Within these chapters, we have seen the people of each of the three religions occupy the role of the ruler and the persecuted at some point in time. It surprises me that although each of the groups knows what it feels like to be the oppressed people, they still play the role of oppressor to other groups. Although not all the rulers or groups in power displayed the same levels of oppressive behavior, almost all of them did so to a certain extent. This is a recurring theme throughout history all over the world that seems to scream that we don't in fact learn from our past.
Karen Armstrong makes the statement somewhere in chapter 10 or 11 that it wasn't until the monotheistic faiths started viewing themselves as the only true religion that there started to be intense conflicts. I was surprised to find out that there was a point in time that the three religions were seen as different revelations of the religion of the same God. It is frustrating to see that as socio-economic and political aspects started playing into the picture, then each group asserted themselves as the only true religion wiping away any hope of peaceful co-existence.
Here is a link to a youtube video a friend showed me as we were discussing this topic. It's a comic commentary on religions in general by the comedian Patton Oswalt. Just a disclaimer that he does use quite a bit of profanity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55h1FO8V_3w&feature=PlayList&p=3E65FD41F73B2971&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=38
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Hey, Charu! I watched the video and it was certainly an interesting commentary! For me, it raises an interesting question - can we have ethics without religion? (Personally, I would like to think so!) I mean, can we pledge to live without harming others - to the best of our ability - without the end goal of sky cake? And, if so, where do secular Israelis and Palestinians enter into the contemporary situation?
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