Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Gerson on Authenticity and Religion 101

Comprehensive Cancer Centers

I see advertisements on TV all of the time for Cancer Treatment Centers of America.  I also note that many hospitals which treat cancer and engage in cancer-related research call themselves “comprehensive cancer centers.”  That’s quite a mouthful, but a meaningful one. The difference between a “cancer center” and a “comprehensive cancer center” is defined in the following quote from the National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute website, which lists 14 ‘Clinical” Cancer Centers, 49 Comprehensive Cancer Centers and 7 Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers, all of which have satisfied its high standards.

“Most of the NCI-Designated Cancer Centers are affiliated with university medical centers, although several are freestanding centers that engage only in cancer research. The NCI-Designated Cancer Centers are recognized for their scientific leadership, resources, and the depth and breadth of their research in basic, clinical, and/or population science. Comprehensive Cancer Centers demonstrate an added depth and breadth of research, as well as substantial transdisciplinary research that bridges these scientific areas. Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers conduct only laboratory research and do not provide patient treatment.”

Any hospital can call its cancer treatment facility anything it wants, including calling it a “comprehensive cancer center.”  The only really meaningful use of that designation, however, is if it is given to the institution by the National Cancer Institute, a part of the government-run National Institutes of Health.  The NIH website goes on to point out that NCI-designated Cancer Centers “are characterized by scientific excellence and the capability to integrate a diversity of research approaches to focus on the problem of cancer. They play a vital role in advancing towards our goal of reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer.”

At present, 63 institutions treating patients appear on the National Cancer Institute’s list of cancer centers meeting these criteria.  Of these, 49 are “comprehensive cancer centers” while 14 are considered “clinical cancer centers.”

Just because a “cancer center” runs ads on TV or declares itself to be a “comprehensive cancer center,” doesn’t make it a member of this elite group of institutions.  A listing of these 63 “cancer centers” follows. (This is not to say that excellent cancer treatment is not available elsewhere nor that other institutions are not engaged in important research. These are, however, the places our government feels are the ones which meet the rigid criteria it has established.)  It is a good list to study in making health care decision if you ever find yourself in that position. 

Comprehensive Cancer Centers

·         Alabama (1): UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

·         Arizona (1): The University of Arizona Cancer Center at the University of Arizona (Tucson)

·         California (8):

·         Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Irvine

·         City of Hope National Medical Center (Duarte) (independent)

·         UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles

·         UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego

·         UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco

·         UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Davis (Sacramento)

·         USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles)

·         Stanford Cancer Institute (Stanford, CA)^[6]

·         Colorado (1): University of Colorado Cancer Center at the University of Colorado (Aurora)

·         Connecticut (1): Yale Cancer Center at Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven)

·         District of Columbia (1): Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University (Washington)

·         Florida (1): Moffitt Cancer Center at the University of South Florida (Tampa)

·         Georgia (1): Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University (Atlanta)

·         Illinois (2):

·         Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University (Chicago)

·         University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center (Chicago)

·         Iowa (1): Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Iowa (Iowa City)

·         Maryland (2):

·         Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore)

·         University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center (Baltimore)

·         Massachusetts (1): Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (Boston)

·         Michigan (2):

·         Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute (Detroit)

·         University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)

·         Minnesota (2):

·         Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (Rochester) (independent)

·         Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)

·         Missouri (1): Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis)

·         New Hampshire (1): Norris Cotton Cancer Center of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon)

·         New Jersey (1): Cancer Institute of New Jersey at Rutgers (New Brunswick)

·         New Mexico (1): University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque)

·         New York (3):

·         Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center (New York)

·         Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York) (independent)

·         Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo) (independent)

·         North Carolina (3):

·         Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem)

·         Duke Cancer Institute at Duke University (Durham)

·         Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC (Chapel Hill)

·         Ohio (2):

·         Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case Western Reserve University; Seidman Cancer Center, University Hospitals, Case Medical Center)

·         The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital & Richard J. Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University (Columbus)

·         Oklahoma (1): Stephenson Cancer Center at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (Oklahoma City)

·         Oregon (1): Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (Portland)

·         Pennsylvania (3):

·         Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

·         Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia) (independent)

·         University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute at University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)

·         Tennessee (2):

·         Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University (Nashville)

·         St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis) (independent)

·         Texas (3):

·         Dan L Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)

·         Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)

·         The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) (independent)

·         Utah (1): Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (Salt Lake City)

·         Washington (1): Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle)

·         Wisconsin (1): University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (Madison)

·          

Clinical Cancer Centers

·         Hawaii (1): University of Hawaii Cancer Center (Honolulu)

·         Indiana (1): Indiana University Cancer Center (Indianapolis)

·         Kansas (1): University of Kansas Cancer Center (Kansas City)

·         Kentucky (1): Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky (Lexington)

·         Nebraska (1): University of Nebraska Medical Center Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (Omaha)

·         New York (3):

·         Albert Einstein Cancer Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx)

·         Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University (formerly the NYU Cancer Institute) (New York)

·         Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai Health System (New York)

·         Pennsylvania (1): Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia)

·         South Carolina (1): Medical University of South Carolina's Hollings Cancer Center

·         Texas (1): UT Health San Antonio Cancer Center of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

·         Virginia (2):

·         Massey Cancer Center of Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)

·         University of Virginia Cancer Center (Charlottesville)

Keep in mind that an even more refined list is provided by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network with which only 28 institutions are affiliated.  All of these are, of course, included in the preceding listing.  These institutions are:

·         Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

·         Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, NE

·         Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH

·         City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA

·         Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA

·         Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC

·         Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA

·         Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

·         Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA

·         The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD

·         Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

·         Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ; Jacksonville, FL; Rochester, MN

·         Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

·         Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL

·         The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH

·         Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY

·         Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

·         St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN

·         Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA

·         University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL

·         UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA

·         UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA

·         University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO

·         University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI

·         The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

·         University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI

·         Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN

·         Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT

Note for South Floridians:  Unfortunately for people who live in Southeast Florida, none of the above listings include institutions in their immediate area, the nearest being the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and the Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville satellite facility.  

There is, however, excellent cancer treatment available in Southeast Florida at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baptist Hospital’s Miami Cancer Institute which is developing a relationship with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Mt. Sinai Hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Center (Miami Beach), the Michael and Diane Bienes Cancer Center at Holy Cross Hospital (Ft. Lauderdale), Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Lynn Cancer Institute and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at JFK Hospital (Lake Worth). It should be noted that the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has several satellite facilities in both Dade and Broward Counties and that Bethesda Hospital and Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Palm Beach County have become affiliated with Miami’s Baptist Hospital system, potentially giving them access to the Miami Cancer Institute.  

Inevitably, with the passage of time, several of these excellent more local institutions will eventually appear in the above listings.

Jack Lippman

Religion 101

The Blog's previous posting included a piece entited "Religion 201."  It dealt with how religion can give "meaning to life."  Really, a prerequisite for "Religion 201" was "Religion 101."  For those who have not taken that course, here it is:  

Some years ago, I was seated in Boca Raton’s massive Spanish River Church for a concert.  The gentleman in the next seat, noting the large cross behind the stage, commented to me, “this is a Catholic church, isn’t it.”  “No,” I replied.  “It’s a Protestant church, probably Baptist.”  He looked at me and answered, “Don’t know the difference.”  And then the concert started. 

Afterwards, sensing that this represented a possible gap in a some of my neighbors’ knowledge, I wrote a piece for our community magazine, explaining the historic differences between the principal religions practiced in this country today.  Here is a rewrite of that article, the original version of "Religion 101" being unavailable.

One God:  Most of us, who identify with a religion, believe in one God as opposed to having faith in many idols, as did the ancient Romans. Although some give credit for belief in one God to the Egyptian pharaoh Iknaton, we usually trace it back to the ancient Hebrews’ eventual religion, Judaism.  That is as good a point of departure as any to explain religion in the United States today.

Judaism:  Today’s Judaism can be divided into several categories.  Orthodox Judaism is closest to the traditional form of Judaism while Conservative and Reform Judaism are Nineteenth century adaptations of it, geared more closely to today’s society’s needs and are relatively uncommon outside of the United States.  Hasidic Judaism is a version of Orthodoxy which follows the teachings of particular rabbis.

Roman Catholicism:  Christianity arose as a sect of Judaism, believing Jesus to be the Son of God, and ultimately identifying God as a “Trinity” encompassing the Father, the Son and after the Crucifixion and Resurrection, the Holy Ghost.  With the conversion of Rome to Christianity in the Fourth century, Christianity grew to become far more widespread than the Judaism in which it was rooted.  Thus began the Roman Catholic Church, which still exists today.  There are Catholics who have split off from that Church, the prime example being the Greek Orthodox Church.

Protestantism:  In the Sixteenth century, some Christians “protested” certain policies of the Papacy, which led by the Pope, headed the Roman Catholic Church.  These “Protestants” remained Christians but with no allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.  There were many Protestant “denominations,” most of which still exist in the United States.  These include Lutherans, Anglicans and Episcopalians (both ritually close to Roman Catholicism, but minus the Papacy), Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregationalists and many inter-denominational groups.

Islam:  In the Sixth century world consisting of Christians, Jews, pagans and non-believers, Mohammed arose as a Prophet espousing a new religion, based on revelations in the Koran and drawing upon Judaism and Christianity.  This was known as Islam, its adherents being referred to as Muslims.  After Mohammed’s death, Islam split into two branches, Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, which exist today.

There you have it.  Religious belief in the United States is shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims, in their many variations and mutations as outlined above.  And of course, there are other religions, including Native American beliefs and even Satanism. To some “non-believers,” even “Atheism” takes on a form close to a belief.  

Most importantly, our Constitution specifically states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”  Even though our currency does state “In God We Trust,” it is left to individuals to define “God” as they wish, or even to deny His, Her or Its existence.











JL

Authenticity, Virtue, Ethics, Aristotle and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau

Aristotle

Gerson

All are touched upon in a recent column by the Washington Post’s Michael Gerson.  But it’s not about philosophy, although it starts out there.  It really is about much, much more and should be read by all Americans alive in 2019.  Please note that nowadays, many Americans whose hearts are beating and whose lungs are pumping are not otherwise alive in 2019, brain-wise. But if you are, check out the article BY CLICKING RIGHT HERE.

JL

 

HOW TO BE ALERTED TO FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.

Many readers of this blog are alerted by Email every time a new posting appears.  If you wish to be added to that Email list, just let me know by sending me an email at Riart1@aol.com.

HOW TO CONTACT ME or CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL TO JACKSPOTPOURRI.com 

Contact me by email at Riart1@aol.com.   YOU ALSO CAN SEND ME YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN THIS BLOG AS WELL AS YOUR COMMENTS AT THAT ADDRESS.  (Comments can also be made by clicking on the "Post a Comment" link at the blog's end, though few followers of the blog have done that lately.)

MOBILE DEVICE ACCESS.

DID YOU KNOW THAT www.jackspotpourri.com IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES IN A MODIFIED, EASY-TO-READ, FORMAT?   

HOW TO VIEW OLDER POSTINGS.                                                

To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking. THESE FEATURES, ALONG WITH OTHER VALUABLE “SIDEBAR” ITEMS, INCLUDING ADVERTISEMENTS, MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE ON ALL MOBILE DEVICES.  CHECK THEM OUT ON YOUR DESKTOP OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS.

HOW TO FORWARD POSTINGS.

To send this posting to a friend, or enemy for that matter, whom you think might be interested in it, just click on the envelope with the arrow on the "Comments" line directly below, enabling you to send them an Email providing a link directly to this posting.  You might also want to let me know their Email address so that they may be alerted to future postings.

Jack Lippman 

Religion 201, No Ads, No Politics, Student Loans, Our Aging Population and Medicare Changes

There's a whale of a change going on with "Jackspotpourri" today, including some 
big differences for 2019.  

(including the color of the background)

No More Ads for a While

First of all, because of the difficulty I am having with Google’s Adsense feature, there will no longer be ads on the blog, the profits from which went to cancer-fighting charities.  My troubles with them started last year when I switched the Gmail address they had given me years ago at the time I started the blog to my new and current Gmail address. Without a human being to speak to (that’s the way it is with Google), I have been unable to resolve the problem over the past few months.  If this situation is remedied at sometime in the future, the ads, all of which benefit cancer research, will resume.  I am not totally ignoring the problem, but I am not losing sleep over it either.

Meanwhile, In lieu of clicking on the ads to help charities, I do urge all of you to make regular contributions to any and all legitimate organizations which support cancer research.  These include (and of course there are others) the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Society (one of my favorites),  chapters of such organizations as Hadassah and the Papanicolaou Corps, 

individual major research hospitals such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Moffitt Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic.

Of course, making donations to local hospitals is also desirable unless they are owned by corporate “for profit” entities, such as Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) or Tenet Healthcare (South Florida examples are JFK Medical Center and Delray Medical Center) to which you should never make donations.  Doing that ultimately puts money in their shareholders’ pockets.

JL

Goodbye to Politics

From here on in, there will be an absence of politics on the blog.  By now, most thinking Americans know that the occupant of the White House is totally unfit and unqualified for the job and that the Party which supports him, despite knowing this, shares the blame for the damage Donald Trump is doing to the nation.  It is a waste of effort to fill the blog with what amounts to “preaching to the choir” and trying to convince errant Republicans (and others) of the error of their ways.  There are many other things which the blog can constructively feature and your non-political efforts are always welcome. 

JL

Student Loans – How they are Affecting Demographics?

These days, many young adults are strapped with enormous debt resulting from their

student loans.  This is being reflected in their delaying marriage, having children later and a reluctance to go further into debt by delaying buying homes.  The lure of suburbia, bringing with it the need for one or more automobiles per family, is being replaced with decisions to remain in cities, where transportation is less of a challenge, often without the expenses (and debt) car ownership involves.  The vacancy rate in suburban malls, and the job loss that reflects, is  one result of this.  There will have to be measures over the next decades to make the resolution of these outstanding loans easier for young adults.  The economy demands it.

Complicating this are the number of student loans which were granted for tuition to less than creditable institutions, often involved in vocational rather than academic studies.  Some of these were outright frauds, just seeking to make a profit, and are now out of business.  Of course, they have taken the money and run off, leaving the student with the loan to repay.

 JL

Our Aging Population 

As more live longer, all over the world, who will support those who exhaust their resources and where will they be housed?  Let’s look at this problem as it manifests itself in the United States.

The Way It Used to Be

Years ago, the solution was for retirees to move in with their children’s families.  But this was when children remained close to their parents geographically.  Now they are often thousands of miles apart.  The institutions of a rocking chair on a front porch and an extra bedroom were part of this.  

But few houses have front porches today.  Some large families were fortunate enough (?) to include an adult unmarried daughter who assumed caregiver duties for the elderly parent.  Today’s smaller families have reduced that alternative.  

Millenials, Generation “X” and many Baby Boomers have not saved enough to adequately fund their retirement and Social Security payments alone are insufficient for that purpose.  Assisted living and nursing facilities, both costly, are no solution for otherwise healthy but insolvent retirees.  The nation’s eyes have been closed to that problem up until now, but as these generations age, they will have to open. How large a role government (which means taxation) will play in a solution will be widely debated over the next twenty years.

 JL

Medicare Changes 

Folks becoming eligible for Medicare in 2020 are in for some surprises.  The most popular (and most expensive) Medicare Supplement Plan (Plan F) will no longer be available.  Unless they choose a Medicare Advantage Plan rather than traditional Medicare, they will have to choose a Medicare Supplement (sometimes called Medigap) plan with higher deductibles and co-payments if they want coverage to fill traditional Medicare’s significant “gaps.”  For example, Medicare Part B only covers 80% of the amount they pay doctors.  With doctor bills sometimes reaching six figures for seniors, that "gap" can be considerable.

Good News? Those already with Medicare Supplement Plan F coverage will be allowed to keep it, but without new insureds coming into that plan’s risk pool, it is likely that the companies which offer it (United Health Care, Aetna, Cigna, etc.) will be raising their premiums significantly.

What this all means is that there will be increasing pressures to switch to Medicare Advantage plans which, while less costly, often restrict their insureds' choices of doctors or hospitals.  Another alternative would be single payer "Medicare for All," (replacing the Affordable Care Act for those below Medicare age) which conceivably, with younger people in entering the Medicare risk pool, might reduce the cost of Medicare for seniors, but don't count on it.

JL

Religion 201- Giving Meaning to Life - But Watch Out!

(Some years back, before the blog came into existence, I wrote a brief piece about Western religions, explaining the origins of and differences between Judaism, Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant) and Islam. I had found many otherwise intelligent people to have a gap in their knowlege in this area. It was entitled "Religion 101."  If I can find it, or am moved to rewrite it, it may reappear on this blog.  Here, however, is its follow-up piece, which appeared on this blog in 2016.) 

JL

Religious beliefs give meaning to life.  Mankind has always wondered how the universe came to be, how “life” was created and what forces govern that “life” as it has evolved over time.  Some say we will never know the full answers to questions like these.  Some say the answers are such that the human mind is incapable of understanding them.  And so, until we have the true answers to such questions, if ever, mankind must depend on faith to satisfy its curiosity. 

The form the organized structure of such faith takes is known as religion.  By believing in religion, any religion, mankind is provided with answers, but they must be accepted as unprovable matters of faith, not requring universally irrefutable evidence.  Proof is not necessary.  Such answers in the form of religious beliefs serve to give meaning to life for some. Others who lack such faith appear to be none the worse for it.  Those who turn to religions are equally comfortable.

Many Paths Lead to the Mountaintop

Religion takes many forms.  All seek to provide answers and all are equal.  The answers provided by any established religion (Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, for example) are equal to the answers accepted by an illiterate native on a remote Pacific island who worships the vastness of the ocean or a gigantic tree which has been there for generations.  It doesn’t matter what a religion’s beliefs are.  What is important is that the believer is satisfied that he or she has found answers to the “incomprehensible” in that religion’s teachings.

Problems ensue when believers in one religion are convinced that their beliefs are the correct ones and that those who accept what other religions teach are not correct.  Some are so zealous in their beliefs that they are intolerant of those who believe otherwise.  The word “non-believer,” to them, is no longer merely descriptive but suddenly becomes one of damnation.  Sometimes this can lead to their attempting to deny the right of other religions to exist. This attitude on the part of zealots can even result in the justification of murder of those who believe differently.

As a result, we have had massacres, inquisitions, pogroms and bloodshed in the name of religion throughout history.  The Crusades are an example as are the Shia-Sunni division in Islam and the Roman Catholic-Protestant division in Christianity, all of which involved the killing of people who believed differently.  When the Biblical Israelites entered the Promised Land, they did not treat those already living there kindly.

What I am getting at is that a great deal of the trouble in this world can be blamed on people who believe too fervently in their chosen religion.  To me, that is a greater curse than a total lack of religious belief or having faith in things like witchcraft or devil-worship. 

It appears that of the three major Western religions, Judaism and Christianity have matured sufficiently so that they no longer insist on their respective faith’s exclusivity.  Islam, the youngest of the three, has not yet reached that point, and some of its adherents still believe in jihad, a war or struggle against non-believers in Islam, which does not exclude violence.  In the Middle East where Islam is dominant, sadly, religious belief and politics are inseparable. 

A word of caution: Be careful of those who take their religious beliefs too seriously, putting them ahead of their membership in the human race.  Their zealotry can lead to violence. Religion and its rituals seek to provide comforting answers to questions which are unanswerable for many.  That is good, but that is all it should be.  It should never be a justification for violence against those who believe otherwise.

A religion which cannot even tacitly accept the existence of other religions and which denies their right to seek another path to the mountaintop is very dangerous.  It can inspire its most zealous followers to commit heinous acts.  This has been true throughout history, and it remains true today.

JL

HOW TO BE ALERTED TO FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.

Many readers of this blog are alerted by Email every time a new posting appears.  If you wish to be added to that Email list, just let me know by sending me an email at Riart1@aol.com.

HOW TO CONTACT ME or CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL TO JACKSPOTPOURRI.com 

Contact me by email at Riart1@aol.com.   YOU ALSO CAN SEND ME YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN THIS BLOG AS WELL AS YOUR COMMENTS AT THAT ADDRESS.  (Comments can also be made by clicking on the "Post a Comment" link at the blog's end, though few followers of the blog have done that lately.)

MOBILE DEVICE ACCESS.

DID YOU KNOW THAT www.jackspotpourri.com IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES IN A MODIFIED, EASY-TO-READ, FORMAT?   

HOW TO VIEW OLDER POSTINGS.                                                

To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking. THESE FEATURES, ALONG WITH OTHER VALUABLE “SIDEBAR” ITEMS, INCLUDING ADVERTISEMENTS, MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE ON ALL MOBILE DEVICES.  CHECK THEM OUT ON YOUR DESKTOP OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS.

HOW TO FORWARD POSTINGS.

To send this posting to a friend, or enemy for that matter, whom you think might be interested in it, just click on the envelope with the arrow on the "Comments" line directly below, enabling you to send them an Email providing a link directly to this posting.  You might also want to let me know their Email address so that they may be alerted to future postings.

Jack Lippman