This page is for anyone who is open to the reality that division and conflict are not just problems for politicians and diplomats to solve. It is for people who accept that division begins at the personal level and that they are personally responsible for establishing and maintaining healthy relationships whenever and wherever they can at the micro scale and macro scale.

Religious and nonreligious people will be surprised to learn that the bible has much to say about how make the world better by loving one another and making the world better through their relationships. They may also be surprised to learn that making the world better through healthy relationships (i.e. loving your neighbor as yourself) is the central teaching of the bible. Instruction on how to do healthy relationships are the practical nuts and bolts of how to love your neighbor. It may not be surprising, therefore, to recognize that the bible says nothing about social or political activism as remedies for conflict resolution.

Sociologists research how unhealthy relationship behaviors migrate through generations of families. Here is what Perplexity ai reports on this topic:

Unhealthy relationships can migrate through generations due to the transmission of unresolved trauma and maladaptive behaviors within families. Studies show that children mimic their parents’ behaviors and learn how to cultivate relationships based on their parents’ modeling, which can perpetuate unhealthy patterns. Unresolved trauma from one generation can affect the well-being of future generations, often transmitted through the parent-child relationship, leading to emotional unavailability and repeated abuse or neglect. This can result in the perpetuation of unhealthy relationship patterns, as individuals may replicate the behaviors and coping mechanisms they learned from their caregivers. Breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma involves working through one’s own trauma and learning about the needs of their children to provide them with the love they need, thus preventing the transmission of unhealthy relationship patterns to the next generation.

Less is known about how unhealthy relationships migrate through neighborhoods, businesses, cities and states to nations and the world to create negative in influences on politics and diplomacy at all levels of government but here is what Perplexity ai reports about the global impact of mutual love and respect:

The concept of mutual love and respect is emphasized as a fundamental element in various contexts, including relationships, marriage, and global harmony. In the context of marriage, mutual love and respect are seen as essential for balancing a relationship and fostering a successful marital bond. Furthermore, the importance of mutual respect in building lasting friendships and fostering genuine relationships is highlighted, with an emphasis on earning and maintaining respect rather than demanding it. Additionally, the idea of sowing the seeds of peace and harmony through mutual love and respect is presented as a way to contribute to a more caring and loving world and to strengthen global relationships. Therefore, the principles of mutual love and respect are not only significant in personal and marital relationships but are also considered important in contributing to a more harmonious and peaceful world.

The spread of good and/or evil behaviors in society through relationships proves what the bible says about reaping what you sow and reaping what others sow. In other words, the consequences of bad behavior and good behavior have a way of infecting others far and wide for good or ill.  It is foolish, therefore, to expect or even hope that politicians will do their jobs better if their constituents do not change how they manage their personal relationships.

These consequences of both good and evil behavior that happen close to us are easier to observe, but sooner or later those consequences will come back to affect us personally for good or ill. In America and the world, the ill effects are accumulating rapidly and alarmingly. In the bible the effects of bad relationship behaviors are called leprosy and the consequences of good behavior are called blessings.

Another way to look at this dynamic is to be aware that how we treat others is contagious. We can clearly see these effects in our face-to-face (i.e. micro-scale) relationships but we do not see them so clearly in distant/remote relationships (i.e. macro-scale). To understand how our micro-scale relationships influence micro-scale relationships, it is useful to recognize that each individual on planet earth is a member of a large network of relationships that reaches all the way up to the highest levels of national and international politicians and diplomats .  Human interactions are never purely neutral. Every human interaction, therefore, triggers other human interactions for good or ill throughout the macro-scale network of relationships. This imagery helps us to appreciate how we are personally responsible for division in our families, in government and international relationships.

When politicians and diplomats experience good human interactions in their network of micro-scale relationships, they are more likely to relate to one another in healthy ways in their professional, legislative and diplomatic relationships. This is how the world becomes a better place. It is a slow process but it will be fruitful if individuals do what they can to make their little corner of the world better. The process begins with us at home, in our neighborhoods, at work, in our charity work, political activism, and even in the voting booth.

Unfortunately, Judaism and Christianity have not emphasized teachings about how to love your neighbor in their doctrinal teaching and writing. They mention micro-scale love, of course, but fail to define Godly love that describes attitudes and behaviors that constitute God’s idea of macro-scale love. Jews and Christians understand human love but they err in assuming that human, micro-scale love is the equivalent of Godly, micro-scale love. This thinking wrongly creates God in the image of man and obstructs God’s macro scale ideals about loving your neighbor.

Understanding of the differences between Godly love and human love is especially critical in the current era of the rise of Christian Nationalism which conflates Christianity with conservative political extremism as reported in Perplexity ai:

The conflation of Christianity with conservative political extremism has been a subject of concern and debate. Some experts have warned about the rise of Christian nationalism and its influence on conservative politics in the United States. Christian nationalism is characterized by the belief that the country should be governed by conservative Christian values and that Christianity should have a privileged position in the public sphere. This ideology has been associated with efforts to instrumentalize conservative religion to advance a right-wing vision and has been linked to concerns about radicalism and its impact on democratic processes. The term “Christian dominionism” has also been used to describe a radical theology advocating for the establishment of the United States as a Christian nation governed by conservative Christian principles. These dynamics have led to discussions about the potential influence of Christian extremists on conservative political figures and the broader implications for society. It’s important to note that these concerns are specific to certain segments of Christianity and do not represent the religion as a whole.

There are two schools of thought about the relationship between religion and politics. One school says that politics evolve out of religion and the other says that religion evolves out of politics. The exact relationship between personal religion and personal politics no doubt varies from person to person, but the  common factor is religion (typically Christianity).

Christian Nationalists boldly and proudly represent their religious and biblical beliefs whenever and wherever they can to establish their legitimacy to control government. Because they do this, it is right and fair to evaluate what they say and what they do with respect to God’s commands about how to love your neighbor. By saying that they believe in God and follow the teachings of Jesus, Christian Nationalists imply with certainty and force that their beliefs and actions are reliably informed by, and consistent with biblical principles. If their claims are true, they may have some legitimacy to serve in positions of leadership. If their claims are false, they are illegitimate leaders who are unqualified to serve as God’s representatives in government. The table below is a tool for evaluating their claims. It is also a tool for evaluating representations Jews and Christians make about how their beliefs and practices agree or disagree with God’s commands.

The sayings below are paraphrases of scripture. Jews and Christians will recognize most sayings but even people who do not believe that God exists and have no faith in the bible can agree that the world would be more peaceful if everyone followed these principles. This speaks to the practicality of God’s commandments.

SCRIPTURES THAT DETAIL THE  SPECIFICS OF HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR	THE REALITY OF HOW JEWS AND CHRISTIANS RELATE TO OTHERS	THE REALITY OF HOW CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTS RELATE TO OTHERS
Be like-minded.	Jews and Christians are not like-minded in their beliefs. Even within Judaism and Christianity there are strong differences in religious beliefs and practices.	Christian Nationalists are not like-minded in their beliefs with other religions.
Be sympathetic and love one another.	Jews and Christians claim to be sympathetic and loving toward one another, but their attitudes and behaviors reveal the opposite.	Christian Nationalists are not sympathetic and loving toward people who do not share their religious beliefs.
Be compassionate and humble.	Jews and Christians claim to be compassionate but their compassion typically only extends to members of their own religion. Jews and Christians claim to be humble, but the truth is that they are both very proud of their religion and their membership in that religion.	Christian Nationalists are not compassionate toward people who do not share their religious beliefs. In fact, Christian Nationalists have a strategy to subdue all other religions as they establish Christian Nationalism as the dominant religion in America.
Strive for perfect harmony.	Jews and Christians may occasionally pray together but to say that they strive for perfect harmony on religious matters would be a gross exaggeration.	Christian Nationalists are not even harmonious with people who share their religious and political beliefs; the make no effort to strive for perfect harmony with people who do not share their religious beliefs.
Encourage one another	Examples of Jews and Christians encouraging one may happen on a one-to-one basis but not religion to religion.	Christian Nationalists are far more likely to use lies, deception and violence in their relationships than encourage.
Be of one mind.	Some Jews and Christians are of one mind regarding politics and other worldly issues but they are never of one mind regarding religion.	Christian Nationalists are not even like-minded with people who share their religious and political beliefs; they make no effort to be like-minded with people who do not share their religious beliefs.
Live in peace.	Jews and Christians live in relative peace in a technical sense but their hearts are not at peace regarding the other religion.	Christian Nationalists do nothing to create peaceful relationships.
Live together in unity.	Jews and Christians live in unity in a technical sense but their hearts are not unified regarding religion.	Christian Nationalists do nothing to live in unity — not even within their own religious and political relationships.
Agree with one another in what you say.	Some Jews and Christians  may agree with one another on topics like politics and other worldly issues but they never agree about religious beliefs and practices.	Christian Nationalists do not even agree with people who share their religious and political beliefs and even more so with people who do not share their religious and political beliefs.
That there be no divisions among you.	Jews and Christians have always been divided on religious beliefs and practices.	Christian Nationalists are often divided among people who share their religious and political beliefs; they make no effort to heal divisions with people who do not share their religious and political beliefs.
That you be perfectly united in mind and thought.	Jews and Christians have never been perfectly united in mind and thought on religious beliefs and practices.	Christian Nationalists are not even united in mind and thought with people who share their religious and political beliefs; they make no effort to be united with people who do not share their religious and political beliefs.
Live in harmony with one another.	Most Jews and Christians live in harmony with one another in a technical sense but never regarding religious beliefs and practices.	Christian Nationalists do not even live in harmony with people who share their religious and political beliefs; they make no effort to live in harmony with people who do not share their religious and political beliefs.
Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.	All Jews and Christians are proud of their religion and are generally unwilling to worship with each other.	Christian Nationalists are proud of their religious and political associations and are unwilling to associate with people who do not share their political and religious beliefs.
Do not be conceited.	All Jews and Christians are conceited in their convictions that their religion is the one perfect religion that is approved by God.	Christian Nationalists conceitedly believe that their religious and political beliefs are inspired by and directed by God.
Be like-minded, having the same love.	Some Jews and Christians are like-minded about politics and other worldly issues but never about religious beliefs and practices.	Christian Nationalists make no effort to adjust their beliefs with people who do not share their religious and political beliefs.
Be one in spirit and of one mind.	Jews and Christians are not of one spirit and one mind with each other or with other Jews and Christians of other denominations.	The fact that Christian Nationalists are internally and externally divided proves that they are not of one spirit and one mind.
Lay down your personal interests for your neighbors.‎	Jews and Christians may help one another materially in crisis situations but neither practices sacrificial love.‎	Christian Nationalists obstinately resist laying down their religious and political beliefs.

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This is only a short list of God’s commands that relate love to religion and politics. This list includes attitudes of the heart more than behaviors. But, when Godly love characteristics are present in the heart, loving, respectful behaviors will also be present in day-to-day, personal (micro-scale) interactions. Conversely, when un-loving, disrespectful attitudes (i.e. anti-love) are not present in the heart, Godly, loving behaviors will be absent also.

Because both Godly love and anti-love are contagious, it is imperative that all people evaluate their behaviors often for evidence of the condition of their hearts. People who believe that the state of the world is as good as it can be will conclude that their hearts are pure   People who believe that much injustice exists in the world will conclude that global heart change is necessary and do not exclude their own hearts. That is the only way to make the world better. **

With this perspective in mind, even Jews and Christians will be forced to admit that these principles are not reliably present in either religion. In fact, it can be said, indeed it must be said, that the attitudes of religious people are contrary to these principles. Consider the following analysis:

• Most scriptures do not include the word “love” but there should be no confusion that they are detailed examples of God’s specific commands to love your neighbor. People who are familiar with the bible know that he always introduces a command in one place and then clarifies and expands on it in many other locations throughout the bible. This is the case for detailed commands about how to love your neighbor.
• The commands in the above list may not seem to carry the weight of the Ten Commandments. Actually, these and other principles in Make the World Better are implicit in the Ten Commandments. Jews, Christians and some nonreligious people consider the Ten Commandments to be sum total of all God’s commands and believe that if they can obey the ten in their literal meanings they pass God’s litmus test for obedience to all his laws.  This is wrong thinking. The Ten Commandments are only brief summaries of all other commandments found in the bible — including those listed above and elsewhere on this page. See The Law for a comprehensive study of God’s commandments.
• Because Jews and Christians have always interpreted the bible literally, they have failed to understand biblical symbolism and details of God’s character distributed throughout the bible. Focusing on the literal Ten Commandments, they have disobeyed the multitude of scriptures that instruct them in the finer points of loving their neighbor. As a result, Jews and Christians have always lived in religious and political environments fraught with violence and division.
• Despite their professed belief that God is capable of doing all kinds of miracles, despite their claim that the bible is a reliable guide for living, and despite their claim to trust him for all their needs, they accept long-standing divisions in religion and politics as facts of life to be endured. They never explore what God has commanded each of them to do to establish unity by loving their neighbor. Pride prevents them from understanding that their personal failure to obey these commands contributes to social/religious/political division and pervasive injustice. This attitude exposes a serious lack of faith that God is willing and able to miraculously change hearts and minds — including theirs — so that unity can be achieved. They hypocritically claim that God is all powerful and able to do great miracles while silently admitting that even He does not have the power to create peace.

Most Jews and Christians are very skilled at quoting scripture but are woefully inept at identifying and applying scriptural commands to love their neighbor. They take great pride in their knowledge of literal scriptures that they wrongly interpret as commands to create religious activity, but ignore God’s commandments about how to love their neighbors. And then they employ common, worldly remedies (e.g.  prayer, protests, political activism, etc.) to deal  with all their personal, political and religious conflicts.  It never occurs to them that their personal failure to obey God’s commands to love their neighbors is the cause of social and political division. Lack of insight into these intellectual and moral disconnects reveals the incredible deceptive power of religion and deep religious pride.  The purpose of this page is to bring God’s commandments into clear view so that they might be convicted of their sins of omission and sins of commission and change their attitudes and behaviors.

The sayings in the table below are from the bible. They are all practical examples of attitudes and behaviors that God prescribes to make the world better. These attitudes and behaviors will make the world better for people who are religious and for those who are not. It is not necessary to be religious to obey these principles. In fact, it could be said that religious beliefs interfere with understanding.

These sayings do not typically appear in the bible with “thus saith the Lord” clarity that says they are commandments with the same weight and authority as the Ten Commandments. Some sayings are exact quotes from scripture and some sayings are paraphrases of scriptures. Nonetheless, each statement should be interpreted as a commandment, law, statute, ordinance, precept or judgment that applies to all people –not just Jews and Christians. Since God is love, these statements should be regarded as expressions of who God is because he reveals himself and his love through his words which are commandments.

Religious people who like to think that they are created in God’s image should want to adjust their attitudes and behaviors to be aligned with God’s character. This hope should be especially true for Christian Nationalists who claim to be on assignment by God to reform world governments to conform to their vision of how governments should run and who runs them. Christian Nationalists do not know that their vision opposes God’s commands about how to love your neighbor. Anyone who recognizes this threat would do well to share the truth about what God really wants with Christian Nationalists. Who knows? Maybe some of them will recognize the truth and turn from their wicked ways.

These saying should cause religious people who claim to follow God to conduct their relationships differently. If religious people did have a mind to incorporate these attitudes and behaviors into their lives, the first thing  they would do is humble themselves to admit their hypocrisy and disobedience to God’s commands about loving their neighbors. And then they should make conscious efforts to change their ways. Making these adjustments in attitudes and behaviors to agree with God’s commands is an example of laying down your life so that you can love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Non-religious people will easily recognize the wisdom and logic found in these sayings. Many non-religious may be surprised to learn that their own attitudes and behaviors are better aligned with God’s commands than the attitudes and behaviors of their religious neighbors.

While reading these sayings, people concerned about the state of the world will be comforted and exited to imagine what the world would be like if everyone would relate to others in these kind, gentle, respectful ways. Then, if they practice these principles, share them with others, and vote for political leaders who practice these principles, legislative bodies will eventually be filled with lawmakers who legislate with these principles in mind. This process is necessary to make the world better. And that is exactly what God had in mind when he gave these commands to teach people the practical ways to love their neighbors as they love themselves.

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ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS IN ALL RELATIONSHIPS, RELIGION AND POLITICS

• Do not be excessively self-righteous in your religious activity and do not be overly wise in your religious knowledge.
• Do not be excessively self-righteous in your political activity and do not be overly wise in your political knowledge.
• Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
• Do not be wise in your own eyes; turn away from people who do evil.
• If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;
• If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
• Accept people who, in your opinion, are weak in their beliefs and do not quarrel with them about their beliefs.
• Do not judge one another.

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• Do not seek political or religious status and praise for yourself.
• Do not be conceited about your religious knowledge or your political beliefs.
• Do not slander one another.
• Do not practice your self-righteousness before men to be noticed by them.
• When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to pray in public. When you pray, pray in secret.
• Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.

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• Do not neglect the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.
• Everyone who exalts himself through religion and/or politics will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
• Do not be hypocrites who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far away from him. Their worship means nothing because their religious and political doctrines are created by men — not God.
• It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles a man, but what proceeds out of the mouth defiles a man. The things that proceed out of the mouth come from a defiled heart.
• Religious and political leaders exercise authority over people. Whoever wishes to be a religious or political leader shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

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• The greatest among you shall be your servant.
• If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.
• Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
• Religious and political leaders lord it over people and call themselves benefactors. Do not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. Do not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
• Religious and political leaders do all their deeds to be noticed by men. They love the place of honor at banquets, chief seats in churches, and respectful greetings wherever they go. They love being called teachers and leaders.  Do not call anyone a religious teacher for you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth pastor or priest. Do not call anyone a religious or political leader. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

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• “Woe to religious and political leaders because you devour widows’ houses; for show you make speeches, quote the bible  and pray.
• Woe to religious leaders; you are hypocrites because you travel around on sea and land to make converts who become twice the sons of hell as they are.
• Woe to political leaders; you are hypocrites because you travel around on sea and land to earn votes and solicit campaign donations and votes.
• Woe to religious and political leaders; you are hypocrites! You pay your religious tithes but have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done.
• Woe to religious and political leaders; you are hypocrites! You look righteous on the outside when you practice your religion, but inside you are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

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• Woe to religious and political leaders; you are hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside you are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
• Prideful religious leaders and politicians make speeches and practice their religion to make themselves look good in the sight of men, but God knows their hearts. That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
• It is the job of political leaders to do justice.
• We are surrounded by iniquity, wickedness, destruction, violence, strife and contention because wicked religious and political leaders ignore God’s laws and never do justice. Therefore justice comes out perverted.

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• If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the nation, do not be shocked at the sight; one political/religious leader watches over another political/religious leader, and there are higher political/religious leaders over them.
• Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before him.
• Psalm15: LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; 4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.
• Religious and political leaders make decisions favorable to people who bribe them.
• Religious leaders receive pay to teach and prophesy while saying that God is directing their words and actions.

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• The violence of wicked religious/political leaders will sweep them away because they refuse to make laws that are just for all people.
• Mockers stir up a nation, but wise people do not get angry or retaliate when it happens.
• Drive out a mocker and strife, conflict, quarreling and insults will cease.
• To be honest and just is more desirable than self-righteous religious activity and political activism.
• Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

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• Job 31:16-23: If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

INTERPRETATION: The author of this scripture says that if he was guilty of any of the acts highlighted in bold he would want that his arm should fall from his shoulder and broken off at the joint.