Following up on point number 3, All Cultures are Equally Valid, here is a an oberservation from some one who is from another culture, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Somali-Dutch moderate-conservative feminist who now lives in USA
"Human beings are equal; cultures are not. A culture that celebrates femininity is not equal to a culture that trims the genitals of her girls. A culture that holds the door open to her women is not equal to one that confines them behind walls and veils. A culture that spends millions on saving a baby girl’s life is not equal to a one that uses its first encounter with natal technology to undertake mass abortion simply because baby girls are not welcome. A culture with courts that punish a husband for forcing his wife to have sex with him is not equal to a culture with a tribunal that decrees a young woman be gang-raped for talking to a boy of an allegedly higher caste. A culture that encourages dating between young men and young women is not equal to a culture that flogs or stones a girl for falling in love. A culture where monogamy is an aspiration is not equal to a culture where a man can lawfully have four wives all at once. A culture that protects women’s rights by law is not equal to a culture that denies women their alimony and half their inheritance. A culture that insists on holding open a position for women in its Supreme Court is not equal to a culture that declares that the testimony of a woman is worth half of that of a man. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial equality [in America] has become a reality for some and remains a dream for many. It has become a reality for the few people privileged enough to live in this culture that values the human individual regardless of race or gender. It is this culture that provides me with the vocabulary, the legal tools, the material resources, the platforms, and most of all, the opportunity to meet like minded individuals who will stand for the rights of those fellow girls and women who haven’t been as lucky as me or you. It is within this culture that it pays to fight for equality. Unfortunately, it is this culture that is under threat today. Many of those born into it take it for granted--or worse, apologise for it. So dear men and women of colour, and dear women of all colour: Let’s join together to protect this culture of life, this culture of liberty, this culture of 'ladies first.' —
After skimming through the article, I came across this: "The loss of belief in God, particularly in oh so enlightened Western Europe, has resulted in a loss of societal values and along with that has gone the ability to differentiate good from evil and right from wrong. "
Oh, so Western Europe is the wrong side, since they don't believe in God? And all of those countries restricting the freedoms of its citizens are doing so because of... why? The answer to that, of course, is religion. That's one of the dumbest statements I've ever read, equating atheism with immorality.
Hitler himself was Catholic, although he favored Protestantism later in life. Although he pointed out flaws in the church, he himself believed in God, as seen from numerous, numerous quotes, and his "Positive Christianity", which could be described as a fascist branch of Christianity. Atheism has never been proven to influence evil behavior. Both Hitler and Stalin had mustaches. Is that what causes evil?
I believe that Saudi Arabia's Islamic theocracy, where homosexuality is punishable by death and women must cover their entire body in cloth in public, is just a tiny bit more repressive than, say, Sweden's government, which gives eighteen months' paid leave to expecting parents. What an evil Socialist program!
Cameron, you're being a revisionist. While Hitler was raised Catholic--or at least studied for the priesthood--he certainly was not a Christian as an adult. In fact, he all but forbad religion under Nazism, because it called for a higher power than the state.
Nazism was certainly anti-clerical, but there was most certainly a religious form of Christianity that was preached, and preached by Hitler himself. There are numerous articles both in print and on the Internet, including Wikipedia (with real citations, in fact!) addressing the issue. I'm just saying that it's an extremely weak argument that Hitler was an atheist, and even weaker to say that atheists have no morals.
Thanks for coming by--nice to hear from you. Glad to see you're still your same interesting self.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up on point number 3, All Cultures are Equally Valid, here is a an oberservation from some one who is from another culture, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Somali-Dutch moderate-conservative feminist who now lives in USA
ReplyDelete"Human beings are equal; cultures are not. A culture that celebrates femininity is not equal to a culture that trims the genitals of her girls. A culture that holds the door open to her women is not equal to one that confines them behind walls and veils. A culture that spends millions on saving a baby girl’s life is not equal to a one that uses its first encounter with natal technology to undertake mass abortion simply because baby girls are not welcome. A culture with courts that punish a husband for forcing his wife to have sex with him is not equal to a culture with a tribunal that decrees a young woman be gang-raped for talking to a boy of an allegedly higher caste. A culture that encourages dating between young men and young women is not equal to a culture that flogs or stones a girl for falling in love. A culture where monogamy is an aspiration is not equal to a culture where a man can lawfully have four wives all at once. A culture that protects women’s rights by law is not equal to a culture that denies women their alimony and half their inheritance. A culture that insists on holding open a position for women in its Supreme Court is not equal to a culture that declares that the testimony of a woman is worth half of that of a man. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial equality [in America] has become a reality for some and remains a dream for many. It has become a reality for the few people privileged enough to live in this culture that values the human individual regardless of race or gender. It is this culture that provides me with the vocabulary, the legal tools, the material resources, the platforms, and most of all, the opportunity to meet like minded individuals who will stand for the rights of those fellow girls and women who haven’t been as lucky as me or you. It is within this culture that it pays to fight for equality. Unfortunately, it is this culture that is under threat today. Many of those born into it take it for granted--or worse, apologise for it. So dear men and women of colour, and dear women of all colour: Let’s join together to protect this culture of life, this culture of liberty, this culture of 'ladies first.' —
After skimming through the article, I came across this:
ReplyDelete"The loss of belief in God, particularly in oh so enlightened Western Europe, has resulted in a loss of societal values and along with that has gone the ability to differentiate good from evil and right from wrong. "
Oh, so Western Europe is the wrong side, since they don't believe in God? And all of those countries restricting the freedoms of its citizens are doing so because of... why? The answer to that, of course, is religion. That's one of the dumbest statements I've ever read, equating atheism with immorality.
God can be used for good or ill, but the lack of God hasn't shown much good. Look at the Communist countries. Look at Hitler's Germany.
ReplyDelete"And all of those countries restricting the freedoms of its citizens are doing so because of... why?"
ReplyDeleteSocialism -- in Europe.
Hitler himself was Catholic, although he favored Protestantism later in life. Although he pointed out flaws in the church, he himself believed in God, as seen from numerous, numerous quotes, and his "Positive Christianity", which could be described as a fascist branch of Christianity. Atheism has never been proven to influence evil behavior. Both Hitler and Stalin had mustaches. Is that what causes evil?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Saudi Arabia's Islamic theocracy, where homosexuality is punishable by death and women must cover their entire body in cloth in public, is just a tiny bit more repressive than, say, Sweden's government, which gives eighteen months' paid leave to expecting parents. What an evil Socialist program!
Cameron, you're being a revisionist. While Hitler was raised Catholic--or at least studied for the priesthood--he certainly was not a Christian as an adult. In fact, he all but forbad religion under Nazism, because it called for a higher power than the state.
ReplyDeleteNazism was certainly anti-clerical, but there was most certainly a religious form of Christianity that was preached, and preached by Hitler himself. There are numerous articles both in print and on the Internet, including Wikipedia (with real citations, in fact!) addressing the issue. I'm just saying that it's an extremely weak argument that Hitler was an atheist, and even weaker to say that atheists have no morals.
ReplyDelete