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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solon who wrote (32341)	10/14/2001 3:31:50 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Absolutism began as a political meaning. The blood shed on our earth which was not shed for group hatred of "the people" is relatively negligible--but every life was as important as the birth of solar systems. I'm not sure where you trying to go here. You said "the prevalent theme of absolutism in an afterlife belief definitely trumps this secular world. This belief makes them dangerous. 99 % of the people slaughtered in history owe their death to this phenomenon." So it appears that you are saying that 99% of people slaughtered in history were killed because of "absolutism in an afterlife belief". I point out that the major wars and atrocities in at least the 20th century had little to do with visions of the afterlife. You then respond that "Absolutism began as a political meaning". Well someone can have absolute political ideas that have little or nothing to do with religious ideas or visions of an afterlife but I don't see how that fact supports your statement about 99% of killings being because of "absolutism in an afterlife belief". Also I think 99% is too high of a figure to attribute even the combination of religious and nonreligious absolutism. Many killings are done because of greed or anger or fear or hatred that is not due to some philosophical, political, or religious absolute idea. If all you want to say is that powerful ideas taken as absolutes can and have inspired people to kill, then I would agree with you, but that isn't what you said. Absolutists do what they are told to do through the supernatural grapevine--not what seems fair to a rationalist. Absolutists who care about doing what they see as just and right, do what they see as just and right, the same as relativists. People from either group who don't care about ideas like justice or morality do what ever they want without reference to such ideas except perhaps as a justification or excuse. In either situation you can get people who try to do good, or people who don't hesitate to commit evil.