Disrespecting The Koran
From Dr. Yaron Brook from the Ayn Rand Institute:
Muslims demand that non-Muslims show respect for the Koran. But does the Koran deserve our respect?Some argue that it doesn’t because on 9/11 the murder of 3,000 Americans was committed in its name. Others, including our President and government, argue that bin Laden and his henchmen misinterpret the Koran and have “hijacked a great religion.”
Neither side grasps that there is a fundamental standard by which to permanently decide the question of respect for the Koran. Above all else the Koran--and it is certainly not unique in this regard--demands that all human beings surrender their reason and submit to faith, i.e., to the acceptance of an idea in the absence of perceptual evidence or rational proof. On this basis alone the Koran should be rejected by all human beings--because surrendering one’s reason is the very essence and cause of human depravity and evil.
In other words, how about a little disrespect for all books that require the rejection of reason for belief? Hey, you believers out there, surely you'd sneer at some third world person who believed in what their witch doctor told them to think -- like, that there's a sun god or a toe god, or that marrying two giant toads will make it rain.
So, why is belief in what your rabbi or minister told you to think, also without any evidence, any more sensible? Irrational belief in god is what causes prohibitions against stem cell research and gays getting equal rights -- and gets people flying planes into buildings and sending their 16-year-olds out to be blown up. Oh, will they get 72 virgins upon death? Right. Easy to believe that -- and all other sorts of irrational crap -- after you make the leap to believing in god without proof.
Take away belief in god, and there goes the TSA, getting to the airport hours and hours ahead of time, and our reason for war in the middle east, to name just a few. If nutbags didn't believe in god, the middle east would probably be a center of commerce, science, and industry instead of a center of death and repression, and, in our own patch of the planet, we'd probably have cures for more diseases and a lot less sexual repression. Instead, we've got people in Congress arguing according to the direction of their witch doctors. Does it get sicker or more primitive?
You may disprespect someone's religion, you may
even do so with good reason. However openly
sneering at it fails the test of basic politeness.
We must respect the other fellow's
religion, but only in the sense and to
the extent that we respect his theory
that his wife is beautiful and his
children smart.
H. L. Mencken
Ron at June 6, 2005 6:44 AM
His theory that his wife is beautiful and his children are smart doesn't endanger my life, hold back medical research, or force me to get to the airport two hours before my flight and have somebody shine a flashlight into my body cavities. Perhaps we don't have the luxury of that kind of "politeness."
Amy Alkon at June 6, 2005 6:53 AM
The real disappointment about the Koran abuse scandal is that they didn't also toss in the Bible and the Torah before flushing the toilet.
The Eternally Damned Lena Cuisina at June 6, 2005 8:41 AM
It is perverse that when innocent people are being killed and maimed every hour, the thing that gets them out to the streets is mistreatment of an inanimate object. Sorta like our gripe with burning the flag... the meaning of the object is not tied to the object itself.
I wonder if Lenas solution would make any difference, because I doubt it. It is desperation with circumstances and human nature combined that create this behavior. Add in the mob element, and stand back. Religion is the line in this sand, but it could just as easily be soccer team affiliation or skin color.
We need more Menckens today. I think he also said something about "every honorable man with a conscience is ashamed of his government".
eric at June 6, 2005 10:43 AM
Historically, the practice of assigning meaning to skin color has been driven by religious convictions (eg, bringing Christ to the dark-skinned "savages"). Let's just flush it all. It'll only take a minute, and it's a lot cheaper than psychotherapy for the masses.
As far as team affiliation... Bruins are genetically superior to Trojans, across the board.
"We need more Menckens today."
WE NEED MORE LENAS!
50,000,000 Lena can't be wrong! at June 6, 2005 11:13 AM
I don't know Lena- I would say assigning skin color meaning was more of an economic motive than a religious one. Even the strife going on in Iraq today between the Shiites and Sunni's stems from economic/political rivalry, not religious differences.
But if you want to flush them all, you'll get no arguments from me. I'll just hide the Wisdom of Buddha, Upanishads and Tao Te Ching under the floorboards...
"The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt". - Bertrand Russell.
(Sounds alot like the Democrats vs. Republicans)
eric at June 6, 2005 12:00 PM
Actually, tribalism -- in group/out group -- is evolutionary. "Us" was the band of people we share food with -- "them" is all the rest of them -- the people we not only don't share food with but maybe even kill. It's all quite primitive.
That said, it seems wise for secular groups -- groups where secular ethics are the thing -- to form due to people's need to join and belong. When I mentioned this to some lady at the Atheist Alliance conference, she muttered something about not wanting to throw pizza socials to draw students like the fundamentalist groups do. Well, why the hell not? Sometimes the smart, rational thinkers are just plain dumb.
Amy Alkon at June 6, 2005 12:44 PM
And "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity" (WB Yeats).
"I would say assigning skin color meaning was more of an economic motive than a religious one."
Okay, the almightly dollar rules. Rather than a motivation, wouldn't you say that religion has served very effectively as a justification for assigning meaning to skin color? (I mean, look at the paintings: The son of God was lily-white. What more proof does Trent Lott need?)
Another question: what kind of wisdom is there to be found in the Upanishads? (FYI: Lena is quite Buddhism-friendly, much to the chagrin of her red-headed comrade in bitchiness.)
Lena "Avoiding Work" Cuisina at June 6, 2005 12:49 PM
Sure- religion has almost always served the interests of the economic interests of the ruling powers to the point that it was in their interests. Being an old UC Marxist economist (go Highlanders! Go Banana Slugs!) I just boil everything down to who gets what.
I didn't offer any wisdom from the Upanishads- I just enjoyed it when I was less jaded. How about "From untruth lead me to truth"? Thats in there somewhere...
For wisdom I generally consult "The Tao of Pooh" and smoke a joint.
-singing:
"Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Moslems,
And everybody hates the Jews."
Tom Lehrer, National Brotherhood Week
eric at June 6, 2005 1:25 PM
For people who're too busy avoiding work to study spirituality or ethics, here's something to smoke a joint by:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195168909/103-1741225-4509445?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books&v=glance
Lena at June 6, 2005 1:38 PM
PS- If 72 virgins is what you are after, you probably have a much better chance if you are Hindu and recycle through eternity. 72 may sound like alot, but eternity is a long time....
eric, still looking for 1 at June 6, 2005 1:55 PM
"72 may sound like a lot,"
Actually, 72 sounds like a decent weekend.
Lena the Skewer at June 6, 2005 11:22 PM
I'd hate to have your dry cleaning bill Lena.
eric at June 7, 2005 8:48 AM
http://www.reandev.com/taliban/
No comment needed
Stu "El Inglés" Harris at June 8, 2005 9:22 AM
Amy, when you write - "If nutbags didn't believe in god,... in our own patch of the planet, we'd probably have cures for more diseases and a lot less sexual repression." - do your thoughts, in general, also make room for the existance of "non-nutbags" who believe in God? People who are helping advance science and ultimately the cure for diseases and also believe in God?
For instance, men like Dr. Francis S. Collins, who I knew at the University of Michigan when he discovered the gene for cystic fibrosis. As the leader of the Human Genome project and head of the National Human Genome Research Institute, he is also an evangelical Christian. He wrote recently of his view that God, "who created the universe, chose the remarkable mechanism of evolution to create plants and animals of all sorts."
claire at June 8, 2005 10:05 AM
Good point there Claire....
Scary monsters Stu.
eric at June 8, 2005 11:17 AM
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