Re: Not exactly sure how this turned into a thread on the holocaust
Originally posted by knotwell
Anyhow, I'm not a religious guy, but I'm sorta looking forward to the movie. From it's use of a dead language to its cultural relevance for most people in the US (irreligious or not, would anyone argue that Western laws don't reflect judeo-christian morality?),
Well, yeah, inasmuch as "morality" itself covers a lot of ground, I would. Some forms of "morality" are universal, and to say that Western laws reflect a certain morality is a conceit-it's like saying that murder isn't against the law in "Islamic" morality, or that stealing isn't illegal or immoral in "Buddhist" morality.
Furthermore, as far as the U.S. goes, one finds that the Founding Fathers were principally deists, products of the Enlightenment, and that our governmental foundation reflects this, far more than "judeo-christian" values. You would be hard pressed to find a religious statement by any of them that truly reflects "judeo-christian" thought in context. John Adams, one of the most publiclydevout of them,also publicly denied the Trinity and the divinity of Christ, as just one example. Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and Ben Franklin, while not exactly atheists, all made numerous statements and writings, both public and private, that reflected a distinct lack of, if not disdain for "judeo-christian" anything.
Last edited by elder999; 10th February 2004 at 21:12.
Aaron J. Cuffee
As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
- H.L. Mencken