Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl00918)

Alex,

I am passing on a response to your post from a friend of mine who is a
theosophist but not a member of our group on the internet.

Nick.

> Date: Monday, April 22, 1996 2:29PM
> From: Karl A Bryan


I look at the aspect of fundamentalism as a response to the growing power of

women.  The triad of religion has been male dominated for thousands of years
and
prior to their ascendancy to power the women lead religions held sway (ie.
the
agrarian or fertility religions).  With the increasing awareness of women's
rights (which is only logical that they should have rights because the
religions
had always recognized these rights, the rulers of the religions chose to
ignore
these rights) the rank and file members of the religions are seeing a
disconnect
between the teachings and the actions of the religion.  Thus the increasing
loss
of membership in religions.  The fundamentalists are seeing an erosion in
their
power base and thus are turning towards the less educated and usually
ignored
group of members in their church.  It is easy to stir up fanaticism in
people
if
they have not learned to think (and thus to question authority) for
themselves.
Remember, an enlightened citizenry is harder to control than passive sheep
are.
(Makes you wonder about the motive behind the christian metaphor of honoring

those who are like sheep, were they actually recognizing the ease in
controlling
the mobs?)  This control issue can also be applied to our present school
funding
issue, note that the GI bill has been reduced in what it covers for
education
costs from when it was first introduced.  These reductions were
predominately
driven by the republican party under the guise of cost control, but anyone
with
a brain knows that the biggest bang for the buck is in educating people (I
have
heard estimates in the realm of $12 - $16 return for every dollar spent).  I

think that a large portion of our governments repression of Cuba is the fear

that their free higher education right will be recognized and demanded here
in
the gREAT u s OF a.

karl

> Subject: FW: Thoughts
> Author:  nlporreco@bpa.gov at Internet
> Date:    4/19/96 8:14 PM

At 10:26 PM 4/18/96 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Alex,
>
>I have heard it speculated that the Moslem, Christian unrest today is a
>revisit of the group karma created during the Crusades.  What are your
>thoughts?
>
>Nick.

>Subject: Re:union
>Date: Thursday, April 18, 1996 7:52PM

>My thoughts? Well when I look at the Judeo-Christian-Islamic Triad I see
many things. I see ancient mutual antagonisms that have never really been
ameliorated. That's very old news, and it's nothing at all either unique of
new. The situation current in Palestine today is the result of serious
political misjudgements in 1948. But if by "unrest" ypou mean the
fundamentalist phenomenon cureently very rife in all three religions, my
thoughts are these. Fundamentalism is a symptom of the death throes of a
religion. It is "circling the wagons" against change and new thoughts. It is

an intense need to return things to a "simpler and more secure age". Of
course such an age never existed. When members of a religion feel called
upon
to react against the ongoing evolution of that religion and return it to an
entirely illusory "pure state" then the religion is moribund. I, as may be
obvious consider the Judeo-Chrsitian-Islamic Triad as essentially a single
religion with three major sects. It is the demise of that single religion
that the "religious unrest" of our times foretells.

alexis dolgorukii'
Member TI, FTSA
>
>