Bill,

I don’t think we actually disagree with each other on this issue (i.e. more peaceful nature of Far Eastern religions). I made a sweeping statement that “there has never been a major war in East Asian history that was fought in the name of religion”. I meant and perhaps I should have said that “in the name of an East Asian religion.” All the examples you give do not dispute that.

And my comment was specifically aimed at Marty's claim that "Only the West insisted on separation of church and state, guarantees of freedom, an end to slavery (sure, it took a while) and the eradication of imperialism. Western religion made peace with the modern world (as few other faiths did—consider Islam)”

Whatever the spirit of Marty’s article (I normally do not assume what is not written there, but I’d give Marty the benefit of doubt), this paragraph showed a lot of ignorance and blind Western pride. Another point I didn’t mention is that by the 19th century, most major cultures in the world (China, India, etc.) had long abandoned slavery, while America still practiced it. It was a shameful practice by some otherwise enlightened people and its final ending after the bloody Civil War is in no way a demonstration of the superiority of “Western Culture”, as Marty implied here.

And,

“Western religion made peace with the modern world”

Well, all the blooding conflicts that you cited precisely indicated the opposite - that Western religion (Roman Catholic, Christianity), and yes, Islam, have brought additional turmoil and conflicts to East Asia. Sure you can arbitrarily pick a date as to when “modern world” actually began. But also remember, Communism is a Western ideology too.

The point of my original comments was that Marty should have the facts straight first, before issuing judgment.

By the way, what you said about Taiping leader (Hung Hsiu-Chuan) is true. He was a peasant in the Canton province, was converted to Christianity and actually became a pastor himself. He established the Kingdom of Heavenly Peace (Taiping Tian Guo) and crowned himself king, and waged wars against the Qing dynasty for many years. Christianity is the official religion of his kingdom. Chinese communist party has always sided with him and regarded him a great proletarian leader who struggled against the repressive ruling class of the day. The religious factor has been played down in our history books. (Yes, I refreshed up a bit on Taiping Rebellion with info from here.)

Hong

 
PS. If you (and anybody else) wish to continue this line of discussion with me, we can do so through my email. I share exactly the same sentiments as Phil Coates about current status of solo. With the leaving of all the posters Phil listed on another thread, plus the exile of Michael Newberry and George Cordero, whom I’ve had great pleasure getting to know at solo, I no longer find soloing an overall positive experience. As one of the “Newberry groupies” and now “Brandburne stooges”, much of my own fundamental values are decidedly different from what Linz and his solo represents. Adam (and a few others), sorry. Best wishes to all. - H.