Hay Festival 2011: ex-CIA man claims Barack Obama 'doesn't have a clue'

Originally posted by Sparky63
These religious leaders will do all they can to continue the relationship the US has with Israel. But their influence is waning. I think Israel's days as a close & protected ally are coming to an end.

Very true. We do have, especially with the fundamentalists, that religious angle working too, where Israel has to be where it is and a little check list of stuff has to happen in order, (in their minds) for Jesus to return.

I do think that the religious justifications run secondary to the economic ones. In other words, I suspect improving the economic situation and policies would help mitigate the religious issues. A lot of people become a lot less apocalyptic when times are good, money isnt too unequally distributed in a society, and everyone has a sense of security.

Extremism and doomsday, and fanaticism are easier to sell to the populace when people are afraid, hungry, or otherwise insecure. Which is probably why there are so many serious doomsday prophecies and spiritual fraudsters abound on the internet right now. Economic hard times on a global scale, war, etc., etc.

What is being said here by many is basically, seperate the politics and the religion. People are people whether they are the big shots or the ordinary 9 to 5's. We are just not ready for that yet. Look what happened, and what is happening when the state or companies try to minimise its role in religion, in France banning the Burqa in the street, BA, banning the wearing of a cross for their employees, secularists saying it is all wrong and people should wear what they like, feminists agreeing with the ban, saying that it is a symbol or religious suppression against women, and Burqa wearers who want to wear one as a symbol of their faith and so on. Then by the same expressions, devout jews should not have locks, Yarmulkes or tzitzits, (some fun looking for the last item) This then is basically what is being asked when we all generalise, like here and Israel and elsewhere. Israeli people need to be defended just like any other country, you might not like their governments agenda, or possible hidden agenda, but most ordinary people, as one poster already said just want to get on with their lives. It's always high profile minorities, who do have agendas...their own, of any kind who mess things up, because governments spend too much time listening to them, and end up in a complete shambles.