Moral High Ground

by Spoletta 19 Replies latest social current

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  Spoletta

  It seems that the other threads about Trump's policies are veering off into endless ideological theories about how much better we are than Islam. Does anyone think there is a chance that Islam can be changed in the same manner that Christianity has over the centuries? With the inflow of ideas from Western countries into the Middle East, will people gradually want to move away from Sharia law to something less patriarchal and cruel?

  God knows, Christianity is still not a paragon of virtue, but it is certainly more tolerant than it used to be, or at least its intolerance is held in check by our laws.

  The Arab Spring seemed to signal a desire for change in the Middle East. Unfortunately, those in power usually have superior weapons and less scruples than those wanting change. Look at Assad in Syria.

  We can take the moral high ground and point out how our ideals are superior to other's, but isn't it also true that our actions in the past helped to contribute to the unrest?

  Is it really moral high ground to point to other's faults, and crow about how much better we are?

  If we don't hold governments like Saudi Arabia's and Syria's and Russia's accountable for their actions with nothing more than words, then we have no moral high ground to stand on.

  Sorry for the rant, but I just have to blow off a little steam.
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  cofty

  Does anyone think there is a chance that Islam can be changed in the same manner that Christianity has over the centuries?

  Ask Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Maajid Nawaz how the prospects are for reform.

  Time is not on our side.

  Western democracies are morally superior to every Muslim majority state by a very long way.
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  Landy

  Possibly. Christianity threw off the warfare and crusades about 400 years ago. So give them another 400 years and they'll be a Muslim version of the CoE - Islam Lite as it were.
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  Simon

  Yes. The 1,4001st year of attempting reform of Islam is suddenly going to be successful compared to the 1,400 previous failures.

  Of course it's going to fail.

  Islam is more virulent and dangerous now than ever when it's combined with the power of mass media and social networks and the lunacy of the left acting as it's 3rd column advance party.

  Islam only respects power and force. It needs to be bombed back into the stone age. For Islam that only means turning the clocks back a couple of months though.

  Christianity didn't "throw off" the crusades. The crusades were a response to centuries of Muslim conquer and oppression. If it weren't for the crusades, we wouldn't be here and I expect the world would be a much much darker place.

  The idea that Islam is just a few centuries behind Christianity in it's development shows a complete lack of understanding of Islam, it's beliefs and how it operates.

  Islam has had it's reformation. ISIS is the purer form of true Islam.
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  LoveUniHateExams

  If we don't hold governments like Saudi Arabia's and Syria's and Russia's accountable for their actions with nothing more than words, then we have no moral high ground to stand on - strange analysis.

  If Saudi/Russia/Assad do terrible things, that doesn't affect their moral position, it affects ours?!

  Instead, how about the following:

  Saudi's/Syria's/Russia's actions show that we do indeed hold the moral high ground.
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  Fisherman

  change how? another prophet, another book? The only interpretaion of their holy book is literal, chopping of hands, stoning, and Isis, the most refined form since their holy prophet.
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  Village Idiot

  In the year 1600 Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for having different beliefs than the Catholic Church. The Jesuits had a most elaborate form of torture techniques that would make waterboarding seem uninspired from a psychopath's point of view. That is the kind of thing that ISIS has been doing.

  Now we have a liberal pope. So why exactly is it that Islam won't be able to change? Yes, a liberal Islam would contradict what their holy scriptures have to say but the same thing applies to Liberal Christians who'd rather ignore the Old Testament.
  
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  Spoletta

  So we just leave the status quo, keep supporting the Islamic countries that we have an economic interest in, and ignore the rest? If we totally wipe out Isis with Russia's help, that will solve the problem?

  I'm sure Nazi Germany would have been satisfied with all of Europe, the Middle East, the African continent, and any other adjoining country, if we had just stayed out of the war.

  Bombing Islam into submission is impossible, unless you are willing to use nuclear weapons to eradicate every Muslim nation in the world, since statistics seem to show that Shariah law is favored in a large percentage of those countries.

  If you really believe that the majority of Muslims want us converted or dead, then it's already too late. We might as well just enjoy life while we can until the hordes sweep over our borders and kill us.
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  steve2

  Christianity was reformed from the outside in. We can thank the Enlightenment - NOT Christianity - for a breath of fresh air in the West. The "Church" has bucked against progress at every step, right up to its present opposition to equal rights for all citizens.

  Christianity has had centuries to modify its teachings and philosophy, Islam just a few decades - if that. What makes groups such as ISIS so hugely threatening is the availability of destructive weaponry in a hugely technological world where travel and communication are so rapid. It is like a combination of the "worst" of ancient patriarchal belief systems with the "best" of technology - a lethal concoction!
  
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  jwfacts

  The Mosaic Law is racist, sexist and barbaric. The New Testament helps improve this, and modern Christianity has made further positive steps to turn their back on more of what is wrong in the Bible.

  Judaism has come to the same place without the New Testament as a step along the way.

  There is no reason Islam cannot also progress down a similar path. Whilst Islamic states have a long way to go, there are many Muslims that share similar ideals to Christians.

  A number of the comments seem to be panicking about the immediate situation at hand, not the long term potential for change.