That's about 400 people at most out of close to 300 million people.
The 400 are accountable to the 300 million. The 300 million can, and frequently do, throw them out of their jobs. That makes a difference.
Religious law DOES change.
It changes because it was not made by God. It was made by people who use the God-figure to preempt any attempt at making them accountable. But no matter how much they change the laws, they always pretend that their own version is "the truth".
You don't think accountability, and the ability to change law at the request of those who are governed, rather than at the whim of those who govern, are differences?
All of us -- you, me, everyone here on SI -- ultimately goes back to some basic principles we accept on faith
Our attribution of these beliefs makes a key difference. Some of us believe that our personal beliefs are individual variations on flexible, dynamic themes developed by thousands of generations of humans, in an evolutionary process in which compromise and change are key elements. Some of us believe that our beliefs are absolute truths, revealed to somebody, somewhere by a supreme being.
I hope you see a difference there.
Two statements:
1. We are responsible for developing the codes of conduct and the means of enforcing those codes that best suit our purposes. We must balance the pleasure of the majority with the protection of the minority.
2. The religious intermediaries should decide for us, and we should do whatever they say. After all, God talks to them and not to us, so we must be worms, fit only to grovel and obey.
Do you see no difference? |
