[Greg D]

This is a copy of an article I posted,in our local newspaper.
In a world that we share with over seven Billion people. I find it sad that the society we now have is probably the most selfish in History. The modern phenomenon known as the selfie means that the photo has you in front and others in the background. The background may contain a famous person or a famous landmark but you are in the foreground. Even the language has changed, once you would have said John and I, now it's me and John.
The other selfish behavior I have observed is to do with modern parenting. If you give a child everything they want or ask for, it’s more about you than them. Many parents now think this behavior will make their child love them and don’t want to upset the child. This method of parenting causes a child to be ungrateful and treat their parents with contempt. Instead of preparing children for the hard times that are ahead of them in life. This selfish parenting style causes a young adult to suffer from depression when things don’t go their way. The school system is also guilty of this current thinking and is also partly to blame for this lack of preparation for the real world.
The Christian principle of love your neighbor as yourself. Has been replaced with love yourself only, that is why churches, communities and clubs can no longer get people to volunteer for help. Radical Islam teaches that you go to heaven if you kill all the infidels around you. This again is a selfish teaching which only benefits that individual and not others. Jesus gave his life for others, his sacrifice was so all mankind could inherit a heavenly Kingdom. That is why it’s the so called Christian world that is called on to help in times of need, when other nations with other ideologies will not. Second Timothy Chapter 3 (1-6) speaks of the selfishness of this current time. Proverbs Chapter 23 (10-15) tells us not to move the old landmarks when it comes to dealing with our children. (The end of the article).
 Many of the religious teachings today have individuals as the center of their universe and the power comes from themselves. My experience as a born again Christian is that the power, I can access comes from above not from me. I know the day I received the Holy Spirit, I received an incredible feeling of joy and love, for other human beings, that I didn't have before. That burning desire to share with others, what I have been given,is still as strong some 28 years after that day. In this post I am just sharing my observations along with my own experiences.

[Charlotte4711]

Greg can I point out that your comment on ‘Radical Islam’ is just that ‘radical’ it’s extremists not the everyday peaceful Islam that the majority live!
The Islamic religion is fundamentally the same tenents as Christianity! You can’t tar everyone with the same brush! If you kill anyone as a Muslim you may as well have killed the whole world according to the Qu’ran & that will have consequences on judgement day! Those who believe in infidel killing & virgins etc etc are deluded & misinterpreting the holy book (Wahhabism) this is not true Islam!

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But as for the rest of your post yes I agree!! Lol
But I will say that people are living in a nightmare... a world that is distorted and inverted and you can’t blame people for this! We look to Govts and people in positions of power to guide us and keep us safe because that’s what we’ve always done and it’s these very people perverting the way of the world, from the media, laws, medicine to our perception of reality, so you can’t blame people for getting swept up in it!

Parenting has become harder and harder because the woman has been removed from her home (her job) and given rights to go out & get a career, we have to work 40+ hours a week, we spend all our money on childcare, so someone else can look after our kids for us????
We have to work to feed our kids, so there’s little choice involved, we have no free time to spend with them & when we get the measly 24-48hrs (most of which is spent exhausted) with them we want to spoil them out of guilt for never being there! Which is wrong but it’s true!
Its not my life anymore but I’ve been there.... I’ve changed my life & dropped my career for my kids but only because I’m privileged to be able to as my husband earns enough to support us!

Also society has changed a lot... I grew up with nothing, I lived in a tiny country village, very poor, had nothing and so I don’t want my kids to go through the same so I over compensate & then wonder why they are spoilt! But we are working on it! It’s a learning kerb... parenthood doesn’t come with a manual, it’s trial & error & reflection is a wonderful tool! Every now & then we stop, talk & reflect then amend the way we are doing things!

As for the selfies... I detest them! But I have a 10yr old who is starting to take them... we’ve explained it to him & he’s getting there!

[Greg D]

Thanks Charlotte for agreeing with most of my comments. I do know some things about the teachings of Islam. I also know the history of Mohammed who resorted to murdering the surrounding tribes, in latter years if they did't convert to Islam. He went on to marry a 6 year old called Aisha, when he was in his fifties, the marriage wasn't consummated until she was 9, as if that is better. I have spoken to Muslim people and reasoned with them about their beliefs ( I didn't mention the history though). Some months ago whilst riding in a taxi in Singapore, I struck up a conversation with a man who told me he was Muslim. I asked him how he became one. He said he was born in that religion. I told him that I wasn't born a Christian but was converted by a powerful experience. I went on to tell him of the miricles I had seen since. I asked him what was his hope as a Muslim and he said to go to heaven. I said that Jesus claimed to have come from there, so perhaps he knew the way. After the journey he dropped me at the airport and he then shook my hand and thanked me for our conversation. I have also talked to people about my experiences with God in Malaysia, where it is a criminal offence to do so. Perhaps it was my choice of words that was incorrect, as the teaching of 70 virgins (which means children by the way). Was a fabrication of one Shiek to entice his assassin's to die for him. A female friend said once when we were talking about this, what is the virgins reward in this teaching. Perhaps a female perspective, by the way whats the reason for small children to wear Burka's? Not having a shot at people just the belief system. Before there's a comment about people who have fought wars for Jesus. Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world, if it was my followers would fight for me. His only act of violence was to knock the tables over in the temple, the reason for that was because the people there were ripping common worshippers off. Jesus suffered a very violent death by the way for religious reasons. To give people a new life and I praise him for it.

[Charlotte4711]

See I’ve heard all the ‘married to a child’ thing and as far as I’m aware that’s not true!! She was not 6 and she remained his wife for his lifetime & she loved him just as much as he loved her! This was also common practice back then to marry young (after menstruation starts) just as in ancient Egypt so yes it’s awful now but wouldn’t be frowned upon then.
Mohammed was also a very pious man (obviously)and the reason he married her was because she was a slave & he wanted to prove that women of that stature were worthy of more than slavery - as back then a slave was just that no one would marry her.
he also ensured many women’s rights which they still hold to today! He stopped women the process of women being buried alive too. (And yes to us the treatment of women often appears unfair as a modern world!) but the hijab is the misinterpretation of the Qu’ran not the word of God. There’s no obligation but it’s become common practice accepted as ‘fact!’

Now don’t get me wrong! I don’t fir one minute think Islam is the way but I believe the majority of people love their religion & see it in a different light to the way you do! You see the negative side to it and they see the reasons behind why it’s that way but they are the most part happy with it!

Of course there’s people who distort it and use it for their own selfish needs &
that’s wrong and God will deal with them on the day of judgement!

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And he didn’t slaughter tribes for not converting... in the Qu’ran it says ‘there is no compulsion in religion’ if you don’t belive then that’s your choice! Of course he faught in wars, bit he was often under attack by polytheists who detested his views!
There’s also a lot of distortion of the facts by the Sunni /Shia divide which occurred after his death, the Sunnis believe the Kalifate who took over after Mohammad’s death was the right leader of the religion but the Shi’a believe it was Ali (Mohammad’s cousin & close friend) who was best to continue as leader (and Mohammad’s choice) so once he died the religion was distorted from there on!
Basically we’ll never know the truth much like he Bible etc they all have been translated too many times with agendas to know their true meaning!