Keith Ellison made history Thursday, becoming the first Muslim member
of Congress and punctuating the occasion by taking a ceremonial oath
with a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson.
(From the NYTimes). I wonder if Jefferson every took scissors to the Quran to cut out all the ridiculous bits, the way he did to the Bible?
I cant believe you would even suggest such an abominable horror against the peaceful book of the Koran.
Why is that surprising? The man had thousands of books and had to deal with the crisis of (Muslim) Barbary Pirates seizing US ships.
I’ve been skipping Paul’s stuff for years. Stick to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and you’ve got everything you need.
I also own two Korans. Neither one is very readable in the translations I have. Any suggestions?
Is there any holy book that couldn’t use a liberal applications of scissors?
But then I sigh; and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil:
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ;
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.
Richard III in William Shakespeare’s Richard III
TGGP,
The Quran is not organized in chronological order. It is organized by the order when it was reveal to the Prophet.
M.D. Fatwa,
I’m convinced that there was an economic/political motivation for the interest-free law. Needless to say, it doesn’t jibe with today’s system of international finance. Sharia banking is just a way to get around a bizarre law. However, it may succeed. Major investment firms are getting in on the game and the oil Arabs are awash in money which I’m assuming (perhaps naively) is not earning interest.
Alan:
We are not characterizing islam as violent because of what happened a thousand years ago. It is charactered that way because of what is happening NOW. Islam would have a “free pass” as well if it didn’t inspire violence TODAY.
Christianity and other religions do not inspire violence today. It is hard to argue that Islam does not.
They arent doing it in the name of religion. Muslims are, and they make no qualms about it. Christianity did not inspire the Iraq war. The soldiers are not inspired by Christianity. That is obvious. So no, I do not jest. But I can also assume they you do.
Rick and M.D. Fatwa,
The West is not conducting its wars and operations in the name of religion and much of the Islamic world is. This is true.
Keep in mind that the West is dominating the world in economic and military power. Therefore, it is less difficult to rally the public around policy and thus softer themes such as democracy and liberty will suffice. If your people are poor hungry and desperate and you can’t provide because of crippling sanctions or a foreign navy in your backyard, then you (the Muslim leaders/despots) will be forced to invoke the path to heaven and the glory of the afterlife. Christians and Muslims are not on a political and economic even footing right now.
Granted, when Germany reacted to the economic squeeze following WWI, it used extreme nationalism. But the fact remains that French Jews were hauled out of Paris restaurants to board trains to hell while their Catholic compatriots were left alone. Christian hatred of Jews was used to rally society especially in conquered non-German lands.
The United States and Europe today preside over global domination under the guise of freedom and human rights. 9-11 showed us how easily these cherished ideals are brushed aside when power and security are called into question. If you look at this from a broader perspective, you will see that Judeo-Christian ideals are only superficially buried beneath the surface. And if you can rule the world without invoking religion, you should do so; it’s certainly less messy.
Finally, neither of you made a convincing argument that the creation of a “Jewish state† where people are given preference based on their religion and where land and property is confiscated from non-Jews by invoking religious text that is thousands of years old is in fact not violence inspired by religion.
If we are to say that Jesus was merely a man and ignore all of the supernatural stuff in the gospel, why should we devote our time to the teachings of Jesus as opposed to any other moral teacher? What angers me about those who merely follow the “teachings of Jesus” is that they don’t in fact follow the teachings of Jesus. Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. He claimed to have the power to forgive sins and command legions of angels. He taught that only though him can we come to the father. Spare me this nonsense about Jesus being a “great moral teacher.” Go back and actually READ the gospel and tell me how well you like the teachings of Jesus. You have to make a choice. The man was either the son of God, a complete liar, or a lunatic.
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