Bo, thank you for the openness and breadth of your questions. It is quite
refreshing to see them, after the rash of bigoted malarky that has swept the
country seen since Sept. 11....
Behalf Of skutvik@online.no
> You see I am keen to learn to know what is the
> difference between these three religions and their cultural
> ramifications.
One difference that has had much impact is that Judaism is not a 'universal'
religion -- it doesn't in its dogma apply to all people, while Christianity
and Islam view themselves as universal, and so proselytize their views in
the expectation that everyone could become an adherent.
This leads to quite different behaviors: Judaism, reserved for the 'tribe'
of Israel, asserts a special relationship between the tribe and God (e.g.
God 'gave' Palestine to the Israelis, so Israel occupies Palestine by divine
right) and creates, in the Jewish view, special rights and obligations that
God does not extend to other people; Christianity and Islam believe that
they have a divine mandate to spread their beliefs, certainly by the book
(missionaries and teachers) and at certain times in both their histories, by
the sword if the book failed. All three assert the primacy of faith over
secular perspectives.
Christians view Jews as unenlightened antecedents (the Jews do not recognize
'Christ' as the new prophet), and Muslims view Christians and Jews as
unenlightened antecedents (the Jews and Christians do not recognize Muhammad
as the new prophet). Generally, this means that Islam countenances and
respects Christianity and Judaism (e.g. the legitimacy of Moses and Christ
as prophets are recognized by Islam) more than they do Islam, as
Christianity countenances Judaism more than Jews do Christianity.
Besides the issue of God favoring his 'chosen' people, the Israelis, the
bulk of the dispute between the three religions has to do with who
recognizes or denounces which source of religion inspiration and authority.
> Another thing. You say that science and medicine flourished in the
> East, but the Arabic scholars weren't Mohammedans when the
> Dark Age descended over Europe, anyway the "science" of that
> day hardly challenged any religious world order, it didn't do that in
> Europe until the said period. Kepler, Copernicus, Gallileo was
> merely out to find God's plans.
It is useful to pay attention to the basic historical dates. Islam emerged
the 7th century. In its subsequent history, it saw the establishment of
great empires , seated variously in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and
Constantinople. All of these empires combined great administrative,
military, scientific and artistic capabilities, easily rivalling the
accomplishments of the European empires and then the 14-15th century
European Renaissance. These capabilities were primarily accomplished by
Muslims (what you call 'Mohammedans'), though as was the practice throughout
the Muslim world, the learned contributions of Jews and Christians were
often welcomed. (Remember what I said earlier about Islam honoring the
earlier contributions of Jews and Christians and this is no surprise. Indeed
there have been several instances where Islamic regions welcomed Jews and
Christians who were fleeing Christian oppresssion, e.g. the Spanish Jews
12-13th centuries who found refuge in Constantinople, and the Christian
Cathars who found refuge in Muslim Spain.)
Now, to the question of science and religion in Islam. Generally, Islam has
had a much easier time assimilating new scientific knowledge than has
Christianity. (I can't speak to Judaism, on this point. Jonathan?) Islam
simply does not countenance a conflict, and so the discovery of the physical
world was viewed as a natural and wonderful thing. Religious teachers and
scientific ones are equally honored in the Muslim world, and the doctrines
of Islam have little to say about the nature of the physical world, focusing
instead on issues of morality and spirituality, and social practices and
justice. Why the Catholic Church decided it was important that the planet ea
rth be at the center of the universe has always been a mystery to me, and
seemed a grand intellectual mistake, whose consequences were pretty much as
you suggest, and loss of credibility for Christianity and their religious
leaders as the evidence accumulated. I think Christians are now doing the
same thing on the subject of evolution.
> However it's time to
> apply the MoQ. According to it the Greek experience was the birth
> of the SOM and the essence of it (the Intellects value before
> Society) did not catch with the Arabs, but was revived during the
> said process and thus my thesis stands.
I can't speak for the MoQ on this issue, but to suggest that products of the
intellect were/are not honored in Islamic societies is hugely ignorant.
(PLEASE tell me that this is not what Pirsig said!) I could list Arabs who
made great contributions in mathematics, physics, architecture, engineering,
etc. and were in their days and still today remain greatly honored. I could
point to the Egyptian Nobel Prize winner (was it chemistry or medicine?) a
couple of years ago who was welcomed back in Cairo by hundreds of thousands
(literally) of Cairenes. When was the last time that a Nobelist was
welcomed back from Stockholm by more than a few dozen relatives, friends and
colleagues? Or interviewed prominently by every newspaper in the major
cities of his/her country?
Bo, thanks again for your questions. Books could be and have been around
them. I hope these observations are useful.
Lawry
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