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Religion
In reply to the discussion: Did religion ever bring anything to mankind? [View all]Yorktown
(2,884 posts)125. you use words so loosely your statements don't carry weight
The Bible and Qu'ran are works of literature.
Yes, obviously, in the sense that they are books.
But their status in society does not derive from their quality (Bible) or lack of (Quran) as pieces of literature.
Thier status derives from their claims to be the etrenal word of something called god, bestowing universal and eternal truths on us, poor human sheeple.
Claims of universal, eternal value certainly are made for Shakespeare, Sophokles, and Picasso(..)
Your parallel in the use of the words 'universal, eternal value' in both reliogious books and great authors (Shakespeare, Sophocles) lies on different layers of loose language:
1- the holy books make explicit claims of universal, eternal value, not Shakespeare
2- When critics say Shakespeare presents 'universal' values, the words universal or eternal are used in a loose way meaning that Shakespeare presents emotions that can be and will be understood by a great many people for quite a long time. Without any attempt to even pretend those values really universal and eternal.
3- futhermore, Shakespeare is demonstrably not presenting universal values: in the societies where there was polyandry, Othello makes no sense. or Othello in a couple who are swingers. In Thomas More's Utopia, Shylock would make no sense.
Anyway, universal and eternal are like infinity, they are abstractions.
Another indication that the claims of the holy books are ludicrous.
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The OP is a series of unsupported assertions tossed out as an ill-conceived hypothesis.
LTX
Mar 2015
#143
Which is apparently behind a curtain and not addressing the points brought up by LTX.
cbayer
Mar 2015
#149
Fair enough. But are you limiting the question to the major religions, western religions?
NYC_SKP
Mar 2015
#14
Might have contributed to our survival at one point as a means of storytelling and copyerror control
AtheistCrusader
Mar 2015
#24
Not sure why total separation of church and state won't fix what you say is the problem.
merrily
Mar 2015
#39
It is possible to regard religious language as expressing non-negotiable ideas
struggle4progress
Mar 2015
#47
"Christianity" and "Islam" are abstract words, and different people use the words in different ways
struggle4progress
Mar 2015
#49
"Christianity" has a definite meaning to me; but "Islam" a considerably less definite meaning
struggle4progress
Mar 2015
#91
It's quite common for special uses of language to develop, which have a clear meaning
struggle4progress
Mar 2015
#99
Claims of approaches to universal truth are not necessary harmful, and
struggle4progress
Mar 2015
#111
I'm upset that the Rangers shat the bed against the Kings the other night
BeyondGeography
Mar 2015
#61
I wasn't familiar prior to your post. It would have been interesting to see the completed work.
LiberalAndProud
Mar 2015
#116
Religion basically boils down to a way for certain groups of people to control/exploit other people
Arugula Latte
Apr 2015
#183
Staunch anti-theist though I may be, I have never identified with this sentiment.
Act_of_Reparation
Mar 2015
#133
It has been an effective vehicle for the global dissemination of Western European culture.
LiberalAndProud
Mar 2015
#138
"All these basic rules exist in all societies, even in those which did not invent gods."
LTX
Mar 2015
#139
Those studies seem so nebulous that it seems disingenuous to use them as evidence of anything.
LiberalAndProud
Mar 2015
#157
Whatever religion 'contributed' in the positive sense, was probably before
AtheistCrusader
Apr 2015
#179