> I think you mean "environment" rather than "history".
Nope!
> The latter suggests that a religion changes through time as history unfolds
It does. Clearly the magnitude of change is greatest in the earlier years. But religion changes through out. And if per chance there is a great shock to the system, religion will change drastically. Consider that Islam did not really solidify for its first 400 years. Even then, it continued to change for another 400 years. And even as late as late 19th century, it was still giving rise to various sects and off shoot religions. As another example, consider that Zoroasterians originally welcomed everyone to their faith. However after they migrated to India, they mixed concepts of religion and race (similar to what the Jews did) to avoid loss of identity.
> I cannot say my knowledge of Islam is anywhere near exhaustive, but neither can I think of any part of it that has changed through time...
So you think that the many sects of Sunnis such as Hambali, Hanafi, Bukharai, Wahaabi, etc and the Shia sects such as Jafari, Zeydi, Ismaili, etc, and even the free-form sects of Islam such as Khawarej, Suffis, Motazellah and so on all existed from the day one and were not effected by the political process? Or are you saying they are not Muslim?
> When was there only one Imam, which could be compared to a King?
In Shia that has always been the case. In case of Jafari (the 12-Imam sect) this was the case until 15th centur AD (I think) whereby the religion came to believ the 12th Imam is the Messiah hidden from the oppressive governments until revived by God in a later date.
> Actually I checked with Google, and it seems peacock meat is quite "halal"
I don't see the word "peacock" in the list. Like I said, going by the rules, peacock would be halal. But I have read instructions that made the exception for the peacock.
> it seems to me that religions change so little through history that any change is a rare exception.
Sorry...I disagree. See above. The best way to look at religion, I think, is to look at it the same way one views a nation. In fact, the word "nation" in the middle east means "fallowers of a religion". For example, when America was formed it went through many changes in its early decades. These changes were as much out of the insights of the founding fathers as they were from the historical background of the era they lived in. Clearly the there are ideals in the American Constitution which are not unlike religious beliefs. And again, just like a religion, the constitution is concerned with preserving itself. However, now that many of the bugs have been worked out, it would be hard to change the law of the land. It would take an act of God to reverse the First Amendment or other major tenets of the constitution.
Yet, just like religious interpretations, the constitution has been interpreted and reinterpreted according to the needs. After WW2, the freedom of speech was curbed to exclude spread of hate. And as recently as a decade ago, a supreme court justice rulled that "the constitution is not a license for suicide". Similarly, while there is no democracy in Islam (or any other religion for that matter), many religious leaders in Iraq are having interpretations of Islam that allows for a parliament and a democratic Islamic regime.
So I think religion does a change a lot with times.
Sun Tzu |
