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Monotheism and intolerance


Elfin

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Do all monotheistic religions, when given the chance, attempt to suppress other religions?

That they feel the need to resort to force says a lot about the value of their belief-systems.

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Do all monotheistic religions, when given the chance, attempt to suppress other religions?

That they feel the need to resort to force says a lot about the value of their belief-systems.

If you hold on for a moment, I think I can find you an even wider brush to paint with...

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If you hold on for a moment, I think I can find you an even wider brush to paint with...

Most Pagan religions are not so paranoid or exclusivist.

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Yes. It's called competition for more of your worship and devotion to them.

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Do all monotheistic religions, when given the chance, attempt to suppress other religions?

That they feel the need to resort to force says a lot about the value of their belief-systems.

No. Some do, some don´t.

Making a roundhouse statement about "all religions" makes about much sense as generalizing about "all sports".

You have to look at the individual religions.

Of course, in today`s world, there is one that really stands out in regard to intolerance and demand for supremacy.

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Most Pagan religions are not so paranoid or exclusivist.

So how many Pagan religions have you investigated?

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No. Some do, some don´t.

Making a roundhouse statement about "all religions" makes about much sense as generalizing about "all sports".

You have to look at the individual religions.

Of course, in today`s world, there is one that really stands out in regard to intolerance and demand for supremacy.

All monotheistic religions, not all religions. Every single monotheistic religion that exists, when it has been in power, has tended to suppress other religions.

So how many Pagan religions have you investigated?

As a student of history and an active member of a Pagan group, quite a lot.

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Most Pagan religions are not so paranoid or exclusivist.

I'm sure 10 seconds in Google can bring up all kinds of reasons why those religions are terrible. Are you really prepared to have this debate on UM?

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I'm sure 10 seconds in Google can bring up all kinds of reasons why those religions are terrible. Are you really prepared to have this debate on UM?

They might be terrible for other reasons (in the opinion of monotheists), but I'm specifically talking about a tendency to suppress all other religions, when given the chance.

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Most Pagan religions are not so paranoid or exclusivist.

Their also not organised and is a lot of variation, there fore its hard to blame what people dont see. the biblical interpretation of pagan is no christian, so i guess you can add the christian extremists whos views dont add up with the bible in with the pagans ;)

It is perhaps misleading even to say that there was such a religion as “paganism” at the beginning of [the Common Era] ... It might be less confusing to say that the pagans, before their competition with Christianity, had no religion at all in the sense in which that word is normally used today. They had no tradition of discourse about ritual or religious matters (apart from philosophical debate or antiquarian treatise), no organized system of beliefs to which they were asked to commit themselves, no authority-structure peculiar to the religious area, above all no commitment to a particular group of people or set of ideas other than their family and political context. If this is the right view of pagan life, it follows that we should look on paganism quite simply as a religion invented in the course of the second to third centuries AD, in competition and interaction with Christians, Jews and others.

—North 1992, 187—88, [21]

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Their also not organised and is a lot of variation, there fore its hard to blame what people dont see. the biblical interpretation of pagan is no christian, so i guess you can add the christian extremists whos views dont add up with the bible in with the pagans ;)

It is perhaps misleading even to say that there was such a religion as “paganism” at the beginning of [the Common Era] ... It might be less confusing to say that the pagans, before their competition with Christianity, had no religion at all in the sense in which that word is normally used today. They had no tradition of discourse about ritual or religious matters (apart from philosophical debate or antiquarian treatise), no organized system of beliefs to which they were asked to commit themselves, no authority-structure peculiar to the religious area, above all no commitment to a particular group of people or set of ideas other than their family and political context. If this is the right view of pagan life, it follows that we should look on paganism quite simply as a religion invented in the course of the second to third centuries AD, in competition and interaction with Christians, Jews and others.

—North 1992, 187—88, [21]

I'm not interested in Christian interpretations of what Paganism is. To say that pre-Christian cultures lacked religion is patently untrue.

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All monotheistic religions, not all religions. Every single monotheistic religion that exists, when it has been in power, has tended to suppress other religions.

No.

When have the Bahais ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Amish ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Mandeans ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Yazidi ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Druzes ever oppressed other religions?

Give examples.

Or take your simplistic roundhouse claim.

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No.

When have the Bahais ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Amish ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Mandeans ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Yazidi ever oppressed other religions?

When have the Druzes ever oppressed other religions?

Give examples.

Or take your simplistic roundhouse claim.

When have those ever been in power?

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I'm not interested in Christian interpretations of what Paganism is. To say that pre-Christian cultures lacked religion is patently untrue.

That depends, what is your definition of religion? and can you name the pagans your talking about?

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As a student of history and an active member of a Pagan group, quite a lot.

How many is "quite a lot"?

One? Ten? A hundred?

Is generalizing about something as vast as religious teaching really so tempting?

It is like going to a library and making a statement about the content of "all books".

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The abrahamic religions are the main oppressors.

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That depends, what is your definition of religion? and can you name the pagans your talking about?

If your definition of religion actually means the same as monotheism, then obviously you are going to say that the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome, to name but 3, lacked religion. There is no need to take such a claim seriously though.

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When have those ever been in power?

you do know that the romans where in power and they were pagans, would you like me to list their miss use of power or times when they have opressed people.

when any one is in power, some one is going to be oppressed..

Edited by Armchair Educated
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None of the monotheistic religions are inherently evil. They only seem to oppress other religions when they are in power because they are used as tools by the people in power. When you break it down, the real question should be "why are monotheistic religions used by people in power to push political agendas?"

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How many is "quite a lot"?

One? Ten? A hundred?

Is generalizing about something as vast as religious teaching really so tempting?

It is like going to a library and making a statement about the content of "all books".

No, I was making a perfectly valid comparision between monotheism and Paganism, and how their views of the world differ.

The abrahamic religions are the main oppressors.

I fully agree.

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you do know that the romans where in power and they were pagans, would you like me to list their miss use of power or times when they have opressed people

Sure - let's get the other side of this coin :whistle:

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you do know that the romans where in power and they were pagans, would you like me to list their miss use of power or times when they have opressed people

In the name of, and on behalf of, their religion? In fact, for all their other faults, Pagan Romans were remarkably tolerant of the religions of the people they conquered.

None of the monotheistic religions are inherently evil. They only seem to oppress other religions when they are in power because they are used as tools by the people in power. When you break it down, the real question should be "why are monotheistic religions used by people in power to push political agendas?"

That sounds rather like an excuse.

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If your definition of religion actually means the same as monotheism, then obviously you are going to say that the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome, to name but 3, lacked religion. There is no need to take such a claim seriously though.

i would consider them religious as they have traditional worship

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That sounds rather like an excuse.

Look, it's become blatantly obvious that you did not start this thread looking for an objective discussion on monotheistic religions. You started this thread because you wanted to push your beliefs. Any evidence that does not support your belief is not being examined fairly.

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Look, it's become blatantly obvious that you did not start this thread looking for an objective discussion on monotheistic religions. You started this thread because you wanted to push your beliefs. Any evidence that does not support your belief is not being examined fairly.

I think you are probably projecting onto me your own approach to the subject.

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