Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
MOO - and based on my experiences with many religius beliefs - I think I'll continue to stick with my belief in the wisdom of our founding fathers in their recognition solely of the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.
Richard's $.02  |
Richard - I'm with you.
Hollis - Father Botros isn't about apologizing for Islam. In fact, his entire approach is based on using the teachings/writings of Islam to attack the fundamental beliefs of its faithful. Given what Islam has done over the last 1400 years, it's pretty easy to see where he's coming from.
Quote:
|
I know this is not a easy subject to approach. I am sure those who have worked with indigenous people know it is not wise to tell them how backwards and illiterate they as compared to our civilization.
|
Absolutely correct, at least if you ever expect to get them to do what you want. Keeping your mouth shut to improve your chances of manipulating the indig doesn't mean you need to adopt moral relativity as a personal philosophy. There is good and evil in the world; recognizing it and challenging it when/where you can will make you a better man for yourself, and a more steadfast companion for those who depend on you in adversity. If you can read the Koran, accept its demand to submit, and reconcile that to the ideals of Western philosophy (liberty, self determination, etc.), you're a lot more morally/intellectually flexible than I am.
__________________
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (42B.C)
|