color:b031573d59].

I mean other religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism etc. has a similar vein of religious belief to JCI (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) but besides the local regional religious conflict no one feels particular antagonistic towards these religions, so why JCI. What is common about JCI that provokes such antagonism and dislike towards these religions?

It is my opinion that Judaism, Christianity and Islam attract more than its fair share of criticisms, dislike and antagonism towards it because underneath all the layers of pretended love and pretended prayers of their fellow humans, there is a feeling of [b:b031573d59]Superiority, A SUPERIORITY COMPLEX.[/b:b031573d59]

To begin my argument let us first define what the meaning of SUPERIOR is. According to the Collins English Dictionary, [b:b031573d59]Superior is defined as:[/b:b031573d59]
*Higher in rank or status
*Displaying a conscious sense of being above and better than others; supercilious
*Place higher up, further from the base

From this definition it is not difficult to see that a King or Queen regards himself / herself as SUPERIOR to his / her subjects by means of Ïroyal blood or birthÓ.

In South Africa we had a reprehensible apartheid system where a class of people (Whites) claimed they were SUPERIOR to all other South Africans who did not belong to this class. They not only claimed superiority for this class of people based on the colour of their skin, they took effective measures to PUNISH those that did not belong to this class. This meant that Blacks in South Africa were subjected to cruel, dehumanizing and unjustifiable punishment merely because they happen to be of the wrong skin colour.

Then not so long ago we had Hitler who imagined that a race of blue eyed, blonde Germans were SUPERIOR to all other human beings. He effectively attempted to breed a race of these SUPERIOR Germans and essentially PUNISHED all those that did not belong to this German group which led to one of the worst atrocities in human history, The HOLOCAUST. In addition who can forget HitlerÌs attempt to exclude all blacks from participating in the Olympics in Germany.

In the olden days until recently we had the SUPERIOR SLAVE OWNER and the INFERIOR SLAVE, and I am sure we are all aware of the abominate living the slave had to endure, so I wontÌ repeat it here.

Now we have a group of religious believers called Muslim, Jews &Christians (MJC) who by virtue of their faith has declared themselves to Superior to all other human beings outside each respective religion.

[b:b031573d59]Christians[/b:b031573d59] who believe in an unseen God and acceptance of a man who they claim to be the Son of God and the Savior of all Humanity have laid claim to be [b:b031573d59]SUPERIOR[/b:b031573d59] to all other human beings outside of Christianity.

[b:b031573d59]Muslims [/b:b031573d59]in turn believe in an unseen God and acceptance of Prophet Muhammad as the greatest and final messenger of God have laid claim to be [b:b031573d59]SUPERIOR[/b:b031573d59] to all other human beings outside Islam.

[b:b031573d59]Jews[/b:b031573d59] in turn believe in an unseen God and claim that they have been CHOSEN by this God to be [b:b031573d59]SUPERIOR[/b:b031573d59] over all other human beings outside Judaism.

Muslim and Christians, like their White, German, and slave owner counterparts, proclaim their [b:b031573d59]SUPERIORITY and PUNISHES [/b:b031573d59]other people outside the group (infidels, witches, kaafirÌs and heretics) with punitive measures such as death by hanging, death by burning, chopping your head or by discriminating with increased taxes, not allowing ownership of land, forbidding worship, denying entry to certain Îholly landsÓ and by stating that all non Believers are going to [color=blue:b031573d59][b:b031573d59]HELL.[/b:b031573d59][/color:b031573d59] Think about the Crusades and the burning of witches by the Spanish Inquisition, the Jyzia tax in Islam, the non entry of ÏdirtyÓ infidels to the holy land of Mecca and Medina and the death of apostates and you will get my point.

LET US BE QUITE CLEAR OF WHAT I AM TRYING TO EXPLAIN IN THE ABOVE.
As human beings we are naturally going to have many differences of opinion about everything in the world, even in the most trivial of matters. I would often get into a heated debate about evolution with many ÏcreationistÓ who deny the theory of evolution as espoused by Charles Darwin. At the end of this debate we would normally agree to disagree.

Even the subject of art is often a point of intense conflict. You would get many critics who would describe much of modern art as ÏtrashÓ and you would get critics who passionately defend this form of art.

[b:b031573d59]The difference between this debate and the Christian / Muslim apologist debate is that I would not describe the creationist who differs with me about the theory of evolution as IMMORAL. Nor would the modern apologist of the critics of art claim that the opposing critic is a BAD person just because they have differing views.[/b:b031573d59]

[b:b031573d59]Yet in Christianity / Islam the person who opposes the beliefs of the Christian and Muslim is IMMORAL and BAD and is going to get punished by the religious authorities as well as HELLFIRE from God for his difference of opinion with a ChristianÌs beliefs.[/b:b031573d59]

Today with the advent of human rights and a clear sense by the majority of the world of what it means to be free and what an individual rights are in a constitutional secular democracy, Christians and to a certain extent Muslims have now become PC (politically correct). They now claim ÏHey man you know God has made us all equal and it is the right of every individual to choose any belief he or she wishesÓ. [b:b031573d59]Wow![/b:b031573d59] No more talk of killing and burning witches, no more talk of hanging apostates. (Except in Islam, they still not PC).

The Christian and Muslims in secular states have gone even further down the PC road. They now claim that since we are all equal there will be those that will be good and those that will be bad. Those that are good will be rewarded here on earth. At this point Muslims and Christians are patting themselves at the back thinking that they have scored a PC coup. However in fine print they also add that only Christians and Muslims are respectively going to heaven.

Two things I would like to point out. Firstly, the belief of Christians / Muslims that they are a SUPERIOR class of people that physically punishes or discriminate against people for being ÏinfidelsÓ has not disappeared. [b:b031573d59]It just cannot be practiced in a secular constitutional democracy.[/b:b031573d59]

Secondly, unlike the old days when an infidel and a polytheist were immoral humans on earth Muslims and Christians have figured out rather transfer this abominable religious discrimination from earth to the domain of God and the afterlife. I must admit Muslims and |Christians are a really innovative and deviant. [b:b031573d59]They know that secular law does not cover the hereafter.[/b:b031573d59]

Now hereÌs a simple analogy that I want you to study.

Imagine a competition run by Mr. John Paul giving surprise prizes for the best 100 ÏDO-GOODERSÓ. After choosing the 100 winners John Paul divides the ÏDO GOODERSÓ into the religious and non-religious. After dividing them John Paul then takes the religious ÏDO-GOODERSÓ into a chamber filled with wonderful gifts and food. Thereafter John Paul proceed to take the other non religious group of ÏDO GOODERSÓ into a separate chamber, except here the prize is a 100 lashes with a whip and a pouring of scalding hot water.

Now if ever this event occurred it would not take great imagination to understand that virtually the whole world will be up in arms about such an immoral display of human character. Virtually every single human being would think of John Paul who ran the competition as being absurd and insane.

The question I want to pose to all reasonable people (religious or not) are these:

[list:b031573d59]If human beings can regard the character of John Paul so grossly immoral here on earth, why should we set a different standard of justice in the supernatural world of God.
Should not God who is omni benevolent have the same or a higher quality of justice that all human beings have come to understand.
Why can God who is omni benevolent universal not accept the worship of a young Hindu girl praying in her temple; or the worship of a desperate Buddhist father praying before a Buddhist statue; or the worship of a Muslim in salaat (prayer) and the worship of a Christian in a church equally. I mean what is lacking in GodÌs character that prevents HIM from accepting the worship and prayers of all his subjects equally.
Why does God want to subject his worshippers to a single religious belief when a wide variety of beliefs towards him is just as fascinating and no less morally good? After all isnÌt variety the spice of life on earth and in the hereafter.
Should not God, who creates and determines life, be construed as EVIL if after all the good deeds a human has performed on earth has to be subjected to a HELL just for choosing the ÏWRONG NUMBERS in a LOTTOÓ
What happens to all those good people who lived before Christianity and Islam or all those good simple village folks who NEVER heard of the religion of Christianity and Islam.[/list:u:b031573d59]

Now you could sit down and talk to God your entire life you simply wont get an answer. What I mean is that I know many Muslims and Christians will answer my charge by stating the USUAL RUBBISH that ÏGod works in mysterious waysÓ. Unfortunately or fortunately that overplayed excuse has a sell by date and does not work any more. Instead what seems a reasonable answer is that Christians and Muslims are trying to be SUPERIOR human beings by appealing to the SUPERNATURAL.

Finally, I want to conclude by giving you another simple analogy.

Imagine our hero and icon of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, after having been released from Pollsmore prison, in his inaugural speech declared at the end of his speech.

[color=red:b031573d59][b:b031573d59]ÏAnd let me remind all you non believers of Christianity and Islam that God awaits you with HELLFIRE as soon as you die, so BEWARE and repentÓ.[/b:b031573d59][/color:b031573d59]

Now had Madiba made this declaration at his inaugural speech, I have no doubt his status as a hero and an icon would have been short lived. Many people would have been wary of Madiba and his politics or even his state of mind. I am sure he would never have been a recipient of the Noble peace prize if he made such a crude statement.

Yet such a statement which would normally be abhorred by the majority of people is actually held in high esteem by Christians and Muslims.

I want to leave Muslims and Christians with one final thought because it is so pertinent to them.

[color=green:b031573d59][b:b031573d59]Assume if Christianity is true will Muslims feel that it is fair that Prophet Muhammad, a hero, a good man and a guide to all of humanity should be left to rot in HELL by God, or assuming if Islam is true then should the ÏChristian JesusÓ a hero, a good man and a guide to all of humanity be left to rot in HELL by God.[/b:b031573d59][/color:b031573d59]

Conclusion

The Christian, Muslim, Jew Supremacist

Have you ever wondered why does the BIG THREE (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) invoke such bitterness, antagonism and violence towards it and also within it.

I mean other religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism etc. has a similar vein of religious belief to JCI (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) but besides the local regional religious conflict no one feels particular antagonistic towards these religions, so why JCI. What is common about JCI that provokes such antagonism and dislike towards these religions?

It is my opinion that Judaism, Christianity and Islam attract more than its fair share of criticisms, dislike and antagonism towards it because underneath all the layers of pretended love and pretended prayers of their fellow humans, there is a feeling of Superiority, A SUPERIORITY COMPLEX.

To begin my argument let us first define what the meaning of SUPERIOR is. According to the Collins English Dictionary, Superior is defined as:
*Higher in rank or status
*Displaying a conscious sense of being above and better than others; supercilious
*Place higher up, further from the base

From this definition it is not difficult to see that a King or Queen regards himself / herself as SUPERIOR to his / her subjects by means of “royal blood or birth”.

In South Africa we had a reprehensible apartheid system where a class of people (Whites) claimed they were SUPERIOR to all other South Africans who did not belong to this class. They not only claimed superiority for this class of people based on the colour of their skin, they took effective measures to PUNISH those that did not belong to this class. This meant that Blacks in South Africa were subjected to cruel, dehumanizing and unjustifiable punishment merely because they happen to be of the wrong skin colour.

Then not so long ago we had Hitler who imagined that a race of blue eyed, blonde Germans were SUPERIOR to all other human beings. He effectively attempted to breed a race of these SUPERIOR Germans and essentially PUNISHED all those that did not belong to this German group which led to one of the worst atrocities in human history, The HOLOCAUST. In addition who can forget Hitler’s attempt to exclude all blacks from participating in the Olympics in Germany.

In the olden days until recently we had the SUPERIOR SLAVE OWNER and the INFERIOR SLAVE, and I am sure we are all aware of the abominate living the slave had to endure, so I wont’ repeat it here.

Now we have a group of religious believers called Muslim, Jews &Christians; (MJC) who by virtue of their faith has declared themselves to Superior to all other human beings outside each respective religion.

Christians who believe in an unseen God and acceptance of a man who they claim to be the Son of God and the Savior of all Humanity have laid claim to be SUPERIOR to all other human beings outside of Christianity.

Muslims in turn believe in an unseen God and acceptance of Prophet Muhammad as the greatest and final messenger of God have laid claim to be SUPERIOR to all other human beings outside Islam.

Jews in turn believe in an unseen God and claim that they have been CHOSEN by this God to be SUPERIOR over all other human beings outside Judaism.

Muslim and Christians, like their White, German, and slave owner counterparts, proclaim their SUPERIORITY and PUNISHES other people outside the group (infidels, witches, kaafir’s and heretics) with punitive measures such as death by hanging, death by burning, chopping your head or by discriminating with increased taxes, not allowing ownership of land, forbidding worship, denying entry to certain ‘holly lands” and by stating that all non Believers are going to HELL. Think about the Crusades and the burning of witches by the Spanish Inquisition, the Jyzia tax in Islam, the non entry of “dirty” infidels to the holy land of Mecca and Medina and the death of apostates and you will get my point.

LET US BE QUITE CLEAR OF WHAT I AM TRYING TO EXPLAIN IN THE ABOVE.
As human beings we are naturally going to have many differences of opinion about everything in the world, even in the most trivial of matters. I would often get into a heated debate about evolution with many “creationist” who deny the theory of evolution as espoused by Charles Darwin. At the end of this debate we would normally agree to disagree.

Even the subject of art is often a point of intense conflict. You would get many critics who would describe much of modern art as “trash” and you would get critics who passionately defend this form of art.

The difference between this debate and the Christian / Muslim apologist debate is that I would not describe the creationist who differs with me about the theory of evolution as IMMORAL. Nor would the modern apologist of the critics of art claim that the opposing critic is a BAD person just because they have differing views.

Yet in Christianity / Islam the person who opposes the beliefs of the Christian and Muslim is IMMORAL and BAD and is going to get punished by the religious authorities as well as HELLFIRE from God for his difference of opinion with a Christian’s beliefs.

Today with the advent of human rights and a clear sense by the majority of the world of what it means to be free and what an individual rights are in a constitutional secular democracy, Christians and to a certain extent Muslims have now become PC (politically correct). They now claim “Hey man you know God has made us all equal and it is the right of every individual to choose any belief he or she wishes”. Wow! No more talk of killing and burning witches, no more talk of hanging apostates. (Except in Islam, they still not PC).

The Christian and Muslims in secular states have gone even further down the PC road. They now claim that since we are all equal there will be those that will be good and those that will be bad. Those that are good will be rewarded here on earth. At this point Muslims and Christians are patting themselves at the back thinking that they have scored a PC coup. However in fine print they also add that only Christians and Muslims are respectively going to heaven.

Two things I would like to point out. Firstly, the belief of Christians / Muslims that they are a SUPERIOR class of people that physically punishes or discriminate against people for being “infidels” has not disappeared. It just cannot be practiced in a secular constitutional democracy.

Secondly, unlike the old days when an infidel and a polytheist were immoral humans on earth Muslims and Christians have figured out rather transfer this abominable religious discrimination from earth to the domain of God and the afterlife. I must admit Muslims and |Christians are a really innovative and deviant. They know that secular law does not cover the hereafter.

Now here’s a simple analogy that I want you to study.

Imagine a competition run by Mr. John Paul giving surprise prizes for the best 100 “DO-GOODERS”. After choosing the 100 winners John Paul divides the “DO GOODERS” into the religious and non-religious. After dividing them John Paul then takes the religious “DO-GOODERS” into a chamber filled with wonderful gifts and food. Thereafter John Paul proceed to take the other non religious group of “DO GOODERS” into a separate chamber, except here the prize is a 100 lashes with a whip and a pouring of scalding hot water.

Now if ever this event occurred it would not take great imagination to understand that virtually the whole world will be up in arms about such an immoral display of human character. Virtually every single human being would think of John Paul who ran the competition as being absurd and insane.

The question I want to pose to all reasonable people (religious or not) are these:

[list]If human beings can regard the character of John Paul so grossly immoral here on earth, why should we set a different standard of justice in the supernatural world of God.
Should not God who is omni benevolent have the same or a higher quality of justice that all human beings have come to understand.
Why can God who is omni benevolent universal not accept the worship of a young Hindu girl praying in her temple; or the worship of a desperate Buddhist father praying before a Buddhist statue; or the worship of a Muslim in salaat (prayer) and the worship of a Christian in a church equally. I mean what is lacking in God’s character that prevents HIM from accepting the worship and prayers of all his subjects equally.
Why does God want to subject his worshippers to a single religious belief when a wide variety of beliefs towards him is just as fascinating and no less morally good? After all isn’t variety the spice of life on earth and in the hereafter.
Should not God, who creates and determines life, be construed as EVIL if after all the good deeds a human has performed on earth has to be subjected to a HELL just for choosing the “WRONG NUMBERS in a LOTTO”
What happens to all those good people who lived before Christianity and Islam or all those good simple village folks who NEVER heard of the religion of Christianity and Islam.[/list:u]

Now you could sit down and talk to God your entire life you simply wont get an answer. What I mean is that I know many Muslims and Christians will answer my charge by stating the USUAL RUBBISH that “God works in mysterious ways”. Unfortunately or fortunately that overplayed excuse has a sell by date and does not work any more. Instead what seems a reasonable answer is that Christians and Muslims are trying to be SUPERIOR human beings by appealing to the SUPERNATURAL.

Finally, I want to conclude by giving you another simple analogy.

Imagine our hero and icon of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, after having been released from Pollsmore prison, in his inaugural speech declared at the end of his speech.

“And let me remind all you non believers of Christianity and Islam that God awaits you with HELLFIRE as soon as you die, so BEWARE and repent”.

Now had Madiba made this declaration at his inaugural speech, I have no doubt his status as a hero and an icon would have been short lived. Many people would have been wary of Madiba and his politics or even his state of mind. I am sure he would never have been a recipient of the Noble peace prize if he made such a crude statement.

Yet such a statement which would normally be abhorred by the majority of people is actually held in high esteem by Christians and Muslims.

I want to leave Muslims and Christians with one final thought because it is so pertinent to them.

Assume if Christianity is true will Muslims feel that it is fair that Prophet Muhammad, a hero, a good man and a guide to all of humanity should be left to rot in HELL by God, or assuming if Islam is true then should the “Christian Jesus” a hero, a good man and a guide to all of humanity be left to rot in HELL by God.

Conclusion

Thanks for that, Fayzal. On the one hand it is true that even non JCI religions believe that “nonbelievers” are worse off ... Buddhists will say that non-Buddhists won’t become enlightened, etc.

But none of these religions believes in the distinction between “infinite bad” and “infinite good” that you find in JCI.

For Hinduism and Buddhism, the bad person gets bad karma, which may mean that let us say a murderer may be reborn into a painful future life. But it will only be a finite amount of punishment.

This goes well with the idea that even evil people are only partly evil. There is no such thing as infinite evil.

OTOH, for JCI religions that believe in hell, they have to say that the evil person is evil enough that an infinite amount of punishment is morally correct. (!) That is only really conscionable if somehow the evil they represent is infinite evil.

So what I’m saying is that “superiority” is one part of the issue, but the central problem is that the superiority is supposed to be infinite.

And of course, any finite thing you can do to get someone from being “infinitely evil” would be warranted. So, it seems it should be warranted to torture someone for a finite amount of time if torture would get him to go to heaven rather than hell. This justifies the Inquisition techniques.

Crazy stuff.

Good post Fayzal.
I’m going to guess at an answer to your question. I think you may be pricking a nerve in the minds of the people who keep coming back to your blog.
They have been told all their lives that their god is good and their religion is the one true religion. They accepted those statements without much thought and went on with their lives.

Then you come along and keep making an issue of the weaknesses of their belief system. They keep coming back to see if you have been proven wrong.
Jim