Quote from ShoeshineBoy:
There's a lot of major assumptions in what you say here. I know from previous posts that you enjoy assuming that all religions and religious writings to be primitive and man-contrived at their core. These are assumptions that are unprovable by you and could easily be false.
History has taken many fascinating turns in the last few centuries that leave standard, liberal "white bread" materialism seriously wanting in explanations imo...
Major assumptions? Like what?
** "Rearden, I know man, more than a few skeletons in Islam's closet. "
Is that a major assumption? Um, no.
** "Thing is, as much as we might wish it to, that religion isn't just gonna disappear into thin air."
"We" as in Rearden and I; a major assumption? Um, no.
** "Only hope is to reform it."
Major "assumption"? Um, no. (It's an opinion.)
** " I mean, Jews had their reform movement, which I think was a good thing."
Fact and opinion. No "major assumption".
** "Islam desperately needs its own. "
Opinion.
"One thing which kinda makes it tough, as I've said before, is that the Koran is supposed to the verbatim transcript of God talking. "
Fact.
"So it's a lot harder to 're-interpret' than, for example, the bible (which was written by "fallible men")."
A rather obvious conclusion to reach, wouldn't you say? (Or do you actually believe the Koran is a verbatim account of Allah's word?)
**"Still, there are signs of it happening, which is encouraging." "
**"What would really accelerate the process is if arabs got their economies motoring along."
**" There's a lot less time to spend hating and being a religious bigot when there's money to be made. "
Opinion, opinion, opinion. What "major assumptions" did I make?
If it makes you feel better Shoeshine (and I hope it does), I do take back much of what I said in those religion threads. Propagating my general views on religion isn't part of my agenda in recent threads I've taken part in.