Chapter excerpts

In Search of a Perfect World excerpts:

INTRODUCTION (Published in 2005)
"Huge industries, financial institutions, governments and purveyors of materialistic philosophies such as capitalism/consumerism have been teetering. Massive employment layoffs, scandals, corruption and a general feeling of insecurity mark this age, despite the self-serving boosterism of Wall Street." (Here we are, 4 years later. It was all smoke and mirrors)

CHAPTER 3
"Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah and did not predict the end of the world.
"... Christian doctrine and scriptures during the ensuing centuries would be developed along the parameters established by Constantine the Great."
"The (Crusades) degenerated into chaotic orgies of looting and murder that did little to advance the cause of Christianity and Western civilization in the Holy Land."
"... Pope Alexander III, in 1179, identified another threat to the power of the Church -- the Cathars. The pope declared a crusade against these enemies. During the subsequent 30 years, an estimated 1 million people died in Southern France -- all of them devout followers of the teachings of Jesus."

CHAPTER 8
"The history of millennialism ... demonstrates the resiliency of the notion that humanity requires a savior to escape from the bondage of this sinful world."

CHAPTER 9
"Sai Baba has declared that humanity is witnessing the end of Kali Yuga and will be making the transition to another Golden Age by the year 2012."
"The Mayan calendar ends in the year 2012."
"In Islam, the Imam Mahdi is expected to usher in the ideal state."

CHAPTER 10
"According to the Vedantic view, the recorded history of the world has been the history of Kali Yuga."
"Militant Islamists clearly said they were attempting to bring about their own idea of a utopian world."
"...if the Age of Materialism is ending, what follows? Call it the Age of Realization."
"If one accepts any form of end-times doctrine, what does one do? Let go of it."
"The search for a perfect world and hopes for salvation on Earth represents ... humanity's search for understanding the great mystery of life, for overcoming feelings of abandonment and alienation and as a recognition of the shallowness of material values."

Whose world is this?

With two years left in George W. Bush's presidency, evangelical "Christians" and certain corporate interests are pressing hard to ensure that they can create their versions of a perfect world, whether or not it benefits the majority of U.S. citizens.
Believing that the return of Jesus and destruction of the world is imminent, the "Left Behind" folks show little respect for the natural world and are focused upon wiping out their perceived forces of "evil," such as militant Islamists -- or anyone who disagrees with their aims.
Listen to evangelical radio talk shows or read letters to the editors of newspapers and a pattern emerges: Some people calling themselves Christians are complaining of persecution in the U.S. They demand "freedom of religion." The freedom they actually seek is to impose their vision of God and morality upon everyone else. No other view of divinity exists in their minds. All else is "Satanic" or "false doctrine," ignoring the fact that the majority of this world's citizens are not Christians and are sincerely leading spiritual lives.
The LDS Church and Jehovah's Witnesses are even denounced as nothing but "cults," because their "Christian" doctrine differs from the hard-core evangelicals.
I recently heard a radio evangelist declare that only born-again Christians will survive the tribulation that some Bible literalists have been expecting for the past 2,000 or so years. Isn't it time to stop living in the past, basing one's worldview on a heavily edited -- and highly questionable -- history of the Jewish people and the expurgated and misconstrued teachings of Jesus?
Much of the Bible has recently been called into question. Most recently, the "lost" Gospel of Judas challenges the long-accepted notion of his betrayal.
Modern preachers put their own spin on biblical passages, fashioning them to mean whatever they think it means.
When their attempts to create a Christian theocracy in the U.S. are thwarted by civil libertarians, the born-againers cry out about a "War on Christmas" or a "War on Easter." Many of them support the war in Iraq, however, and seem to view it in Apocalyptic terms.
War seems to be foremost in their thoughts, possibly because they see themselves at war with Satan. Violence, within the nation's mass media and to "enemies" abroad, is acceptable to these folks, but let one female breast see the light of day and the rigidly righteous unleash their sanctimonious wrath upon the media. Their obsession with "pornography" and a vague notion of "sin" ignores the real dangers in our society -- bigotry, violence and a growing police state.
There's often a sizeable gap between their preaching and their practice. That hypocrisy is part of the reason Americans are turning away from Christian churches and are finding spiritual comfort in other understandings of divinity.
The "evildoers" subtrefuge can be found throughout recorded history, as fanatics have attempted to create their visions of a perfect world by killing, imprisoning or subjegating anyone in the way. Demonization is often the first step.
The alleged "persecution" of various ethnic or religious groups has often been the pretext for wars or assaults on civil liberties.
For a view of this strategem, go to:
http://www.crossroad.to/Persecution/persecute.html
OR for a more-objective view, check:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rt_overv.htm

For a history of religious intolerance, order a copy of this book.

For more insight into the current and previous Bush administrations, and on major financiers and industrialists during the past century, go to:
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8425/BONES.HTM
http://www.freedomdomain.com/skullbones.html
For additional information on the Bush family, check out:
http://www.theramp.net/kohr4/geronimo_skull.html