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Author Topic:   What Would Society Look Like Under Biblical Fundamentalism?
Hyroglyphx
Inactive Member


Message 23 of 31 (384462)
02-11-2007 5:24 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by anglagard
02-04-2007 3:19 PM


Buzsaw, Nemesis Juggernaut, and Hoot Mon implied that any fear of Christian Fundamentalism is misplaced and overblown.
In comparison to the ideology of radical Islam it certainly pales in comparison.
Form of Government: Would you preserve democracy as it is now, or would you prefer a government made up of religious leaders of your persuasion, a kingdom, a dictatorship, or some other form of government?
I think the insight of the Framers was remarkably eloquent. What I wish is that we went back to their insight, which I feel is being manipulated by special interest groups on both sides. In other words, I wouldn't change the foundation of the nation for anything.
First Amendment freedoms: Would these be preserved or would some religions or forms of free speech such as pornography or criticism of religious/government leaders be banned?
The tricky thing about the freedom of speech is this: Everybody likes the fact that we can speak our minds without the fear of reprisal. We tend not to like censorship, and with good reason. But at the same time, there are things out there that espouse, condone, or urge violence or destruction to be taken. When speech turns to the commission of violent action, it should not be tolerated.
The interesting thing about pornography is that it is essentially prostitution. Not for the viewer, but for the pornographers and the "actors." So, could you restrict those laws because it was being filmed during the commission of a crime? I don't know. It doesn't seem to be the case because every one that has tried to stop has been stifled by the defense against censorship.
Education: Would you change public education to include religious instruction and if so, which religion(s) would be permitted? Would you ban education in all Natural Sciences, ban specific elements of the sciences such as evolution, geoscience, and cosmology or leave public education as it is?
I think public schools should offer theology classes like public colleges do. I even think the Bible, the Vedas, the Qur'an, etc, should be considered as part of literature, if nothing else. There seems to be this great fear of these tomes. That is as equally a grievous thing as the expressed teaching of it in school, in my opinion.
As far as science, I would leave it as it is with the exception of allowing ID to be considered in the curriculum.
Medicine: I know that there is much made about the power of prayer and faith healing among our fundies. Would you ban the practice of modern medicine? Would you replace current medical treatments with prayer, laying on of hands, and snake handling?
Prayer and medicine are two different things. Both of them have their place in life. I mean, Luke was a doctor. Jesus Himself stated that the healthy don't need doctors, but the sick. In other words, I don't subscribe to Christian Science.
Popular Culture: Would you censor books, music, and movies? Would there be a dress code like the Amish or Mao Zedong’s China had/have? Would homosexuality be made illegal?, Abortion?, Premarital sex?, Alcohol, Tobacco?, Medicine/Drugs?, Rap Music?, Rock Music?
The only thing I would criminalize in your list is abortion because I see it as murder. All the other things are social constructs. You can't force people to abstain from sex, homosexual or heterosexual. And I think its a very bad idea to try and implement that. You have to reach people on the level of explaining what can happen if you engage in these kinds of behavior. Its like with alcohol. We warn people that it can be a detriment not only to themselves, but can affect the lives of others. But we don't tell them to be teetotalers.
Justice: Would we retain our current system or would crimes and punishments be dictated by Biblical Law and rendered by religious authorities? What would the criminal justice system look like? Would there be a death penalty?
If I was in charge I would abolish the death penalty. However, felony convictions would not be so easily undermined as they tend to be now where the rapist gets 1 year, but the victim gets life.
Foreign Relations: Would foreign policy be based upon Biblical prophecy? Would we unconditionally support Israel? Would you want a holy crusade to exterminate Islam?, Communism?, Secularism?, Catholicism?, Europe?
No. Prophecy is a caveat not a foreign policy. And we would align ourselves with countries who share our visions of democratic peace. Countries that opposed us would be dealt with diplomacy. Any kind of preemptive strike after diplomacy failed would only be allowed in the event that hard intelligence substantiates an imminent threat to the national security of the United States and its allies.
Technology: Would we no longer be allowed to use the principles of evolution in biological and medical research? Would we no longer be allowed to explore for oil and other mineral resources using principles from old earth geology? Would anything involving nuclear reactions become illegal as such scientists that are involved believe in nuclear decay? Or would such endeavors be hypocritically declared off-limits to the cleansing of our new age cultural revolutionaries as in China during the 60s?
No. Technology would still continue as it always has since the invention of the wheel and writing.

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." -C.S. Lewis

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by anglagard, posted 02-04-2007 3:19 PM anglagard has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 24 by Nighttrain, posted 02-11-2007 8:29 PM Hyroglyphx has replied
 Message 27 by nator, posted 02-19-2007 9:11 PM Hyroglyphx has not replied

  
Hyroglyphx
Inactive Member


Message 25 of 31 (384523)
02-11-2007 9:27 PM
Reply to: Message 24 by Nighttrain
02-11-2007 8:29 PM


Re: Curriculum
ID? ID? Um, isn`t that the vague attempt at sounding scientific where the proponents can`t even name who the Incompetent Designer is?
No, that's re-runs of Star Trek.

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." -C.S. Lewis

This message is a reply to:
 Message 24 by Nighttrain, posted 02-11-2007 8:29 PM Nighttrain has not replied

  
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