Barroso, Haiku Herman, and Buzek have just received eminent representatives from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist religions, who are on the annual religious junket to Brussels. They have been meeting annually since 2005. And today they meet for the second time under the hateful Lisbon Treaty, which formalised this open and regular dialogue between the EU and religions, as well as communities of conviction. http://venitism.blogspot.com
They have had a very fruitful, constructive and open discussion about the values of democracy and freedom that are a central concept in Europe. They also discussed their shared ambitions to promote these values in Europe's closest neighbourhood.
Let's face it, we are all victims of Abrahamic religions! Historians have proven that Abraham never existed! Nevertheless, the religulous tenets of the three Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are dangerous fairy tales and myths that have incited barbarous purges and holy wars that are still being fought. A talking snake? A man who lived inside a fish? A son of Roman rapist presented as the only son of God? Resurrection? Divine Revelations? Day of Judgment? Hell? Jihad? Adolf Hitler used to say that hoi polloi tend to believe big lies, not small lies!
These are favorite religious images presenting God as grudge collector, deserving ridicule. But those who believe in the end-of-days may be making a self-fulfilling prophecy of apocalyptic images of stampeding armies and mushroom clouds in the ruins of Megiddo, the Israeli site from which the Book of Revelation says Armageddon will originate.
Barroso points out they met to debate on their commitment to democratic rights and liberties. It is indeed worth recalling that the European Union is a laboratory for the setting of transnational rules and standards with an experience of 50-years of promoting peace and democracy, freedom and solidarity across a whole continent.
In 1966 John Lennon claimed the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Lennon said: Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me. http://venitism.blogspot.com
Lennon uttered those fateful words at the height of Beatlemania. The British Invasion happened to also coincide with the decline of Christianity, especially in England, and especially amongst the younger generations. The mass hysteria of Beatlemania was analogous to religious ecstasy. Many fans truly saw the Beatles as musical messiahs. John, Paul, George, and Ringo reported that fans would bring sick people to their concerts, in the belief that the band had a divine healing presence.
Barroso notes our successful enlargement policy reinforces and enriches our experience of cross-border integration and cooperation within a Europe which should be united in diversity and should always respect human rights and democracy, based on the principle of human dignity.
Barroso believes that the European Union is an important, inspirational force for democracy in many parts of the globe, and that it should be considered in some aspects a model for economic and political integration. One thing we can ask ourselves is the following: is the European Union a model for a real integration itself. Can we really integrate all the different communities in Europe? What is in fact our work in terms of tolerance, diversity and mutual respect? This was an issue that we discussed this morning.
Obviously, they are also turning to the countries of our neighbourhood, namely in the Southern Mediterranean, namely because of the recent events in some Arab countries. Events unfolding there are of historic proportions. In some cases we can make some comparison with transitions that we know in Central and Eastern Europe.
Barroso points out our Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity is one part of our answer to these developments, which we underpin by concrete financial support. So the EU must be on the side of those who aspire to political freedom, social development and justice. Barroso believes this is a matter of values and he believes it is also in our interest. Human rights, democracy and freedom are at the heart of the European project, both within the EU and in its external action.
But Barroso also believes that we can succeed and we should succeed because every human being, from whatever culture and regardless of his or her religious and confessional choices and ideas, has the same aspirations for freedom. And Barroso underscores, every human being, if he has the opportunity, will choose freedom. And when we speak about freedom, of course we speak also about religious freedom. The freedom to have a religion – this is more important than ever when we see some of the transitions that are now taking place.
Barroso is glad that today's meeting is not only useful in itself, because it is a way of exchanging ideas in a very informal setting, but also it is a strong symbol, a strong expression of our willingness to work together promoting the values of freedom and democracy as well as the respect for human dignity as the most fundamental value of our societies.
Secular society is rejected by religulous freaks. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their religulous feelings. But this is incompatible with freedom of speech, where one must be ready to put up with insults, mockery, and ridicule. Journalists should treat religulous freaks the same way they treat atheists, cultists, spiritualists, spirituals, politicians, philosophers, scientists, artists, and businessmen, integrating them into the Graecoroman tradition of criticism and satire, because they are part of society, not strangers. Blasphemy is including, rather than excluding, religulous freaks. http://venitism.blogspot.com
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