Comments on: Muslims and Christians

By: Susan Brassfield Cogan

Susan Brassfield Cogan — Fri, 19 May 2006 12:31:41 +0000

If freedom came from God the Middle Ages in Europe would have been the most free place in the world. Religion dominated all the governments and every detail of the lives of all people. Yet it was as unfree as Soviet Russia or any country in the middle east. The secular US constitution and the secular governments of Europe confer freedom. The kings who ruled by divine right did not. The church CERTAINLY did not. If the Catholic church still had political power the Da Vinci Code film would never have been made, the book would never have been published. The author would have been hanged.

The concept of personal freedom is absent in the Bible. It took the rise of secularism to bring such an idea into the world.

By: kreiz

kreiz — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 10:52:53 +0000

It’s not exactly on topic but it’s astounding how fiercly and stubbornly anti-authortarian we are in the West. It’s a pervasive thread woven into our collective souls, so much so that we hardly notice it. It has foundations in both liberal and conservative thought. And it stands in stark contrast to Islamic society, where this spirit is hardly honored or entrenched. We cry for freedom, freedom from tyranny of the spirit and the mind- while our Islamic counterparts stare at us in disbelief. It really is a clash of civilizations.

By: Lee Scoresby

Lee Scoresby — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:32:52 +0000

Huh? I mean, seriously, huh?

First, almost all of the rhetoric coming from the United States for, I dunno, the last century portrays freedom as a gift from God. And connects freedom with virtue. I mean, I’m glad he’s discovered Occidentalism, but catch up to the times, already.

Second, this is very similar, in many respects, to the kind of discourse already used by Islamic Reformers; trust me, they’re the ones who have a chance of “winning the argument,” not a bunch of OP-ED writers in the United States. Particularly when they’re espousing what’s very clearly warmed-over Pauline doctrine to Muslims.

Third, the Counter-Reformation had just a wee bit of help from the states that actively supported – usually by oppressing the hell out of Protestants – so I’m not sure what the Jesuit analogy is supposed to accomplish.

Oh yeah, and D’Souza reveals he’s ignorant of major traditions in Christianity (e.g., Calvinism) in that last paragraph you post. Nice.