tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495065931245897039.post8086312680358413955..comments2024-02-27T15:47:47.923-05:00Comments on Principled Perspectives: The War Between Enlightenment and Fundamentalist Political Islam—and the Choice All Muslims Must Makeprincipled perspectiveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06502754865268315342noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495065931245897039.post-56605381538910413032015-12-04T15:38:05.757-05:002015-12-04T15:38:05.757-05:00Perhaps. On the other hand, Christianity was found...<br />Perhaps. On the other hand, Christianity was founded by a man of peace, yet Christianity went political-authoritarian for a thousand years, before transitioning to today's peaceful church-state separation. Religionists can and do read into their holy books whatever they feel like at any given time, even if it means deviating from their founders. Faith means accepting beliefs in contradiction to facts. The fact that Jesus would not approve of burning heretics at the stake or persecuting non-Christians didn’t stop Dark Age Christianity’s oppressive authoritarianism. <br /><br />Bottom line: People have free will and reason. If Muslims choose to use those Earthly tools, they will follow their reason to peaceful coexistence no matter what their "sacred" texts say.<br /><br />principled perspectiveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06502754865268315342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495065931245897039.post-5564667371746381252015-12-04T13:59:34.383-05:002015-12-04T13:59:34.383-05:00I know a religious person who gives total allegian...I know a religious person who gives total allegiance to the Bible, but approaches it as a reformed matter like Christians of today do. He doesn't think Islam will be reformed. He believes the Koran gives no time line or other word on how Islam can be reformed. But he points out that the Bible provides for Christianity's reform, in Revelation Ch. 1-3. Supposedly that's why Christianity was reformed. If the Koran doesn't provide for Islam's reformation, that might give fundamentalists more 'spiritual' fuel for their jihad, and it might sway some in the middle toward fundamentalist jihad. Religious people go by signs like this instead of thought. But I'm sure Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Muhammad Syed and other, maybe many other Muslims and former Muslims, think otherwise. Islam can be reformed without anything in the Koran saying so. But the reformers will probably have to deal with that lack of Koranic word. That can make reform of Islam harder than reform of Christianity was.Mike Kevittnoreply@blogger.com