The Next Empire

Yes, I agree, and this is exactly why it has not happened yet.
And why it is unlikely to ever happen, unless they can somehow get past their disputes.

 

There is one thing I won't to point out: Ricky said one of the great problems the Muslims had to solve if they wanted to create a big superpower is a truce between the Sunni and the Shiites. But, at least have heard, the American Invasion of Irak and the conditions it created (and the terrible way in which the Americans handled the situation in my opinion) made the two tribes work together in Irak, in order to restore peace (which, maybe for them, means "getting the infidels out".
Maybe it is as my father says: "The Muslims are fighting between each other the whole time, one tribe hates the other. But, when one of those is attacked by a foreigner, they all become one and they are a pain in your ass".

 

I think your father has put it very well...

 

That string has a name, you know. It is called Indonesia, a former Dutch colony with raving internal conflicts between Muslems, Christians and members of other religions. Ever heard of East Timor? Ever heard of Bali, and the terrorist attack on it a few years ago? It would take a genocide for this country to be one strong union, especially of one religion.

 

I know, but naming them all would have made a super-long sentance.

As regards the struggles - I simply named all the countries that have a sizeable Muslim minority or Majority. Don't forget that many of the African countries have seen an awful lot of strife between Christian & Muslim.

If a country has a sizeable Muslim minority or Majority, it could well become a state under Islamic law. Maybe not the most strong, united state ever, but hey...

 

Well, my mother uses to say:"One of the devil's most dangerous tricks is to make us believe he does not exist."

 

She was right about that!

 

Yeah, but that could cause you to look at everything with suspicion simply because ou believe the devil isn't there, because then automatically there's a chance that he is there, but made you believe he isn't. Confusing isn't it? So I just don't believe in the Devil. Good and Evil are human inventions, not the other way around.

 

Well, at least you believe in Good and Evil, Roel; that's something, at least. I get very tired of hearing so many people say that such concepts as "Good and Evil" and "Right and Wrong" don't exist, that everything is relative, which is a load of manure.

BTW, I don't get confused about the Devil, Roel, because I know that all truly good things come from God.

 

Hey Roel,

You say you don't believe in God or the devil.

Can you prove to me they do not exist?

(And don't use the counter arguement asking me to prove that they do exist - that's a cop-out).

:smok:

 

Yes, that is one of the most successful ones!

 

Roel, please read my post in the "Do You Believe" topic.

 

I cannot prove he doesn't exist. If it were possbile to prove that God doesn't exist, then someone would have done so, and then no one would believe anymore; just like if there were any way to prove he does exist, everyone would believe. Well, believing isn't the right word. If there was proof that god exists, he would be a fact.

I base my non-belief on assumptions, just like all religion is based on assumptions rather than proven facts (give me one religion based on facts, unless you count science as a religion). I assume that if there were a God he would make it so that everyone believed in him, yet only half the world does. I assume that if there were a God he would have made himself apparent to early civilizations as well, yet he has not. I assume that if there were a God, he would do things, but I haven't seen him do anything (unless you count "fortune" to be god's work). And finally I assume that if there were a God he would have interfered with the horrendous ways in which Man has abused his name to commit atrocities like the crusades, the Jihad, the inquisition and the Catholic church's self-enrichment in the late Middle Ages.

Furthermore, I don't believe anything that is written in the bible because that is a book based on legends that were generations old before they were written down, and that have subsequently been translated hundreds of times. They are no representation of real facts. This means that you can't sell me half the story of God and Christianity already.

Corp: I have to disappoint you on the Good and Evil thing. I don't really believe they exist, insofar that they wouldn't exist if man wouldn't call them so. If they'd just be called 'set of values', or 'culture' (of which the definition of Good and Evil is a part), they wouldn't consciously exist for anyone. Cultures of man define good and evil in different ways, and for each person they are different; because we call thm so they exist.

 

Actually, ask any (serious) historian and they'll tell you that the events of the Bible (except maybe the Garden of Eden!) all happened. Battles, migrations, earthquakes, volcanoes, even Jesus, all are in the historic record from other sources aside from the Bible.

 

Its the way they are interpreted that counts. Considering that fact that there weren't that many Atheists back then, I think Roel is quite right.

Personally I do not believe in any God, because I find it hard to believe in anything that cannot be substantiated. Personally I feel that religion was created to satisfy the unknown void that lies beyond death, something every religion deals with. We humans fear insecurity and uncertainity. Have you ever gotten completly freaked out at night just by thinking about death? It happens to me at least.

Sometimes I lie in bed contemplating the meaning of death. It occurs to you that there will come a day where you won't wake up to the dim bluish glow of the early morning sun anymore, where everything you love and cherish won't be there for you any longer, where hope is ultimately futile. It strikes me as something incredibly sad and terrifying at the same time. I've gotten myself more terrified than I have in any other occasion in my entire life just by thinking about it. Its fairly impossible for you to get this feeling as you stare into your computer screen with the lights on and your little sister toddling around the house, but for me at least it happens quite regularly when I'm lying on my bed alone at night. Theres a sort of finality to it all that sets you thinking. Thats where religion offers itself as the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope - this is probably where religion derives its longlasting appeal from and where it inspires such unquestioning faith in its followers.

This isn't an attack on Christinaity or religion. Its just my opinion. I am about as right as Corp or Roel are on this issue. I can't prove or disprove anything.

 

Gatsby, such a post comes straight from the heart. Thank you for being so frank and open to an online forum.

Of course these events happened, but that doesn't mean that anything written in the bible is true. They are based on historic events, in the way Hollywood movies are. They are adapted to speak to the people, to convince them of the good of Christianity, to inspire awe at the great events of history in which they elegantly inserted God's influence.

For example, do you consider the Ilaid to contain just the truth simply because what was written in there really happened?

 

Did the events in the Illiad really happen?
I agree that your view of events can be different.
You might say (for example) that the island of San Torini blowing up, and providing a handy pillar of fire / smoke marker for the Israelites and also a tsunami to drown the Egyptian army was a handy coincidence. Others might say it was 'God-incidence' (ohhh, you've learnt Christian jargon now! )

Now I'm really insulted!
Point taken, as I said. The events are there, it is how you interpret it.
I reckon God was there. I can't prove it, not really. That is where faith comes in.

 

QUESTION


Given that we already have a topic for relgion how come at least three other topics have wandered off into the realms of relgious speculation?

 

I was starting to wonder that myself - this began by asking what the next Empire will be!

I blame Roel! :lol:

 

Yeah, I have to blame Roel, too.

I believe that the next empire will be the Galactic Empire. Palpatine will ascend the throne and install his New Order to replace the chaotic mass that once was the Old Republic. :lol: