[ExI] Deuteronomy Chapter 13/was Re: Mary Magdelene?

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2009/6/9 painlord2k at libero.it <painlord2k at libero.it>:

> This is an order to the leaders for killing the people that ask a Jews
> to SECRETLY serve other gods or of Jews that SECRETELY serve other gods
> in the cities of the Land of Israel that was given to the Jews by their God.
>
> Given the time and places when this was recorded, I suppose it was only
> wise to distrust and punish people doing this type of stuff secretly as they
> probably would become spies and traitors. Given the time period, where
> genocidal actions were common, it is not strange to be strict on matters of
> national security. (*)

The terrible things these ancient books suggest that we do to people
were probably not out of keeping with what was common and acceptable
behaviour at the time. However, it isn't acceptable behaviour any
more, and the change is not in the books (obviously) but in society,
becoming increasingly secularised to the point where the nastier parts
of religious writing can be ignored or re-interpreted. This has
happened as recently as in the last few decades in the West:
previously unquestioned religious laws requiring that homosexuals be
killed or imprisoned have gradually faded away. But the problem with
Islam is that the secularisation process has not been allowed to occur
in many countries, or has actually been undone in places where it was
occurring, such as Afghanistan (whatever their other faults, the
Soviets were not big on religion).

> But the inconsistencies in the Bible could be argued be due to the humans
> that wrote it and our inability to comprehend it fully.
>
> The inconsistencies in the Quran can not be argued to be due to God, as it
> is his work and not the work of a man and he is always right.

I don't think many fundamentalist Christians would agree with you
about the Bible not being the word of God. In many passages the big
guy is actually quoted directly. You could say he was misquoted or
misunderstood, but that would be blasphemy in the eyes of many
Christians, as it is blasphemy for a Muslim to say that Mohamed
misquoted or misunderstood or misunderstood the Angel who dictated the
verses to him. Mohamed according to Islam is just a prophet like the
others who came before him (including Jesus), but he is the final
prophet who has the final word. Jesus actually has a special place in
Islam, the main point of difference with Christianity being that the
Muslims do not consider him to be God:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_views_of_Jesus.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou