god and war, part one
Not long after humanity was created, two sons were born to their parents. They were brothers, and their story is ancient and tragic.
One brother was a gardener. He grew vegetables and fruit. He worked the soil hard and grew wonderful food. He recognized that this food, while it grew from the ground, was provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
The other brother was a shepherd. He took care to make sure his sheep remained safe, well watered, and well fed. His sheep were of great value. The sheep provided warmth from their wool, milk for the family, and meat for eating. He recognized that the sheep were provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
One day these two brothers brought their gifts to their parents’ God, and this God responded. He looked with favor on the gift from the shepherd, but he did not look with favor on the gift from the gardener. This upset the gardener.
Out of jealousy, the gardener led his brother away and killed him. Then the God of his parents returned asking him, “Where is your brother?” This murder led to a curse being placed on the shepherd. He was prone to be a wanderer for the rest of his life.
This story is so tragic perhaps because they are brothers. Brothers are not supposed to murder the other. Brothers are supposed to drive their mom crazy together, play football, stand in one another’s weddings, and be the best of friends. Murder is not generally something found in the memory scrapbooks of brothers.
What is interesting is the reason behind the murder in this story. The killing stems from their relationship with the God of their parents. The idea of killing the shepherd stems out of some kind of ritual in which they participate. The first murder ever recorded in the history of humanity is connected to religion.
While we do not know much about the psyche of the gardener, and what led to his wanting to kill his brother; we do know it was connected to some sort of belief in the divine. Since this time the same story has been replayed over and over again. While we can hardly call this situation a war, we must remember that this murder killed one quarter of the world’s recorded population.
Thousands of years later brothers are still killing one another - and often there is a connection to the gods of their parents. It is harder to see how we are all related. Hundreds of generations have passed, families have moved all over the globe, the language barrier has interrupted communication, and people have reinterpreted the gods of their parents in all sorts of ways. Even still, in one way or another we are all still connected. There are still gardeners and shepherds, and there are still brothers killing brothers.
Over time we have created ways to justify killing our brothers. Now the killing happens on a grander scale. Brothers lock arms under the banner of an empire or nation, and take up arms in the name of one god (or another) of some country or family. Not all the wars today are directly connected to religion or rituals, but religion and the gods are never far from the art of war.
One brother was a gardener. He grew vegetables and fruit. He worked the soil hard and grew wonderful food. He recognized that this food, while it grew from the ground, was provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
The other brother was a shepherd. He took care to make sure his sheep remained safe, well watered, and well fed. His sheep were of great value. The sheep provided warmth from their wool, milk for the family, and meat for eating. He recognized that the sheep were provided by the God of his parents. So he decided that he should show thanks to this God by giving him back some of what he had given him.
One day these two brothers brought their gifts to their parents’ God, and this God responded. He looked with favor on the gift from the shepherd, but he did not look with favor on the gift from the gardener. This upset the gardener.
Out of jealousy, the gardener led his brother away and killed him. Then the God of his parents returned asking him, “Where is your brother?” This murder led to a curse being placed on the shepherd. He was prone to be a wanderer for the rest of his life.
This story is so tragic perhaps because they are brothers. Brothers are not supposed to murder the other. Brothers are supposed to drive their mom crazy together, play football, stand in one another’s weddings, and be the best of friends. Murder is not generally something found in the memory scrapbooks of brothers.
What is interesting is the reason behind the murder in this story. The killing stems from their relationship with the God of their parents. The idea of killing the shepherd stems out of some kind of ritual in which they participate. The first murder ever recorded in the history of humanity is connected to religion.
While we do not know much about the psyche of the gardener, and what led to his wanting to kill his brother; we do know it was connected to some sort of belief in the divine. Since this time the same story has been replayed over and over again. While we can hardly call this situation a war, we must remember that this murder killed one quarter of the world’s recorded population.
Thousands of years later brothers are still killing one another - and often there is a connection to the gods of their parents. It is harder to see how we are all related. Hundreds of generations have passed, families have moved all over the globe, the language barrier has interrupted communication, and people have reinterpreted the gods of their parents in all sorts of ways. Even still, in one way or another we are all still connected. There are still gardeners and shepherds, and there are still brothers killing brothers.
Over time we have created ways to justify killing our brothers. Now the killing happens on a grander scale. Brothers lock arms under the banner of an empire or nation, and take up arms in the name of one god (or another) of some country or family. Not all the wars today are directly connected to religion or rituals, but religion and the gods are never far from the art of war.