So Yuyutsu, how do you determine whether persecution is ordained by God? You might also find this interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_violence. Gives a longer list of Buddhist violence than yours.

"Surely we all have to have some sort of system of values, of moral principles?" says Loudmouth2.

We do. We have rule of law and democracy. As long as atheists and believers stick to that in their dealings with each other, they can think and say whatever they want to. We are all going to find out whether God exists or not sooner or later.

Individual,

<<So, why do you think God or Buddha don't [sic] stop the attrocities [sic]?>>

That's an excellent question since the Almighty God is all powerful (see Psalm 66:5-7), http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps+66%3A5-7&version=NLT

What would happen if God were to step in and stop all evil (e.g. atrocities) NOW? God is all good but there is evil in the world. See Psalm 119:68, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+119%3A68&version=NLT

This is the progress of how atrocities entered the world in my understanding of Scripture.

1. God created human beings perfect and good (Genesis 1 & 2);

2. He made us with the ability to obey or disobey. As a result, the first man (representing the human race rebelled against God and everyone has been confirmed in rebellion against Him (Romans 5:12), http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom+5%3A12&version=NLT

3. So, humanity is responsible for sins and not God.

4. You may ask: Why didn't God make us so that we couldn't sin, droughts and cyclones would no longer come? He could have, because he is God. If he had done that, we would no longer be human beings but robots, machines. We love God and one another voluntarily. That outcome we have in our world today is from the risky gift of free will. See Lamentations 3:22, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lam+3%3A22&version=NLT

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(continuation)

individual,

5. God could get rid of evil right now if he chose. It happens in the futuer. Evil and atrocities are real but they are temporary. For the Christians, we know that the new world comes when tears and pains will be gone forever. There will be no more evil & sorrow. Revelation 21:5 states it well: 'And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”'

6. If God stamped out evil today, he would have to do a complete job. Paul Little asked: 'Suppose God were to decree that at midnight tonight all evil would be removed from the universe? Who of us would still be here after midnight?'

7. We must not forget that nobody has done more about the problem of evil than God Himself. He did it a dramatic and costly way by sending his Son, Jesus Christ to die an horrific death for evil. The purpose of his death was: 'For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God' (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Why can religion be so divisive? If people reject the premises of the 7 points above, they can banter over bits and pieces. However, religion is not the only issue that divides. I shopped in a local supermarket, looking for hair conditioner. You ought to see the divisive brands offered. My son encouraged me to buy a larger screen for my PC. You ought to see the divided opinion over brands at the local computer store. Do we fight over the choices/divisiveness of which restaurant or club to attend for a meal?

If it was there in the church of the first century, only decades after Jesus' death and resurrection, it probably will continue until His Second Coming.

Dear Individual,

«So, why do you think God or Buddha don't stop the attrocities ?»

How long an answer would you like?

The shortest answer is that God gave men free will.

It goes much deeper than this, but given that in the past your patience to study and reflect on my answers was short, I rather keep it like this unless/until your desire to know becomes more serious and steady.

---

Dear Graham,

«how do you determine whether persecution is ordained by God?»

"Ordained" is more of a Western term: it is a good approximation, but strictly speaking, God has not ordained anything. Rather, it was the great sages and seers/prophets who in their meditations discovered the secret principles of the universe and the mind, including what works and what does not work.

We do have free will, but the sages revealed that our actions, the way we use our free will, have consequences, so if we want to come closer to God, then certain attitudes and behaviours are warranted, while their opposite would instead take us further away from God.

The teachings of Yoga tell us that the first step towards God, if we hope to have any progress at all, are the restraints, or "Yamas", the second being certain observances, or "Niyamas". The 5 Yamas were listed in order of precedence and the first among them is Ahimsa, roughly translated as non-violence.

If one fails to follow even the first restraint, let alone the other restraints and observances, what hope can s/he have to approach God? None whatsoever!

Persecution hurts others, it gives them great pain, it is something that we ourselves hate being subjected to, it is a form of violence.
Religion being the process of coming closer to God, is therefore diametrically opposed to violence and persecution.

Some, in every faith, do great harm
True statement, but in my Christian days love and respect lived there most of the time, I fell for the Christ being our true one God, even that he was his father
In just my lifetime, we see about a third say they have no faith
And about that number not truly practicing their faith
And God, once seeming to be the property of the Roman Catholic Church, [the hollest in my mind then] caring for the poor it has changed
Money making rules some
But if only we had one God, for all of humanity, what a great world it would be