Hi, Jonathan,
Jonathan to Darryl:
I did actually answer your question - you even recognise this . .
."dominated by religion to the EXTENT that Israel is".
My corrections to your previous assumptions indicate that Israel is NOT
dominated by the Jewish religion to the EXTENT you previously claimed.
Darryl:
Sorry, I missed that. "Dominated by Religion" seems a bit awkward. No
simple label? Ah, well. Since so many countries are dominated by religion,
I would submit that having a label would be handy. I regret not having had
the opportunity to study Latin and Greek for just these occasions.
Jonathan to Darryl:
Now, I haven't seen either Lawrence, nor David B. criticising other
countries for being theocratic, and they have not substantiated their
claim that Israel is MORE theocratic than other countries. It thus
appears that they have singled out Israel, applying standards that they
do not apply to other countries. Many Israelis consider that to be
anti-Semitism. What do you say?
Darryl:
As someone else pointed out, anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli are not the
same -- and I am neither. I have no stake one way or the other in the
existence of the state of Israel and I have no problem with Jews, beyond
what they share with many religions that impose their will on others.
Living as I do in a nation that pledges to separate church and state and to
honor its minorities, I resent the dominant Christian religion a great deal
more. As for the extent of Israel's domination by religion, I think the
list you made earlier -- the flag, the design of the legislature, and so
forth -- is at least suggestive of it. However, I don't know of a reliable,
quantitative way to measure such domination. I think that Christianity is
deeply embedded in most European and American cultures, but, considering the
makeup of those who are the majority of Israelis (Will you concede that the
Jews of Israel are to a certain extent self-selected for their desire to
return to their religious home?), I think Israel is probably more dominated
than the U.S. is now. The Pilgrims and their colony would probably beat the
stuffing out of Israel for any measurement of domination, though.
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