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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ManyMoose who wrote (402505)	1/11/2011 7:38:29 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	5 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793914

That is not all that different from Christian and Jewish teachings about the Bible, but we all know that human beings wrote them. The distinction is that for Christians and Jews, the Bible is divinely inspired but written by humans. For Muslims, the Koran is direct dictation from Allah. This makes a big difference in the attitudes towards textual interpretation. The difference that I see between the Jewish and Christian faiths and that of Islam is that the former two do not seek to dominate the world by force while the latter explicitly does. Jews are told to be a "nation of priests and holy people" - i.e. the orders pertain to Jews and Israel, not the rest of the world. Christians are told to "witness the good news" i.e. evangelize the world and convert it to Chrisitianity Muslims are told to fight the infidels until they submit or pay tax - i.e. conversion of the whole world by force, with second class toleration for the "peoples of the book" Christianity and Islam are similar in that they are both creedal religions dedicated to converting everybody on earth. They differ with regard to method. There were some forcible conversions to Christianity in the Dark Ages, but these were usually pursued by the local rulers, rather than the Pope or bishops. The Dark Age church spread by offering a great deal to local kings, who often ruled kingdoms so small that we would refer to them as "counties". The deal was, "So, you are the biggest baddest warlord in the region, but you have challengers trying to grab the title from you every year? Here's the deal: convert yourself and your kingdom to Christianity, and we will anoint your head with oil and make you a sanctified king, fit to receive sacred feudal oaths of allegiance from your newly Christian barons, overseen by the Church and thus by Christ Himself. He who turns against you and forswears that oath risks excommunication and damnation." It was a great deal and kings took it up all over Europe. Feudalism gets a bum rap. Any political system that can forge bonds between parties that are stronger than tribal kinship bonds deserves respect, imo.