I am writing this blog to elucidate how the Theist essay I posted here on Daily Kos as 'TIME to Respect Others ... A Theist View' can be best understood here in US in June 2016.
It succinctly describes the fluid historical viability of Holy Works interpretation, and that those interpretations have then been used by politicians to achieve goals. I won't try to debate his discussion, but will elaborate for nontheists, both agnostic and atheist.
The Western Holy Works discussed here, the Bible both Old and New Testaments and the Quran were written centuries ago. Since that time they have been interpreted primarily in two ways, Contextual and Literal .. AND these interpretations are USED by clergymen and social communities... and politicians. The fundamental difference in use is that Contextualists validate interpretations by a prime rule, the Golden Rule .. eg all others have coequal dignity and rights and should be treated as you want others to treat you. Literalists want to think their rights (based on Holy Words) supercede others, and force judgements and rules upon others to maintain dominance.
WHICH do you think politicians want to use?
So the essay describes different eras and these patterns. As we stand now, there are primarily two main Western paths one where dignity, rights of others reign supreme without a Male Dominance prerequisite, ./.. Protestant, Anglican/Episcopal, Universalist etc, and the Roman Catholic Male Dominance but dignity too required pattern. The other Western path is 'Evangelical', eg would force others to do their will ignoring their rights and dignity, or the harm they cause so they can earn notches on a way to heaven.
But the essay was primarily written to describe the parallels of these patterns in Muslim world. Discussing the amazing creative 'Contextual' Muslim period where knowledge and beauty reigned, last exemplified by the Ottoman world. Now, currently in a very 'Literal' and destructive to dignity and rights mold useful to Middle East pols in the 20th century and swinging way out to complete loss of individual rights in the 21st century militant Islamic groups as a reaction to not being able to acheiving any political power under MidEast tyrannies.
SO now we see the two 20th century Christian paths of Equality, Dignity, Diversity following the Golden Rule … and see the other Evangelical White Male Dominionist becoming, during #Trump ascendancy, more and more #Christofascist. AND with Trump's declaration of Evangelical dominance of White Supremacy and denial of rights and dignity of ANY others, we are almost to the full militancy of Nazi Germany (SEE BELOW as I write)
.. AND the parallel history of two Muslim paths, one of enlightenment, equality and learning with dignity, vanishing in 20th century under #Islamofascist tyrannies, and being overridden in 21st century by overt #militant Islamofascism.
Compounding all this is the destruction of our World Ecosystem by climate change.
WE DO HAVE A CHOICE WHICH PATH TO FOLLOW (as do Muslims I hope) WE DEFEATED destructive Nazism once.. Can and will we do it again .
YOU CAN READ the theological essay described above on Daily Kos ... Written just days after our Kristallnacht or Night of Terror in #Orlando .. I titled it, based on magazine cover,
'TIME to Respect Rights of Others .. A Theist View " tinyurl.com/...;
ADDENDUM: As this was happening just as I wrote the blog…
YES. ... #NoBillNoBreak. ... House Democrats are staging a sit-in to force a vote on gun control MEANWHILE... NOTE the Kristallnacht supporting #GOP turned the cameras off ... If you don’t know what Kristallnacht was look it up (Europe knows) #Trump and his new #Evangelical #StormTroopers wants his own very soon!
A week after a Senate filibuster forced a vote on gun control measures, Democrats in the House of Representatives are holding a sit-in on the House floor to try to get Republicans there to do the same.
"The time for silence and patience is long gone," Rep. John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement who is leading the sit-in, said in a stirring speech Wednesday morning. "The American people are demanding action. Do we have the courage, do we have the raw courage to make at least a down payment on ending gun violence in America?"
tinyurl.com/...;