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Saturday, May 15, 2004

Religion

Vatican document discourages Catholic-Muslim marriages, particularly between Muslim men and Catholic women. I don't think I could marry a committed non-Christian--the potential for conflict would be too great--but I could probably get along with someone indifferent to organized religion, especially if she were hot.

The document indicates several points of commonality between Roman Catholicism and Islam, like a belief in God, daily prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage and "the fight against injustice."

At the same time, it gently chides Muslims for faltering on the issue of human rights.

"We hope there will be, on the part of our Muslim brothers and sisters," its authors write, "a growing awareness that fundamental liberties, the inviolable rights of the person, the equal dignity of man and woman, the democratic principle of government and the healthy lay character of the state are principles that cannot be surrendered."

Islam is 1400 years old. At that age, Catholicism was not exactly a staunch defender of women's rights, democracy, or the secularization of the state; in fact, it didn't really become so until the Second Vatican Council some five hundred years later. Although the Vatican certainly has the right to admonish Muslims to adopt some modernist principles, it shouldn't hold its breath.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

As I understand it, Islam explicitly forbids marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man, on the grounds that no Muslim can ever be subject to the authority of a non-Muslim.

Of course, it's perfectly okay for a Muslim man to take a Christian wife. (Presumably he can then order her to change religions. Problem solved!)

Ya gotta love those theologically-imperialistic religions.

10:29 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Apparently Blogger's comments won't allow people to identify themselves as the authors of comments unless they have a "password". Whence comes this password, your newly anonymous correspondent, Felix, knoweth not.

10:31 AM  
Blogger Carlos said...

Damn, I should have know that having a built-in commenting feature on Blogger was too good to be true without some sort of annoying glitch. Could the password simply be your blogger password? That would mean though that people without blogger accounts are doomed to remain anonymous? Weird.

10:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, and re. the general human rights issue:

Are you seriously suggesting that Christ's church should passively condone brutal and abusive behavior for another six hundred years?

If the Islamists have their way, Christianity won't be around by that time.

10:35 AM  
Blogger Carlos said...

No, just advising that we be realistic about the prospect of Islam changing in the immediate future.

10:52 AM  

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