Comments on: Broccoli Is My Personal Jihad

By: Fraggle

Fraggle — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:23:01 +0000

Wow. They seem just like real people!! :-p

By: alcari

alcari — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:02:59 +0000

Well, It wouldn’t be to much of a problem if people chose a fixed set of non-contradictory dogma.

The problem is that these things, like your example, allow for picking and choosing whenever you want, combined with the utter lack of having to take responsibility for your actions, both to your own concience and to society makes for a pretty foundation for a civilisation.

don’t like your neighbor? “suffer not the witch to live”
Someone wants to kill you “thou shalt not kill”
Someone hurt you? “Eye for an eye”
You hurt someone, and they want revenge? “Turn the other cheek”

By: Kurt

Kurt — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:37:20 +0000

A very interesting point, Alcari. But beyond asking for “proof of god,” I think the larger issue is the idea that some want the rules of *their* god practiced by everyone — usually by force of law with all the penalties that can be applied — and that it is their mission to force everyone to bow to their “god’s will.” In other words — and I think this is implied by your “responsibility” comment — they are saying, “Of course you must follow these rules without question; god tells you to in this book right here.”
This is, of course, at complete odds with a secular ideal of religious tolerance and freedom. The primary difference between secular government and theocracy is that one must demonstrate the moral, economic, and cohabibility value of any policy on a secular level. On the theocratic level, none of that matters: the rules are the rules, and you *will* follow them . . . or else.
Of course, the fact that there are so many condradictory rules in every religion (”thou shall not murder” vs. “suffer not a witch to live” is a great example) forces the theocrats to pick and choose between the rules they want to force the rest of us to follow . . . which puts human judgement back into the equation (which is what I think Jennifer was trying to say).

By: Alcari

Alcari — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:54:29 +0000

Jennifer, you seem to be missing the point.

you see, by saying “god is the judge” religious people gain carte blanche to press whatever issue they want, without ever having to claim responsibiliy. After all, it’s not what they want, it’s what ‘god wants’.

It’s very convenient, because there is still to much of a social taboo to ask for proof of their god first.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 06:28:01 +0000

I saw this video a month ago when our local paper mentioned it and I looked it up. I guess that heidi is a theist because she ends her post with “God is the judge,” but from the perspective of an atheist — which i am — god is most definitely NOT the judge, and people have every right and reason to distrust those who think differently than they do. I have had several female muslim acquaintances and all of them have been friendly and warm to me, but they also — 100% — hate Jews and considered the killing of them by bombers to be something holy. They all refuse to come to my house because I have dogs, which are unclean in their religion. They believe that their period makes them so unclean they cannot touch a quran without gloves on. They believe that women who show their hair go to hell. I like these women but I think they are crazy and I mean that in the literal sense - Disassociated from reality. It really is people who decide and judge these things, not a god.

By: heidi

heidi — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:45:34 +0000

Golden Wingnut:
the Oklahoma bombings of 1995, was he a muslim?

the man who microwaved his daughter, is he a muslim?

the parents who watched their diabetic daughter die for a whole month because they chose to pray to the lord rather than pray and take her to the doctor, are they muslims?

Jesus couldn’t have permitted drinks if he’s divine and he knows that people will be alcoholics, people will get killed, raped, beaten or robbed because of drinks, the Christians who drink and do all these things… would they be considered good or bad in your opinion?

again there are good and bad people everywhere.

it’s not you who decide. God is the judge.

By: heidi

heidi — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:54:59 +0000

TO ANDREW : that was so funny!

to those who posted the video and the crew of the video… great job.

to Golden Wingnut & Snurp:
there are good people who are not Christians and there are bad people who are Christians. there’s the good and the bad everywhere. God is the judge not you not me.

By: Annie

Annie — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:08:47 +0000

That was wonderful.. I often wish people realized how much all people are the same; we love. we live, we want more for our children.. We are all the same and yet we are all different..

By: Rich

Rich — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:20:59 +0000

To the andrew: LOL.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:53:49 +0000

To the broccoli jihadist: Give peas a chance.