Ideological curses, or: from hell comes war

I can't understand it, still not after all these years: why do we, humans, do so much to each other? It remains a mystery to me. It is at odds with what I dream for this world.

For example, what attracted me when I started living with Muslims, and still does, is the idea in their religion that all humanity is recognized as prophecy. I found it breathtaking when I first heard of the Islamic idea that prophets have arisen always and everywhere, all through mankind, who have shaped the beauty of cultures. This was one of the first things I learned about Islamic thinking.

Coming from a closed Catholic culture myself, this was a sudden eye-catcher for me, knowing that in the 7th century a religion had already advanced so far in intercultural thinking, a religion that I had not expected because of the image that is given in the West of Islam.

Unfortunately, not everything is beautiful. The world does rotate, but it is skewed. “It's all political,” the people say, “that stuff with religious bigotry.” And the people are always right.

In the Islamic world and also within other religious or ideological movements, divisive groups unfortunately often still take the upper hand. Power and money are involved, two of the classic death eaters that thrive on hatred and division.

I am not the only one who cannot understand how with such ease certain believers preach dissenters to hell. This always strikes me too. It's a sore point for me.

Unfortunately, you still have believers who say that if you don't belong to their group, you will be damned forever after you die, that you will go to hell or to something that passes for that.

Even non-religious radical ideologies damn people who are not with them. Their adepts are urged to distance themselves from the 'others', to set them aside. This is ideological totalitarianism: the law of domination by pitting people against each other. There is always war in this law.

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The world revolves because there is a fire deep inside. We too are part of that power.

What we need are no hell preachers. We need prophets as they have always existed. Yes, those prophets are also there today in large and small. Their heart burns with desire to make peace by bringing people together, by creating harmony. They are people who have the fire of love in their hearts. Many come to these hearts to get warmed themselves.

Let's also wish each other this: that we can offer a warm heart to all people on this globe, especially to people who are having a hard time.

Unfortunately, so little is done for children in the world who are terrified because they live in a land of war and destruction, children who don't know if they will still be there tomorrow.

Let's make our hearts speak and pass the torch of boundless love to these children. Someday they will do the same.

The world revolves because there is a fire deep inside. We too are part of that power. We forget that so often.

by Thierry Limpens