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Igel

(36,569 posts)
6. And the appropriate response is,
Sat Mar 23, 2019, 09:57 AM
Mar 2019

"No, it was written by a psychotic-schizophrenic who heard voices." That's much better, I guess.

Now, if I were a Muslim I'm not sure if I would be happier being told that the Prophet was a crazy who managed to dupe people or by a demon who managed to dupe a gullible Muhammed.

Of course, Xians are told either they're duped into believing a simple itinerant populist rabbi was God; that perhaps this itinerant rabbi never actually existed but is a syncretism of various other religions; or, at best, the pre-existing writings that (non-)existent rabbi cited was either put together by somebody who was basically a racist Jewish nationalist or a bunch of similar psychotic-schizophrenics over time. Or maybe charlatans. The difference is that supernatural deception's not usually in the list of options (although I suspect that if you look at rabbinic writings you'll find the claim somewhere that Jesus was crazy or possessed).


The claim that the Prophet was possessed by a devil or by the Devil dates back at least to the early Middle Ages. At first he was a heretic, influenced by heretics and entirely unoriginal but basically bloodthirsty and supporting what we'd describe as ressentiment and imperialism these days. Other Xians or Jews called him "crazy" or "possessed"--keep in mind that they were potential synonyms at the time. Within couple of centuries he was described as a perve or as either possessed or Satan-influenced. Why was this a topic? Look at the history and at relevance.

I suspect that this was either a claim made by Evangelicals after doing some research you didn't or was the obvious deduction that had already been reached very, very many times given a very old set of traditional assumptions and beliefs. This kind of claim is never made in a vacuum. I saw very few denunciations of the USSR in 2002 or 2009, for example. Few got up to say how horrible their proxy wars were, few had much to say about how the "dictatorship of the proletariat" had produced such environmental degradation on such a wide scale, or to talk about the GULags. There being no USSR to argue against, arguing against the USSR seemed rather pointless. You argue against foes. You don't take a lot of time arguing against irrelevancies.

The church I was in in the late '70s and through the '80s had been affected by a set of heresies (it's why it existed). So one minister had a series of sermons on heresies. Islam, originally considered a Xian heresy, was included. And with it, the allegations about Muhammed. This was in maybe '79 or '80, when Islam was still not much of an issue in the US.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Of course back in the day Evangelicals were not rabid anti-abortionists either Vogon_Glory Mar 2019 #1
Then they are idiots. LakeArenal Mar 2019 #2
The Koran has many of the same things as the OT. keithbvadu2 Mar 2019 #3
That end bit is the part they like to obsess over ms liberty Mar 2019 #29
They think the same about atheists Major Nikon Mar 2019 #4
An assertion. guillaumeb Mar 2019 #7
It wasn't specific Major Nikon Mar 2019 #8
Speaking of thinking, and related matters, guillaumeb Mar 2019 #9
If you don't know what "specific" means, look it up Major Nikon Mar 2019 #10
To summarize: guillaumeb Mar 2019 #11
I call it not giving a shit Major Nikon Mar 2019 #13
Speaking of trains, and crashes, guillaumeb Mar 2019 #14
If I had been specific, you wouldn't be looking Major Nikon Mar 2019 #15
There are 2 possibilities. guillaumeb Mar 2019 #16
Then pick one, or not Major Nikon Mar 2019 #17
Which one is it? eom guillaumeb Mar 2019 #18
The correct answer is... Major Nikon Mar 2019 #19
That clarifies it. guillaumeb Mar 2019 #20
If it was undocumented then how are you going to file it? Major Nikon Mar 2019 #21
The heading of a very voluminous file. guillaumeb Mar 2019 #22
Guess you really touched a nerve, huh? n/t trotsky Mar 2019 #23
Funny how that works Major Nikon Mar 2019 #24
Your claim: guillaumeb Mar 2019 #12
Here's the support, as provided in another thread MineralMan Mar 2019 #25
And this is how unsupported accusations are shared and live on: guillaumeb Mar 2019 #28
Born in 1945, and grew up in a Presbyterian church. MineralMan Mar 2019 #5
And the appropriate response is, Igel Mar 2019 #6
Jesus handmade34 Mar 2019 #26
Stupidity and EVILGELICALS one and the same Thekaspervote Mar 2019 #27
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