Religion does need something ungraspable, it's basically what makes it religion... Otherwise it's just the social agreement. Religion, as everything else we do, is of course about rules and understandings and so on, but the rules are often given the impression of having been handed down by a supernatural being, not agreed upon by people. Moses, for instance, tumbling down from the mountain hauling tablets he claimed had been inscribed by God's finger.
An often-heard comment from Muslims these days is "you don't know what Muhammed means to us". Well, no, I don't. I do, however, know that one comes a helluva lot further in this world with an ounce of rational behaviour, because ranting and burning flags and shaking one's fist and cocking one's gun will get EXACTLY the reaction you express above; that democracy and free speech should never back down for fanatism.
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Date: 2006-02-01 11:34 pm (UTC)An often-heard comment from Muslims these days is "you don't know what Muhammed means to us". Well, no, I don't. I do, however, know that one comes a helluva lot further in this world with an ounce of rational behaviour, because ranting and burning flags and shaking one's fist and cocking one's gun will get EXACTLY the reaction you express above; that democracy and free speech should never back down for fanatism.