I know i should just read but i can't resist....... there is no such thing as EVIL religion.....Islam, Jews, Christianity, Hindu ect.....the ACTUAL religion and beliefs from he practice are two different things......you cannot find any passage in the Koran where followers are told to fly a plane into the WTC.....and its important to differentiate men who use religion as a rationalization for their power garb from the actually beliefs...the conquest of the Americas by Spain had little to do with religion and everything to do with Gold and Silver....it just sounds better claiming you are trying to 'save ' them....didn't;t Saddam go into Kuwait under the same disguise??...
Then by that logic, when a religion prescribes violations of those rights you hold so dear it becomes "evil", does it not? In that case I'll just take it that you have no idea about Islam.
Maybe not, but I can certainly find that sentiment expressed in there, in quite clear instructions, too. Er... no.
I think that this is a good point (similar to a point I made earlier about the twisted use of Christianity for evil purposes). The only problem is that the Koran DOES preach intolerance and hatred, whereas the other religions don't (and not having a verse stating to fly a plane into the wtc was frankly a lame way to illustrate your point). Those who used Christianity to kill were perverting the religion, which preaches love and tolerance (as, again, all the religions other than Islam do). It is funny now how, at some universities, they are trying to get students to become pc by reading an edited version of the Koran (that takes out all the hatred and intolerance). None of this is to say that all Muslims practice hatred and intolerance, but those that don't do so because they see beyond the worst of the Koran. And yes, not all of Islamic history is bad, let alone worse than Christian history during certain periods (especially since what was relatively good in much of history would still be considered oppressive today). But as people become more educated, and as most of the world has tried to become more civil, many Muslims and islamic governments have not only stayed in the dark ages of history, but they have only embraced more and more the radical, hateful and intolerant portions of the Koran and other interpretations on the religion. This is something that has to be challenged, just like Nazism and all the other ethnic genocides that have occurred or attempted to occur over the last century (right up through the present). And it is ashame that the touchy feely, ignorant ultra-liberals actually keep trying to make excuses for these radicals and their actions.
I think a big problem with discussions of this sort is that people always tend to interperet their own religion in a particular way that fits with modern ideas of morality. Whereas an outsider would simply read it literally. I've read the Bible and the Koran a bit, and I have found very disturbing explicit instructions to commit violence in both, although to be fair, in the case of the Bible it's all in the old testament and not nearly as numerous and shocking as instances in the Koran. But I think an outsiders perspective (I'm an atheist) of Christianity gives some insight into how the typical Muslim may choose to interperet the Koran in a particular way that even Western cultures would generally find to be moral. But I do think the Koran is particularly shocking and I would actually go so far as to say it would be a stretch to say it is not "evil". The Bible somewhat less so. We're just fortunate that most Muslims are just human beings like the rest of us and therefore cannot help but interperet their religion in a way that is much more humane. But unfortunately I have to insist that it is only an interperetation. Everyone should read the Koran and the Bible and other religious texts a bit just for the historical perspective.
Bolts, I agree. Still, I think you're trying a bit too hard to be even handed by saying the Bible is only "somewhat" less evil than the Koran. Are you kidding? I'm not aware of any explicit instructions to kill non-Christians, are you? On the contrary, Jesus preached a sublime message of universal love that I find so uplifiting I actually couldn't even care if Christianity is "true". Contrast that to Islam's founder: murderer, rapist, paedophile (or near enough), war monger. They're not even close. Then look at today. How many Christians do we hear about blowing themselves up in the name of Jesus? It's not even remotely possible to interpret such a thing as a "Christian act". Completely different story with Islam. In that case one hell of an "interpretation" is required for it not to be a good Muslim act. I think it is absolutely appalling that we're letting liberals pull the wool over our eyes on this one. How can we even begin to deal with the problem while people aren't being allowed to even become aware of just how bad it is? Can you imagine what the response by somthing like the NY Times would be if Christians were the ones acting and speaking like the Muslims in the Middle East do?
I dunno, Alfonso. I don't have all the answers, I just wish people would try to learn more about the worlds religions and ideologies and decide for themselves before declaring them good or evil or even "peaceful", if you will.
i find it interesting no one has asked an obvious question- what the definition of "evil" is and, more importantly, how that definition is justified. so what's your source of morality candle? here's a mini poll for you (and anyone else who would like to reply) My moral judgments (determination of what is good and what is evil) are based on: a) personal preference (each individual decides for himself) b) societal agreement (whatever the majority agrees is best) c) technocracy (whatever the really smart people say) d) an objective standard that exists outside and above man e) no clue, i just like pretending to be an intellectual so i can make fun of the unwashed masses
Actually Dark I believe I did ask that question; "what is 'evil' anyway?". As I have said prior, I don't belive any of the above religions to be inherently evil (Islamic religion could be, but I don't know enough about it to state one way or the other). To answer your above question; I have no choice, but to answer A. With the exception of D - I don't see how anyone could ever go along with the other choices. For D, I would need to see some concrete proof before I could let go of my own and follow... PEACE and good-specul8tion...