'Cos That is a Rational Response

[Sukerkin]

I saw this on the BBC and I am sadly not surprised, given events in recent years:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8636455.stm

Is it any wonder that non-believers hold this not-yet-mature faith in such low regard?

Christians on this site have on occasion, to my agnostic mind, over-reacted to certain events or statements but they have not threatened to murder as a consequence of their displeasure. That sort of 'rebuttal of argument' is now in their churches past and it has grown in tolerance since those dark days.

Some have said that is a bad thing and they should be more outrageous in their responses. I disagree very strongly. For a person of faith to be able to face 'insults' to their faith with equanimity is a sure sign that, in them at least, their faith is one that encourages maturity of spirit.

A lesson yet to be learned elsewhere in the religious spectrum .

 

[Carol]

Hold the faith in low regard?

Do non-believers think all Muslims are alike, or that they all believe the same things?

What they don't show are people like my friend Omar...not our Omar here on MT...but a software engineer pal of mine who has the same name, that does just about everything he can to hide the fact that he is from a Muslim family of Lebanese descent.

The issue isn't faith or that the people are Muslim, or that Muslims must act a certain way when their faith is denigrated? The issue is a lack of an academically rigorous education. The better the education of the people, the less likely they will be to take on an extreme or fanatical religious view, no matter what the religion is.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

If your invisible guy in the sky can't stand up to a little criticism, a little humor, a little sarcasm or even a little insult, well, he or she is not really all that "Almighty" now eh?

 

[CoryKS]

They use these tactics because they work - very well. The fact that the most iconoclastic show on television chose to depict him hidden in a bear costume attests to that. The concern about the "Muslim street" in the leadup to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq attests to that. One Theo Van Gogh is sufficient to make countless other film directors think twice.

It's fashionable in certain circles to speak of fear of fundamentalist Christians, but that's a crock. Nobody fears Christians, even the superwhackadoo Phelps-type Christians. The evidence is in the language used when discussing them.

Face it, people may not respect your religion, but they'll respect your willingness to cut someone's head off. So what is their incentive to stop doing it?

 

[Empty Hands]

If your invisible guy in the sky can't stand up to a little criticism, a little humor, a little sarcasm or even a little insult, well, he or she is not really all that "Almighty" now eh?

They know he doesn't exist. Only someone racked through with extreme doubts would get so defensive. Or, they just like the power that their social control scheme called "Islam" brings them. Either way, not the mark of a believer without doubt.

 

[Sukerkin]

Hold the faith in low regard?

Do non-believers think all Muslims are alike, or that they all believe the same things?

I rather hoped people would take as read that all intelligent and reasonable people know that most members of a faith are not extremist loonies. The point I was drawing is that peoples perceptions will be coloured by such behaviour. Just ask an Irish person living in England during the 70's and early 80's if peoples view of them was altered by the actions of extremists of the same nationality as them. Even now, "Irish Catholic" is a synonym for "IRA Bomber" in some peoples minds.

As an individual, I hold all faiths in low regard for reasons that have been discussed elsewhere. Some I hold in lower regard than others because of their more historically recent actions, thus having taken place in an era where it has become unacceptable to use such methods for political gain (unless you're a powerful government of course).

I would much rather rid us of the trait that preaches "Be excellent to each other" in one breath and "Slay the infidel" in the other. The possible exception to this is Buddhism, which as far as my limited knowledge goes only has the former - probably because it isn't a religion that devolves from a Creator Deity but is rather more of a personal philosophy.

Until that day dawns, then threatening to murder the creators of a satirical cartoon show does not work to enamor the general public to your cause and hastens the time when religious extremism will be annihilated by political extremism (globally, if you buy into that portion of Revelation).

 

[Archangel M]

I remember back in the 80's when the controversial "Piss Christ" artwork was stirring up news.

I don't recall any large violent sentiment or calls for death from any notable Church representatives.

 

[CoryKS]

I remember back in the 80's when the controversial "Piss Christ" artwork was stirring up news.

I don't recall any large violent sentiment or calls for death from any notable Church representatives.

FWIW, I think that's an awesome looking piece of art. Giving it that name was a dick move, though. Had he called it something like "The Golden Reign* of Christ" and STFU about his technique, it would probably be hanging in a cathedral somewhere.


*see what I did there?