Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001 00:33:07 +0200 (CEST) From: Salvo Bartolotta <bartequi@neomedia.it> To: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> Cc: Elden Fenison <moon_dog@spamcop.net>, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Religions (was Re: helping victims of terror) Message-ID: <1003617187.3bd1fba3d31ff@webmail.neomedia.it>
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Terry Lambert wrote: > Elden Fenison wrote: >> This is simply false. Christianity teaches that the Bible is 100% >> God-inspired truth. This "modernized" Christianity you speak of is not >> Christianity at all. > I think perhaps you are confusing Christians and Bibliots. <snip> The Bible as a whole is considered a collection of inspired books; the development, or changes (esp. from OT to NT) being seen as subsequent moments of God's Word. Otherwise stated, God chose to say different things at different historical times -- or according to different historical times, if you prefer. However, scholars recognize, as it were, an _organic_ design (or divine perspective, if you like) underlying the whole Bible. That's "interpretation". By the way, the _striking universality_ of the NT should set you thinking -- whether you are an atheist or not. It is immaterial that a number of people (eg certain popes) have used the Bible and religion at large to achieve their goals. Inter alia, it is written: _Nolite possidere_...(!) I am not sure whether the same could be said of the Koran. Recently, I have spoken with a few historians of religion, among others. I was explicitly told that the "organic design" contained in the Koran is one of the worst forms of _totalitarianism_. In particular, the "moderate" parts in the Koran are only a means to an end. I have been revising a number of things lately. My history textbooks -- I live in Italy -- simply described the splendid Islamic civilization in the Mediterranean (well, in Spain and especially in Sicily), as well as its far-reaching cultural influence on Western thought. They were deliberately lying: a few ahem "minor" aspects (eg earlier massacres) were "omitted" or hinted at. Moreover, that's just _one part_ of the story: the western part. The _eastern_ part of the story is horrible to say the least. I now gather that, at a doctrinal level, there exists no "moderate" Islam at all. Of course, strong political reasons make all western political leaders speak of ahem "moderate Islam". Alas, you know... veritas parit odium. -- Salvo To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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