You seem to equate monotheism with religious intolerance. Monotheism, or the believe in one god, doesn’t necessarily translate into intolerance of “other” gods. It is a monotheistic concept that all religions are worshiping the same god in a way that is consistent with their customs and traditions.

If you look into some polytheistic religions like that of the Yoruba people otherwise known as Santeria or Voodoo, you will find that even though they worship several “gods” in the end they believe them to be all facets of a ineffable being that we as mortals are not yet prepared to deal with directly.

If their is a tone of religious intolerance anywhere on this thread it is in your condemnation of monotheists which is acerbic to say the least.
Thanks Brother “47th Problem of Euclid” for demonstrating comportment worthy of a Mason in your replies.
-J

B- You went after everything but my defense of Solomons reign and Family status.

C- OK, chuch all my other statements; that fact that the “Dissing” of Solomon, is stemmed from Jealousy, not that his Deity was Actually displeased with im, but that whoever wrote it was Speaking for Deity without Deity’s Approval, vindicates Solomon. After all, the words against Solomon come in the form of a scribal commentary, not a “Thus Saith the Lord” through many of the Prophets who exsisted at that time. His Polygamist father David screwed up, not by having 6 wives… but by stealing another mans wife… who just happened to give birth to Solomon.
Fact is, Polygamy IS NOT a No no in the bible. So, Solomon Stands, commentator falls.

And as for my piss poor writing. NO Duh Chet! That also does not prove Solomons hoped for unworthiness; just the fact i am a shty writer.

And I was not kicked off for my attitude. The Owner of the list made it abundantly clear. He kicked me off for supporting Solomon Family, and for not being an Anti-Polygamist. Still have the originals, there is no question there.

Yes, just about any nation has its genocide bloody fingers… The U S has its Policy of Exterminating the Indians, GW was called “The burner of Villages” because when he asked them to help in the Revolution they declined. Blacks in Africa still love going on genocidal campaigns. If the Palestinian ghetto and pogroms and war crimes against them is not easy to see i don’t know what is. I am against genocide. As a Buddhist, (and no i am not a good one) i am generally against kiiling someone, whether the country declares war or not. I do fully suoort my son in afghanistan and his work to wipe out the taliban, which makes me a hypocrit, but so what.

Bottom line is, “God” did not condemn Solomon, period. Some jealous moron who wrote the commentary did.

James

Your argument that monotheism necessitates genocide is specious. The vast majority of monotheists are not genocidal. Indeed, the majority of Founders of the USA were monotheists who advocated for freedom of religion. Monotheism does not necessarily demand monopraxis, nor a single religion. Your image of monotheists scrambling at your door to murder you is disingenuous, and you know it.

You take a bunch of atrocities from 2500 years ago and claim they are contemporary issues? Why? I would imagine that you were not kicked out for the reasons you claim, but rather your insulting tone. You make libelous charges against a sizable portion of the inhabitants of the earth, and then wonder why you are not well-received?

There are grounds for charging Moses’ and Joshua’s invading army with genocide. I think you’ll find that the Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians and other civilizations were equally horrible. The Persians were a bit more humane, and First Exile Judaism is infused with the humanity of Zoroastrianism (look at Ezekiel and the later Messianic prophets). The crisis of the Second Exile and Diaspora challenged all four major strains of Judaism: Essenism, Zealotry, Sadducean Judaism, and Rabbinic Judaism. Ultimately, most Zealots were killed by Romans, the Essenes converted to Christianity, the Sadducees dissipated with the loss of the Temple, and the Rabbinic Tradition was poured into creating the Talmud and other Rabbinic works. The millennium spent creating the Talmud transformed Judaism beyond recognition, and no longer conforms to your description of it.

Let me guess: you read an article theorizing about the Yahwist cult and Semitic Paganism, and your current point of view is based on what little you know about Judaism, Christianity, and what you remember about that article, formed not very coherently into a badly-written post on this website. As your Solomon says, אִ֥ם תִּכְתֹּֽושׁ־ אֶת־ הָאֱוִ֨יל בַּֽמַּכְתֵּ֡שׁ בְּתֹ֣וךְ הָ֭רִיפֹות בַּֽעֱלִ֑י לֹא־ תָס֥וּר מֵ֝עָלָ֗יו אִוַּלְתֹּֽו׃ “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle yet will not his foolishness depart from him.”

Solomon was in fine stead with his Deity and i am sure many others. But for those who believe there should only be One Deity; Then they should be Fine with just One Religioun, and One Political position. Therefore, bath the world in blood establishing for your One God his Only True kingdom. As all
one and Only True Gods and their blind mindless followers have done, cleanse the earth of the Infidel! I look foreward to you coming to my door. Remember, The One and Only True God, Commands Genocide, without question.
So get to it. But when i call Jews Hypocrites for whining when genocide falls upon them at the behest of the One True God (nice guy isn’t he?)
grow up and accept your licks.
Also, btw, Nebocadnezzar would not have sacked Judah or Isreal or the Temples they had were it not for the jealous Yahwaist priest who convinced their king than yahwa was mad therefore Break the New and Everlasting Covenant they had made with Nebo; and go ask Egypt to help you kick his ass thereby securing your ‘Freedom’. Hence the reason the Real prophets begged them to go back to their former treaty with Babylon. ( alittle something you won’t here in lodges or sunday school) They had it good under Babylon, (the peaceful years under the treaty are dilebrately left out of the bible text.
Nebo was a High Priest long before he became King, and his particular relious persuasion Deeply Inculcated upon him Religious tolerance… (Polytheism kinda does that) and he was actually loathe to do what he did but for the fact the the Temples were where the plots were hatched to break the covenant. Something israel is not known for when it went from land to land committinig genocide claiming God had decreed they could now have the land they were outright stealing.

James

What you said about your GM’s comment on other than his own religion is the basic flaw in the study of “Comparative Religions.” A lot of people look at studying religion as “Comparative.” Comparative implies a hierarchy. Something is the standard upon which the others are compared. Often it’s truth compared to myth (these folks inevitably think myth means lie). The more sophisticated see it as a comparison between simple and complex or naive and primitive with sophisticated and modern. All are bad ways to approach the study of religion. All are self limiting.

Pike may have seen his studies as “Comparative,” because that was the vogue at the time, but from his writings, it’s clear that he studied religion from a position of absolute freedom of belief. Each was valuable in their own right. Maybe Judaism wasn’t his religion, but that didn’t make it less valid. Pike looked for the truth within various expressions of belief.

When you study physics, you don’t compare it to chemistry. Religion should be studied with the same rigor. Look at each expression as itself, don’t ask, “Could I go to that church?” but look to see what’s really being said in both the writings and the practices.

I think Pike has some great concepts and understanding of comparative religion, mythology and philosophy.

I saw James’ comment as being tongue in cheek, and also looking at the ideas of all religious figures as being myths to someone.

Having had a sitting GM say that practitioners of my faith lie at the altar when they take Masonic Obligations, I myself am very sensitive to how outsiders view a religion, and recognize that, essentially, Pike’s quote is agreeing with my point, above: none are myths.

However, I have seen a very huge tendency in American Masonry to treat Christianity as the primary “real” religion, Judaism as its older, more primitive, brother, and Islam as “maybe” a religion … everybody else can pack sand.

While there are minority opinions among archaeologists that neither man actually existed historically, neither opinion can be said to be definitively backed by fact. To state that either man definitely did not exist is unscientific, and because it mocks the faiths of others, I would regard it as insulting as well.

Reread the Pike quote. I know that Pike is not your favorite mason, but even if you disagree with him, it’s not hard to see that violating his premise might cause insult.

How is it an insult?

Objectively, the figures of almost every religion are myths.

And, as far as Masons go, either we see them all as myths, or none of them, or we fail in our tolerance for the religion of every brother.