Peace on Earth—Will It Ever Come?

I doubt it. It's just too easy for fractious people to disrupt a group, stir up resentment, and stoke the flames of conflict. i might be a genetic flaw but I think we may be programmed for that sort of behavior.

I see your point. But I don't know. I mean, I don't know you, but I gather from your comment that you try to do things that are more along the lines of creating order rather than disorder. Would you say that's true?

When revising my response I left out a critical letter:



I've just seen so many meetings and gatherings where one or two people with a negative agenda can prevent any sort of progress. I really do like to see cooperation and I wish we could all live together in peace and harmony. And I think a lot of people espouse similar feelings but with the proviso that it occur under their conditions.

LOL, I understood what you meant. It seems that what is needed is something beyond what we have now. Many have turned to religion only to be disappointed. But what I have found to be very helpful, at least in my case is to live by principles. They cover much larger areas of life and everyday behavior. One well known principle is recorded in the Bible at Matthew 7:12 "All things . . . that you want men to do to you, you also must do to them.”

I know it sounds a little simplistic, but I've really benefited from applying it.

Yes, there are a lot of old precepts which one can benefit from practicing and at least maintain a modicum of self respect amidst chaos and decline.

You know, there is something else that is stated in the Bible, it was to an ancient people but the point can be seen as modern day. I found it at Isaiah 48:18 "If only you would pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river And your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

Its almost like he is pleading with humans to accept his guidance.
Something you said earlier made me think of this. It was that "a lot of people espouse similar feelings regarding peace but with the proviso that it occur under their conditions."

Do you think that we as humans have been behaving this way with the Creator? I mean, most people will admit that unity among people can be achieved if we were willing to accept one another's views and differences. But how to do that successfully escapes us. Could it be, despite the bad religious examples we've seen, that applying Bible principles could help us achieve what we can't on our own?

As Muslims feel about the Koran, communists about Marx, and self-proclaimed patriots about the Constitution? It's good in theory but damn, there's that genetic flaw at work which seems to have made consistent adherence to principles too challenging for complex human societies to ever achieve. Might work in a cult, a monastery, or a small tribe but for those of us who live in the technologically developed world the only peace we'll ever experience is actually behind our eyes, located somewhere between our ears.

I really see how that would look to be true. You really bring to mind another thought revealed in the Bible that highlights the limitation of the human family. It's found at Jeremiah 10:23 which states "I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step."Another translation says that: "mans way is not in him"

What a fitting statement. It reveals the reason why the human race, as a whole is unable to unify itself and successfully address the issues of today. We are attempting to do something the Creator says we were not designed to do, self govern without his input. Yes we have free will, we use it every day, but it only truly works when we avail ourselves of a source of wisdom that is unlimited. The complexity of life is much to complex for humans to be able to figure it out on our own. Staying on this course we can not just expect more of the same, but worse.

Thus, the crux of the matters, the heart of the problems faced by us lies within our insistence on trying to do things our way instead of allowing the Creator to show us how we can be successful. And really, we wouldn't be giving up any freedom. As a matter of fact we would be freer than we have ever been.