Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight
And Jews stoned people to death for touching a woman while she was on her period. And Christians tortured and slaughtered people because they believed a little bit differently than they did. And they didn't consider that murder. So, as Alex says, our current Judeo/Christian definition of what is right has changed to catch up to the societal definition, not the other way around. People are perfectly capable of forming and refining the social contract without religion. If anything, the inclusion of religion in the discourse slows the process down as it's a force that resists what may be necessary change.
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Pointing out awful practices that members of a group did does not mean their value system is bad unless those things are proclaimed to be an integral part of it. It was after the Jews entered into a pact with God to worship only him that the golden calf was brought into the temple. The Bible is a story of human failing and struggle. People don’t always live up to their standards, but that doesn’t make the standard wrong. So to be fair, we have to ask: were these acts prescribed by their philosophy, or were they done contrary to it? This is a question that many are asking of Islam today.