Temple co-founder wants to start Buddhist frat and ...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Greek gods on Fraternity Row at San Diego State University may have to make room for the Buddha. Planning is underway for a Buddhist fraternity ...

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AP Nation / World

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A Buddhist temple founder wants to incorporate the religion and culture into the Greek system at San Diego State University.

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In Islamic State war, like others, heritage always a target

CAIRO (AP) — A nearly 2,000-year-old temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra this week was the latest victim in the Islamic State group's campaign of destruction of historic sites across the territory it controls in Iraq and Syria. The group has destroyed ancient buildings and artifacts, as well as shrines to Shiite and Sunni Muslim saints — looting some sites for profit — all in the name of purging what it considers symbols of idolatry to create a society dedicated solely to its extreme and violent interpretation of Islam. The IS campaign has horrified many around the world with a scope of destruction that hasn't been seen for decades. Still, it isn't unprecedented. Throughout the centuries, invaders, religious fanatics and colonizers have targeted works of art, houses of worship and other pieces of heritage. The goal is often to uproot, eliminate, replace or impose control over the culture and heritage of their opponents. Nearly every ethnic or religious conflict across history has seen at least some cultural destruction, along with genocides like the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews. Below is a look at some examples: WAHHABISM The Islamic State group's rabid ideology against shrines and historical sites is rooted in Wahhabism, the ultraconservative Sunni Muslim interpretation preached by Sheikh Mohammed Abdul-Wahhab, who lived in the 1700s in what is now Saudi Arabia. Allied with the powerful Saud family, Abdul-Wahhab's followers destroyed anything they saw as promoting idolatry or polytheism, including shrines of Shiite and Sufi saints, and the destruction of a major Shiite shrine at Karbala in what is now Iraq. Today, the alliance with Wahhabism remains one of the foundations of rule by the Al Saud royal family. PROTESTANT REFORMATION During the Reformation in 16th century Europe, Protestant preachers railed in sermons against Catholic statues of saints and other religious relics as forms of idolatry. Mobs of Protestants attacked hundreds of Catholic churches, particularly in France, Germany and the Netherlands, destroying statues and images — and in England under King Henry VIII, churches were stripped of their relics and riches. The result erased from Europe's cultural landscape untold numbers of works of art. SPAIN During the Muslim invasion of Spain in the 8th century, churches were often destroyed or turned into mosques. Conversely, when Christians took back the peninsula in the centuries-long Reconquista, completed in the 15th century, they destroyed mosques or turned them into churches. Also, after King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella ordered the expulsion of Jews from the peninsula in 1492, synagogues were turned into churches. SECOND JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM Roman armies destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. after a revolt against Roman rule. The temple, built 500 years earlier to replace the first temple destroyed by the Babylonians, was the heart of Judaism. The first temple had held the Ark of the Covenant, which vanished after the Babylonian conquest. All that remains of the second temple is its Western Wall, which is today the holiest site in Judaism, located at the base of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. THE AZTECS' TEMPLO MAYOR Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, in 1521, bringing to an end the empire that ruled over much of what is now Mexico. To root out the local religion, Cortes ordered temples destroyed, including the Templo Mayor, the giant step pyramid at the center of Aztec spiritual culture — and site of their human sacrifices. The temple was leveled, and a Catholic church built on its remains. Parts of the temple were uncovered in the 1970s during the digging of a metro in Mexico City. BENIN From the 15th to 17th centuries, Benin — in modern-day Nigeria — was one of the grandest capitals in Africa. In the late 19th century, negotiations with the British trying to dominate the area and its trade turned bloody, with Benin's troops killing a British expeditionary force. In retaliation, British troops captured the city and burned it to the ground, destroying its palaces and religious sites. They also carted off some 2,500 works of art, including bronze and ivory sculptures and plaques and the palace's carved wooden gate. BEIJING'S OLD SUMMER PALACE During the Second Opium War, waged by Britain and France against China to force it to open up markets and legalize the opium trade, British troops in 1860 destroyed the sprawling Old Summer Palace in retaliation after the Chinese tortured and executed members of a British diplomatic mission. Built some 100 years earlier, the palace was a sprawling complex of palaces, pavilions and gardens filled with works of art. After orders came from Britain's High Commissioner in China, Lord Elgin — notorious for his looting of marbles from Greece's Parthenon — it took 3,500 troops three days to burn down and tear apart the palace. BABRI MOSQUE Hindu extremists tore down the 16th-century Babri Mosque in northern India in 1992, sparking riots across the country that left at least 2,000 people dead. Hindu groups claim the mosque was built after a temple dedicated to the Hindu god King Rama was destroyed by Muslim invaders, though that claim is disputed by some historians. Still, it's undisputed that over the centuries, Muslim invaders of South Asia did destroy Hindu holy sites. For example, the Somnath Temple in western India was destroyed multiple times by Muslim rulers, the first time in the 11th century. MODERN-DAY ISLAMIC MILITANTS For decades in the 20th century, Islamic militant groups in the Middle East, including al-Qaida, put little emphasis on destroying shrines or historical sites. But al-Qaida's ally the Taliban brought back the tactic in dramatic fashion in 2001 when they blew up the two towering 1,500-year-old statues of Buddha carved into a mountain in the Afghan region of Bamiyan, stunning the world. Since then, the tactic has gained prominence among Islamic extremists as a way to tout their claim to "purify" society and create their vision of an Islamic state. Sunni hard-liners have increasingly attacked shrines across the Middle East. In the West African nation of Mali, Islamic radicals in 2012 overran Timbuktu, the historic city of Islamic culture. The militants destroyed 14 of the city's 16 tombs of prominent figures and thinkers and also targeted the library of camel-skin-bound manuscripts dating back to the 13th century that included ancient learning in astronomy, law, history and philosophy. They set fire to the institute where many of the manuscripts were stored, destroying an estimated 4,000 — though the majority were successfully spirited out of the city by the library's custodians. Join the conversation about this story »

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Oracle of Delphi – Think Tank

It is claimed that the cradle of modern civilization can be attributed greatly to the influence of the Hellenic culture; a culture that has inspired the advance and development of body and mind. The principle of Hellenic thought has transformed society from its embryonic stage to new ideals never tested before but admirably enough to replicate throughout the world. In nature, one recognizes that a seed demands rich soil to sprout and blossom into a strong seedling; and so society demands good principles to produce good human beings. That characteristic is normally attainable through training and development of the mind based on social consciousness and good character; a character, which naturally abhors evil and protects what’s good and honorable. In the absence of both, the alternative is chaos and regression into lawlessness where there exists no wrong. Greeks were the first people to recognize that merit was of the utmost importance and put it into practice. The essence to excel and explore the power of the mind forged the brilliance that shaped ancient Hellenism. In fact, classical Greece became the pivotal culture, which provided the foundation of Western civilization. How did the ancient Hellenes develop such a hunger for knowledge to see things as they were and see things, as they were not? Was it a part of inherited genetic make up or was it endowed upon them by others and if so, by whom? Pondering questions that plague the mind indeed. Names such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and their philosophies that revolutionized the mind; Solon of Athens who set the foundations for democracy; Chilon of Sparta’s free schooling and formation of the mighty Spartan army that demanded vigorous training for both body and mind; Alexander the Great who spread Hellenism to the end of the world; Archimedes’ geometry; Herodotus the “Father of History”; Thucydides whose writings are still studied in military academies; Hippocrates oath and “Father of Science in Medicine”; the legacy of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey; Aristophanes the playwright; Eratosthenes “Father of Geography” who was the first to measure with accuracy the circumference of the earth, the tilt of the Earth’s axis, and recorded the first map of the world; Thales of Miletus the first philosopher of Greek tradition; Zenon of Citium founder of Stoicism; and the list of great minds whose influence transformed the world, goes on endlessly… Those special minds were empowered with a brainpower that influenced the world over. Amazing discoveries such as the Antikythera analog computer 2500 years ago and other inventions too many to mention as well as profound statements, philosophies and principles that are still applied in society today. As a race, the one common denominator the ancient Hellenes shared, was the worship of the Olympian Gods. Respect for Greek gods and nature was a way of life; a life that encouraged the mind to explore the mysteries of nature and seek out answers of the unknown. This allowed freedom of expression to flourish and liberate the mind without the fear of persecution or the constraints of religious mind bondage. As a result of that freedom, one of the original powerhouses of knowledge was none other than the Oracle of Apollo in Delphi, which dated as far back as 1400 BC. Delphi was the most important shrine of the Greek world and considered to be the omphalos (navel) and center of the earth. Ordinary people visited the temple including kings and rulers from the four corners of the earth to seek its advice on a variety of subjects. At entrance of the sanctuary the façade of the Oracle displayed two carved out phrases: “Know Thyself” (γνῶθι σεαυτὸν) and “Nothing in Excess” (μηδὲν ἄγαν) and an enigmatic letter “E” that it’s meaning has not as yet been deciphered. Worshipers paid with gifts to have the priestess Pythia muttering prophecies with incomprehensible words of wisdom under the influence of ethylene gasses. Revered priestesses throughout the years would provide sentences in a frenzied state with a duality of meaning, such as: “You will go you will return not in the battle you will perish.” Placing the comma before or after the word “not” one receives a different message; one of discouragement and one of survival. The Oracle of Delphi however, was not simply a place of mysticism. In time Apollo’s sanctuary developed into a center of information and knowledge and policy study center. The gathering and recording of events, words and phrases were amassed and filed away for safe keeping and nothing was discarded as irrelevant. Delphi had become a computing capital for receiving and compiling information verbal or otherwise that influenced the development of Greek culture. In fact, the Oracle of Delphi was the very first Think Tank of its kind! Priests and priestesses acting as mentors provided counsel to those who sought guidance and advice. The shrine was so revered worldwide, it survived over two thousand years until Apollo’s worship was replaced by a new religion imported from the East: Christianity. Under the persuasion of blazing mighty sword and sharp tongue, the spread of monotheism by Christian and Islam ushered in the end of the Hellenistic era; a glorious era that soon began a slippery road to self-decline. About 395 A.D, Emperor Theodosius I, issued decrees that effectively made orthodox Nicene Christianity the official state religion but also decreed not to prevent nor punish the destruction of Hellenistic shrines including the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. Greek temples were razed to the ground and replaced by Christian churches in the belief that shrines such as Delphi were demonic and spread idolatry. Hellenic brilliance soon faded into the back pages of history and indoctrination of the mind had begun; one that advocated not to question God’s existence! As a result of that, state religion has played a major role in the political and social culture of Hellenism ever since then. However, the greatest decline of Hellenism can be attributed to the Ottoman Empire where Greek thought entered into darkness. While the industrial revolution in Europe advanced to great heights including prosperity and inventiveness, Greeks remained in utter poverty under a 400-year-old Turkish oppressive rule. Meanwhile, the Ottomans exploited the amazing pools of Greek brainpower to their own advantage. Just as the Oracle of Delphi did so successfully, the importance of pools of policy study centers cannot be underestimated, nor the freedom of the mind. The gathering of the powerful brains of professionals and thinkers, analysts, strategists, academics and statesmen all under one roof is imperative if the country is to reach its potential and standing in world affairs. As the first recognized Think Tank of its time, Delphi was irreplaceable and countries today, including industry recognize that knowledge is power! In fact there are over 7,000 Think Tanks globally. Greece has 35 and Cyprus 6 but most of them are linked with political parties. That relationship certainly diminishes their impartiality and advisory status. In their eagerness and euphoria to join the EU, Cyprus and Greece unwittingly neglected one of the most important principles of all; to remember the past! Instead, governments failed to stop (or failed not to stop) political and institutional corruption that reduced both countries to pauper states. As for meritocracy, it was never encouraged in either country! Under a new government, people in Greece today have regained their dignity and feel more positive as a Greek nation than ever before. As for Cyprus, it’s a different matter! Cypriots can never forgive their government for robbing their bank accounts to save the banking institutions at the expense of the country. Things could reach a climax if those same people start losing their homes to those same banks (EU-Troika condition) that robbed them in the first place. Politicians cannot always be relied on and that is why the use of Think Tank brainpower is imperative in a progressive fair democratic system.

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Bassae – Temple of Apollo Epicurius

The first of Greece's recognized World Heritage sites

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Travel Back in Time to These Amazing Ancient Cities

The world's oldest cities are once-in-a-lifetime destinations, places that effortlessly inspire awe and put you in the shoes of a time traveler. To walk labyrinthine streets, marvel at crumbling fortress walls, or see kings' tombs that have endured thousands of years is to experience a fleeting moment of what life was like for the first civilizations on Earth. Read on to be transported to 10 ancient cities (without travel advisories) where you can take part in age-old rituals and learn about the legends that have been passed down for more generations than you can ever fathom. Amesbury, England First Inhabited: 8th millennium BCE Hundreds of prehistoric burial grounds are scattered in and around Amesbury, and Stonehenge, just two miles away, sits in the middle of them. Archaeological evidence suggests that Amesbury's first inhabitants--who settled in England's River Avon valley at the site of what has historically been an important river crossing--predate even Stonehenge. Amesbury, the home of Stonehenge, is also linked with the legend of King Arthur. As the story goes, Guinevere came to the convent here after leaving Arthur, and she is buried on the grounds of the former abbey. What to See: At Stonehenge's new visitor center, check out artifacts unearthed from burial sites and tour an outdoor cluster of recreated Neolithic houses from the period. Walk around the Stonehenge circle, listening to the audio tour on headphones to learn about the site's mysteries and why it may have been located here. The Amesbury Museum and Heritage Centre displays huge quantities of handcrafted flint tools that predate Stonehenge by more than 5,000 years. Athens, Greece First Inhabited: 5th to 4th millennium BCE Think of ancient Athens and likely the first image that comes to mind is the Parthenon, the 5th century BCE temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. But archaeologists say this Acropolis site on the rocky bluff was inhabited thousands of years before the Parthenon existed and thousands of years before Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle walked the city streets. The ancient home of philosophy and birthplace of Western civilization, Athens also has bragging rights as the first host city of the modern Olympic Games. What to See: Climb up to the Acropolis on a walking tour. See displays of striking classical sculptures and watch curators restore similar marble statues with laser technology at the Acropolis Museum. Along the historic Plaka neighborhood's narrow, labyrinthine streets, you'll find neoclassical mansions, ancient monuments, and scores of churches. Run on the Olympic track and get your photo taken on the winner's podium at the Panathenaic Stadium. Fayoum, Egypt First Inhabited: 4000 BCE About 60 miles southwest of Cairo, Fayoum is part of Egypt's largest oasis, where the pharaohs built pleasure palaces and the Greeks built temples paying homage to the Lake Moeris (Lake Qaroun) crocodiles they believed were sacred. Fayoum, called Crocodilopolis by the Greeks, became the most significant center for the cult of Sobek, the crocodile god. Ruins of two temples dedicated to Sobek still stand today. The modern city is home to large bazaars, mosques, and baths. What to See: Don't miss Madinat Madi, the largest surviving temple of the intermediate period of the Pharaonic era. At the three-floor Qaroun Palace, you'll see a king's throne, wall drawings, and inscriptions that date to 323 BCE. The Hawwara and Al-Lahun pyramids are nearby. Other interesting archaeological sites include the Whale Valley fossil area, an open museum with whale skeletons, shark teeth, and petrified shells and corals. Plovdiv, Bulgaria First Inhabited: 3000 to 4000 BCE In south-central Bulgaria, near the border of both Greece and Turkey, is the beautiful "City of Seven Hills," originally a Thracian city before it changed hands under the rule of the Greeks, Romans, and Russians. Today, you can still see the influences those cultures left behind in Plovdiv's cobblestone streets, fortress walls, Roman amphitheater and aqueduct, and Ottoman baths. High on the naturally fortified northern hill of the three-hill massif Nebet Tepe is the site of the original prehistoric settlement. What to See: Walk through the archaeological complex at Nebet Tepe and Old Town's museums and galleries. Go to a performance in the Ancient Theatre, a restored first-century open-air venue made of marble that was originally used for theatrical performances and gladiators' and hunting games. Nearby in the Roman Stadium, athletic contests were held in 2 CE. The city was named the European Capital of Culture 2019. Gaziantep, Turkey First Inhabited: 3650 BCE Previously known as Antioch and as Antep, the city of Gaziantep lies where the Mediterranean meets Mesopotamia, an area considered the center of the first civilizations. In 300 BCE, Alexander the Great's generals founded Zeugma (now part of Gaziantep) before it was conquered and ruled by the Roman Empire as an important outpost on the Silk Road to China. Several ancient sites remain in Gaziantep and 13 different museums house impressive collections of artifacts. What to See: Check out the remains of baths and cisterns in the Ravanda citadel, restored by the Byzantines in the sixth century. Nearby are several 15th-century mosques and caravanserais, which once provided lodging, food and refuge to passing caravans. The Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the world's largest mosaic museums, displays massive pieces dating from the first century BCE. Shop for baklava and yemeni (shoes made from local leather) at the city's two well-known bazaars. Luxor, Egypt First Inhabited: 3200 BCE This city was the capital of the ancient Egyptian empire during its heyday. The Nile River cuts through the center of Luxor, dividing the modern city on the East Bank from the ancient necropolis and mortuary temples on the West Bank. Legends say ancient Egyptians buried their dead on the West Bank because the setting sun in that direction symbolized the journey to the afterlife. The West Bank is where you'll find the tomb of King Tutankhamun and tombs of other ancient kings and queens. The East Bank, which symbolized life for the ancient Egyptians, boasts some of the country's most upscale hotels and spas. What to See: Visit the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, the West Bank's grand-scale tombs. Find hundreds of relics in the Luxor Museum, overlooking the Nile River. The Avenue of Sphinxes connecting the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple is lined with 1,350 sphinx statues. Visit the temples at night for a completely different experience. Jerusalem, Israel First Inhabited: 2800 BCE This beloved city and holy place of the three monotheistic religions was long considered the center of the world. Ancient maps show Jerusalem at the middle of the three continents known at the time: Europe, Asia, and Africa. Set high in the Jerusalem Hills, this is the place where the Jews built the temple, where Jesus was crucified, and where Muhammad rose to heaven. The Old City's narrow streets lead you past towering stone walls and ancient buildings that have survived centuries of destruction and resurrection. What to See: At the base of the massive Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, write a prayer or wish and wedge it into the cracks. Follow the Via Dolorosa, the road Jesus walked that leads from the courthouse site where he was sentenced to Golgotha Hill where he was killed. Other must-see sites are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, and Yad Vashem. Luoyang, China First Inhabited: Around 2070 BCE Asia's oldest continuously inhabited city, Luoyang was considered to be the geographical center and one of the four great ancient capitals of China. It lies on the north or sunny (yang) side of the Luo River where it converges with the Yi River. Stunning mountains surround the city, where Chinese Buddhist temples and monuments are carved into the sides of hills. As a capital of several dynasties, Luoyang has become a city renowned for its culture and recognized by UNESCO for its heritage sites. What to See: At the Longmen Grottoes, there are 2,345 niches for Buddha, 100,000 statues, and 2,800 calligraphic inscriptions. Be prepared to climb several hillside steps to see the most majestic of statues. Take a bus just outside of town for a visit to the first Buddhist temple in China: White Horse Temple, a small and uncommercialized temple with many monks. Kutaisi, Georgia Inhabited Since: Around 2000 BCE Just north of Turkey, at the crossroads where Europe meets Asia, is Kutaisi, Georgia, the former capital of the country and the land of the Golden Fleece. While this city, originally part of the Colchis kingdom, dates to ancient times, it is perhaps best known for its place in Greek mythology. According to the epic Greek poem, Jason and his Argonauts were said to have traveled to Kutaisi to find the Golden Fleece. The city's magnificent Renaissance heritage sites from the 10th to 12th centuries are well preserved and offer terrific views overlooking the city, the surrounding mountain ranges, and the Rioni River. What to See: The Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery are both UNESCO World Heritage sites. The monastery, where the most celebrated king of Georgia is buried, is known for its mosaics and frescoes. Not far from the city are two caves, one with dinosaur footprints and the other offering boat trips on an underground river. Varanasi, India First Inhabited: Around 1200 to 1100 BCE India's oldest city, Varanasi is also one of the holiest city in the world. The god Shiva is believed to have lived in the area and a major shrine here honors this lord of the universe. Pilgrims travel from as far away as 1,250 miles to visit the shrine and bathe in the city's sacred Ganges River. Every day, thousands of locals and pilgrims immerse themselves or come to die in these waters that are said to have absolved the sins of many generations. Along the water's edge, ghats (riverfront steps) associated with Hindu mythology are sacred sites for yoga, cremation, or meditation and worship with prayer and fire. What to See: Don't miss Varanasi's various temples and ghats. The Vishwanath Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is closed to non-Hindus but others can recognize it by its golden spire. Visit an excavated site in the Sarnath area of town and see a large collection of Buddhist sculptures in the Sarnath Museum. Read the original story: Travel Back in Time to These Amazing Ancient Cities by Jamie Moore, who is a regular contributor to SmarterTravel. You Might Also Like: 10 Ancient Ruins That Prove All Roads Lead to Rome 13 Eerie Abandoned Places You Can Visit Truly Authentic Cultural Food Experiences Around the World

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Don't fake the monk: Greek police find a fraud

Fugitive civil servant sentenced to three life terms found to have been living for years as a monk in remote retreats

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Greek Police Say Fraudster Lived as Monk for Years

Greek police say convicted fraudster facing 3 life sentences hid for years in holy retreat

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Greek police evict rebel monks from monastery headquarters

Move followed court ruling to clear Thessaloniki apartment, which was being used as a base for schismatic monksDozens of Greek police have taken part in an operation to clear an apartment used as the headquarters of a rebel monastery whose monks have been declared schismatic by the Orthodox church.Police said one monk and five supporters were in the apartment in Thessaloniki during the raid early Friday, which followed a court ruling for the eviction. Riot police cordoned off surrounding blocks to prevent other supporters from hindering the operation. Continue reading...

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Greek police clear Thessaloniki apartment used by zealot monks opposed to Orthodox Church head

Dozens of Greek police have taken part in an operation to clear an apartment used as the headquarters of a rebel monastery whose monks have been declared schismatic by the Orthodox Church.

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Greek police clear apartment used by rebel monks

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Dozens of Greek police have taken part in an operation to clear an apartment used as the headquarters of a rebel monastery whose monks have been declared schismatic by the Orthodox Church. Police said one monk and five ...

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Religion, War and Atrocity

The grisly deeds of IS in Iraq and Syria evoke once again the question as to the connection between religion and organized violence. Its companion question asks if Islam has a special affinity to such acts. Since the militants of IS, like their al-Qaeda counterparts, proclaim themselves to be Salafists, or devout fundamentalists, whose duty is to restore the purity of the Islam community of believers, the ummah, by destroying both false believers and the infidels with whom they are allied (as well as heretics), the claim is made that something about the religion is conducive to violence -- or even promotes it. The latter is today's burning issue due to headline events. It is a specious formulation of the issue, though. A cursory review of history reminds us that militants of all religions have committed atrocities in the name of their faith. The Crusaders celebrated their taking of Jerusalem by massacring its Muslim and Jewish citizens - after an arduous winter that included a bit of cannibalism. Then there were the auto-da-fe burnings, the mass slaughter of the Cathars, and on and on. The Israelites killed every man, woman, child (and beast) in Jericho at the command of their god Yahweh and performed other gruesome deeds in the confident belief that they were privileged by being His Chosen People. (Deuteronomy 6:21) Judaism's great tradition of universal humanism did not emerge until much later, taking full expression with the Pharisees at Jesus' time. Jesus was the epitome of a radical strain in Pharisee theology -- he was, after all, a Jew addressing a universalist message to other Jews. Even Buddhists have been comfortable on occasion gripping the bloody sword -- as witness Myanmar, Sri Lanka and, in the eighteenth century, the (Buddhist) Burmese razing of the great Thai Buddhist capital of Ayutthaya. Hindus, too, committed their share of atrocities during the Partition of 1947 and in subsequent communal riots as recently as 2002 in Gujarat. We also should recall that suicide bombing as a trademark of modern terrorism was inaugurated by the Tamil Tigers who committed hundreds of suicide attacks -- including that by the woman who targeted Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi -- because of India's intervention in support of the Sri Lankan Buddhist government's suppression of the Hindu Tamil rebellion. * It is tempting to play the game of debating which religion is more or less violent than another. In truth, that exercise beggars the bigger and more important question. Namely, is it religious doctrine and loyalty that can motivate some persons to abuse non-believers OR are all dogmatic, doctrinal ideologies prone to do so? Religion can be viewed as a sub-category of those aggressive ideologies which can take secular forms. The twentieth century has witnessed the lethal effects of imbuing societies with the avowedly secular (indeed, anti-religious) ideologies of Nazism and Communism of the Leninist-Maoist-Pol Pot variety. Nationalism, too, is an ideology which has demonstrated great propensities for violence. They all stress the fundamental distinction between "we" and "they" conducive to the atrocious treatment of others. An ideology that embraces the two dualities of 'we/they" and "good/evil" produces the combustible brew that is fatal to a sense of shared humanity. These non-religious movements share certain traits. · They evoke passionate loyalty to a community of believers/communitarians. · They subsume the individual in a collective movement that dictates behavior and sets tests of loyalty. · They arouse feelings of sacredness without calling upon the supernatural. · They promote bellicosity in dealing with others. Fascism was a political ideology that transcended religious and cultural boundaries. The Ba'ath parties of Iraq and Syria were of this order -- wholly secular and explicitly anti-religious. None of Saddam's crimes was committed in the name of Islam; he and Osama bin-Laden hated each other (Dick Cheney's self-serving fantasies notwithstanding.) Then there are the hybrids that meld nationalism, Fascism and religion. The Spanish Falange stands out. World War II saw atrocities committed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross, the Romanian Iron Guard, the Croatian Ustashi and the Slovakian Hlinka Guard. The Iron Guard was Orthodox. The others were all fiercely Catholic -- the Slovak President was a Catholic Priest, Jozef Tiso, who defied the Pope in his eagerness to deport Jews to the death camps. So, too, for the Lebanese Falangists. Intense nationalist identities thereby took on a sacred quality while identifying as the evil "other" persons within reach of different faiths who were brutally sacrificed to the tribal gods. Religious ideologies and secular ones (with the exception of Nazism/Fascism) share another noteworthy trait. They hold out the promise of a glorious future for their adherents. In the case of the great universalist religions, the promise is offered to all of mankind. So does Communism. The former emphasize a blissful Afterlife, the latter Heaven on Earth. Most religions also convey a message of benevolence, peace and good works that can alleviate suffering in this life even if the ultimate reward is in the next. That entails a code of ethical conduct, i.e. ethical conduct counts along with faith and belief. Those codes condemn individual violence among other forms of abusive conduct. The contrast of a strict moral code abjuring violence with a clearly etched line of differentiation between the community of believers and non-believers generates contradictions that never have been satisfactorily resolved. For Christians, the teachings of Jesus would seem to stigmatize war and violence of any kind. That is not the way it worked out. Political compulsions overcame the imperatives of individual ethics. "Rendering" unto Caesar involved much more than dutifully paying taxes. Moreover, the institutionalization of Christianity in the hierarchical and highly disciplined Church mixed the temporal and the sacred irrevocably. At the theological level, Christians' acceptance of the Old Testament as divinely inspired meant incorporating the spirit of Yahweh into the religion of Jesus the pacifist. If "vengeance is mine, saith the Lord" (ROMANS 12:18), the Church saw itself as properly His prime subcontractor. The spirit of domination and suppression was brought literally into the New Testament with the official inclusion of the Book of Revelations in the canon early in the 5th century. Written by the Jewish exile John of Patmos, it gave Gospel status to the ghastly Apocalyptic visions of the Hebrew prophets. In a bizarre closing of the circle, End Times evangelicals in the heart of America, like Ted Cruz the Dominionist, celebrate the Israeli assault on Muslim Palestinians, Operation Protective Edge, as a sign that the cataclysmic Armageddon -- as prophesized by a Jew of antiquity -- will soon announce the return of Christ the Redeemer for the Day of Judgment and the Eternal Salvation of Christians while recalcitrant Jews and other rejectionists of Christ are damned to fire and brimstone. Jesus, after all, is the Latinized Greek name for Joshua who "fit the battle of Jericho." (John argued that Jesus was the long-awaited messiah who would return to bring Salvation to the Hebrew people -- destroying their oppressor Rome and all the unrighteous. On Judgment Day, all those who "overcome" will be granted the ultimate blessing of sitting beside the Son of God on His throne). (3:14-22). Islamic holy texts contain these contradictions inherited from the Peoples of the Book along with the contradictory passages of the Koran, and the Hadith. There, one can find justification for a wide range of actions concerning violence and the treatment of believers as well as non-believers -- from the most benign to the pernicious. *** Some perspective on our times. Looking back over the history of the twentieth century, non-religious ideologies have killed tens of millions. The total dwarfs all those killed in religious violence over the centuries. In fact, religion overall was a minor contributor to the mayhem and murder that has marked the modern era. The current sense that we are living in an age of violent religious fanaticism stems from two causes. One is the emergence of radical fundamentalist groups in the Islamic world who use terror as an instrument to advance their cause. The other is the sharp difference between that phenomenon and the peacefully prosaic world of the Western democracies which have freed themselves from atavistic conflicts and war -- at least among themselves. They also are secular societies; thereby, they are inclined to indict those societies that remain infused with religion, especially the Muslim world. The religious mindset itself is difficult for them to comprehend. Many Europeans find salafists , their own ancestors and the extreme American evangelicals equally incomprehensible. Nor do they exert themselves unduly in trying to figure them out. Post-war Western Europe has sanitized itself of all ideologies -- religious, nationalist, political. Never have there been societies with so little passion in their politics. If America in the late eighteenth century was born against others' history, Western Europe in the mid-twentieth century succeeded in liberating itself from its own history. The shattering events of the first half of the century opened a way for the European peoples to change profoundly their ways of interacting. Liberation entailed an emotional, philosophical and intellectual distancing from ingredients of political life that had been the hallmarks of public affairs. Internationally, it was the lethal rivalries of power politics. Domestically, it was ideologically driven factional conflict. The 'civilian societies' of today's Europe (especially at its western end) have transmuted themselves. The polities of this new Europe were made possible more by a process of political subtraction than political addition. That is to say, the domination of public affairs by prosaic concerns and tame ambitions is effect and reinforced cause of the Europeans shedding those parts of their make-up that could impede the process of integration. Nationalist passion, ideological inspiration, the impulse to draw lines of all kinds between 'us' and 'them' -- all have dried up. The peoples of these "civilian" societies see their peaceable, materialistic ways as the desirable norm. Hence, their great difficulty in coming to terms with passionate nationalism (as in the Balkans) or passionate religion. The contrast with the United States is instructive. America shares some of these traits. It differs, though, in other cardinal respects. Americans on the whole are more religious, some of the religious are Christian Salafists in the fundamentalist sense; it is more overtly nationalistic; and it is more comfortable with violence - whether domestically or in the fighting of wars. These characteristics are in the nature of correlations. They do not establish a causal connection. The United States' engagement in military action has more to do with geostrategic realities, and history, than it does church attendance or the omnipresent stars-and-stripes lapel pin. The tolerance for the resulting effects of war (casualties of Americans and casualties of foreigners both) derives as well from the unique American experience: never having had the homeland ravaged by other states (1813 aside); accustomed to victory; and the distinctive sense of mission that at once ascribes selfless virtue to its actions and promotes the idea of the United States as the agent as well as beacon of Progress. This unique mix of national characteristics generates a constant tension in American foreign policy between the idealistic strain and the realist strain. In the "war on terror" era they have managed to reinforce each other so as to justify and generate domestic support for the audacious strategy of hyper-active, multiform engagements in alien societies. Concretely, the United States simultaneously plays the roles of social worker, policeman, law giver and judge. In the process, it has killed a lot of people -- most of them innocents. It also has committed atrocities -- calculatingly as in its torture programs. Yet none of these baneful effects cuts very deep into the American psyche. Nothing basic is scrutinized. Self-image, sense of moral superiority, belief in the rightness of American actions -- all remain intact. This phenomenon cannot be explained in terms of ideological conviction impervious to evidence. The distinctive American civil religion, as political doctrine, is too abstract and enlightened. Neither instruction from the Deity nor solemn vows dictate the dubious actions mentioned above. Nationalism does exercise an influence but Manifest Destiny is no longer a potent motivator. Still, the combination of American attributes has produced a collective psyche that is reconciled with some types of conduct that we would and do denounce in others. The contradictory elements in the American attitudes toward its use of organized violence are kept down to a tolerable level by two features of how we conduct wars, in particular the "war on terror." First, by replacing the draft with a professional army, war and its consequences can be kept at a distance. Indeed, one can opt out entirely simply by not volunteering. Second, the growing reliance on high-tech weapons is changing the experience of killing. "Flying" a drone from an air-conditioned room in Nevada is not the same as cutting the throat of a suspected Taliban on the outskirts of some Afghan village. The psychological difference for the one doing the killing is enormous. The public at large also is affected differently. Some of this is visual. During the "war on terror" we have been shown very few graphic pictures or video of the dead and dying -- on either side. The contrast with Vietnam coverage is striking. No pictures of torture have been revealed -- other than the most mild variety as occurred at Abu Ghraib. The CIA destroyed most of the rest. Hence, the vivid pictures of beheadings by IS, publicized for their own propaganda purposes, make a dramatic emotional impact. One effect is to associate the gruesome acts with the Salafist doctrine (correctly) and with Islam generally (incorrectly). We are told that "Muslims do this kind of thing, things that we would never do." Yet, we Christians and other non-Muslim Americans killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What might the reaction among Muslims, and devotees of other religions, have been were there photographers on the spot able to record the suffocated, the fried, the irradiated, the cremated? We did in fact see graphic images of many dead and maimed innocents in Gaza killed by the Israeli military, with these acts being excused by nearly the entire American political class of diverse religious affiliations. Does the nature of the cause in whose name these actions were taken make a crucial moral difference? Islam, Christianity, Judaism and every other religion can influence our behavior -- in varying ways, to varying degrees. So religion does count. But indictment for criminal acts should not be directed at one particular religion. The ultimate culprit is our human natures -- individual and social. Or, if you prefer, the Heavenly Father who created such conflicted and flawed creatures. __________ * According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, LTTE was the first insurgent organisation to use concealed Explosive belts and vests. The specialized unit that carried out suicide attacks was named the Black Tigers. According to the information published by the LTTE, the Black Tigers carried out 378 suicide attacks between 5 July 1987, and 20 November 2008. Out of these, 274 were male and 104 were female.

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Temple Restoration in Ancient Greek Site of Ephesus

temple Ephesus The temple of Egyptian god Serapis, which was discovered in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, Turkey, will be restored to its original ...

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Greek Temple

This Greek Temple is just a classic ancient Greek's house of worship. It has 10 columns surrounding the structure, and a pair of owl statues standing ...

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