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Originally Posted by concheet
Actually they were unusual at the time.
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Prescribing death or a variety of crimes (adultery, homosexuality, unbelief) was not all that unusual. I'll give you the dietary laws.
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Only if you read it with a much more forgiving eye than you are reading the Bible! To quote you :" Well, that's one way to rationalize ignoring unpleasant things in one's holy book."
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I only say stuff like that to demonstrate that people tend to give Christianity a pass that they don't give Islam.
To be clear, I don't hold Muslims or Christians or Jews responsible for the violent stuff in their holy books unless they specifically reference it. I recognize that every religion, as it ages, rationalizes and ignores outdated portions of its scriptures.
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The problem is that unless you are willing to meet violence with even more violence you will be dominated by those (however small the group) who in fact use the violence to rule and dominate others.
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Agreed. So if someone gets violent, you deal with them.
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If a violent Muslim meets a turn-the-other-cheek Christian, the Muslim wins and eventually dominates.
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And if a peaceful Muslim meets a violent Christian, the Christian wins. I don't really see what your point is.
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And even if 99% of Muslims were peaceloving, 1% can cause incredible havoc in the world.
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Sure. Just like 1% of Christians or Hindus or whatever can cause incredible havoc.
I fully support dealing as harshly and effectively as necessary with such people. *All* I get irritated about is people trying to say that the entire religion is the problem.
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My prediction:
By the time Islam is 'tamed,' your descendants will be praying 5 times a day and reading the Koran in Arabic.
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I totally disagree. Because the same cultures that preserve atavistic Islam are incapable of modern governance, pretty much unable to develop indigenous technology, and aren't numerous enough to conquer the world by force. But for oil, their economies pretty much suck -- and the oil will be running out before too long.
They will be a thorn in the world's side for a while -- but they will remain a thorn, nothing more.
And if they don't, then I'll dust off my Army commission and get reacquainted with the inside of a tank. Just because I don't fear Islam doesn't mean I'll just roll over and bare my throat if a real threat arises.