northbadawi

My dear friend, you provided example about Nazis in your post below (#45) as black-and-white example.
During WWII the Nazis were enemies and the biggest threat for the West, and Russia was an ally. And you are/were right.
For the Easter Europe the Germany wasn't a paradise, but it's occupation was far better option and the only chance to avoid occupation by Soviets who were our enemies and biggest threat.
Although it not very politically correct, but it is immediate experience of our parents and that's why we understand the same actual things differently.
Sorry for historical offtopic.

Licence to kill?
Convinced people with such thinking is perhaps the worst possible thing that can happen in the world...
I agree with the most of your statements except the bolded one. But this is religious belief thus undiscussable...

The End

Meow

I very much doubt that is 'The End'.

And why is religious belief undiscussable?

mauser1905

Pakistan has Nuks and they are religious country. So what worse has happened!

northbadawi

If you question "The word of the Lord" then you raise the anger of believers which causes the calls for strike.

Meow

But if someone has such confidence in the rightness of their beliefs why would someone questioning it worry them? It makes no sense at all.

scrubbedexpat141

....and this is deemed rationable?

Do you think it is?

shiva

And therein lies the great big problem.
" he said so, so there"

You are aware that in the rational real world questions are a natural human trait.

In fact you could go so far as to say that without human curiosity and questioning there wouldn't even be a written record of the word of the lord.

I'm ducking out of this one here as I foresee an imminent shit storm and the Dutch cartoonists are getting nervous again

OleJanx

Dutch? I thought they were Danish.

scrubbedexpat141

It's all clogs and bacon round them parts.

shiva

Good point, well made

Boomhauer

It's all just a farce really, the fear and intimidation by Islamists is so that logic and common sense will not be applied to Islam, cause that would be like Kryptonite for Superman.

I don't believe Muslim elites literally believe in the Quran , Muhammed or the exsistence of a god, it's convienient for local and geo-political reasons to put up this facade that they truly believe it. Same thing with Western politicians (especially Americans), I don't for a second believe they really believe the supernatural stuff in the bible, it's just in their best interest to fake it.

The Dean

If we all KNEW (for certain) that there was a God, we wouldn't need religion at all, would we? Religion is founded on belief, not knowledge - by definition.

OleJanx

There is no need for faith in a house of certainties.

Boomhauer

Well theists claim to believe that there absolutely is a god, doesn't stop them from practicing religion. Religion has tremendous utility, which is why people in power and even common folk who certainly don't behave like there is a god, still claim to be god fearing.

Norm_uk

Which is precisely why any "Arab Spring" will fail...there is a distinct lack of secularists with any power waiting in line to take over. In almost every case it's another Islamic party, some more unpleasant than others.

Even in Syria a lot of the opposition are the ultra-religious. Without moderate secularists running the educational and judiciaries we'll simply be exchanging one nutter for a group of nutters.

N.