Saturday 22 January 2005

The Devil can cite Scripture for his Purpose

So the Immortal Bard wrote in The Merchant of Venice.

A good example is to be found in the comments on a post by EvilPundit.
You must kill those who worship another god. Exodus 22:20
Kill any friends or family that worship a god that is different than your own. Deuteronomy 13:6-10
Kill all the inhabitants of any city where you find people that worship differently than you. Deuteronomy 13:12-16
Kill everyone who has religious views that are different than your own. Deuteronomy 17:2-7
Kill anyone who refuses to listen to a priest. Deuteronomy 17:12-13
Kill any false prophets. Deuteronomy 18:20
Any city that doesn't "receive" the followers of Jesus will be destroyed in a manner even more savage than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Mark 6:11
Jude reminds us that God destroys those who don't believe in him. Jude 5
Don�t associate with non-Christians. Don't receive them into your house or even exchange greeting with them. 2 John 10
Shun those who disagree with your religious views. Romans 16:17
Paul, knowing that their faith would crumble if subjected to free and critical inquiry, tells his followers to avoid philosophy. Colossians 2:8
There's a lot in the comments that I know is incorrect, but a lot that to my surprise was correct when I checked it.

Worth a look - and certainly worth tracking down every quotation, as some are bogus.

Another comment led me to the (misnamed) National Hate Test. Here's my own reactions:

1. No idea. If forced to guess, I'd go with the old stereotype about the tallest player being the best at basketball. That's probably not the Asian, and the American kid is more likely to know more about basketball. But frankly, there's not enough information to say.

2. Curiousity - is she foreign or Australian? "Asians" differ as much as do "
Europeans". Hell, Chinese differ as much as do Europeans, just look at the 7 different classical styles of Chinese cooking, they're as different as Lutefisk is from Moussaka.

3. What's an American doctor doing here in Oz? How long has he been here, when did he emigrate from the US?

4. Thin, definitely. It's a sad fact that appearance is important in this particular job, and in current fashion dictates Elle Macpherson rather than Elle Macfeast.

5. The one who doesn't look like a hood. The one who's neater.

6. That he's a darn good coach. Good Lord, I'm Homophobic, but I don't take it to ridiculous extremes.

7. GREAT line! I'd probably burst out laughing.

8. Why would I ask for another trainer? I'm not about to swap and bodily fluids with him, share a needle etc.

9. Different case. 3 years olds can bite. I'd want to talk to my GP about this to get a risk assessment, I don't know enough. Until I talk, no contact.

10. Disgust. Then realisation that she's probably not consciously Anti-Semitic, it's just a loathsome figure-of-speech that I find personally offensive. A trifle though compared with the real anti-semitism found in, say, some parts of the ALP. I wouldn't say anything.

11. Depends if they're Wahabbis or not. But if they were Wahabbi, they'd hardly be talking to me, would they? Being Devout Muslims - and with both Husband and Wife present showing that they're not in a master-slave relationship, they'd probably be better neighbours than the average. Safer, anyway. I'd try to make sure they had access to a reasonably local Mosque - which could be tricky if they're Shi'a.

12. Long-term relationship would be fraught with difficulty. Do I want this person as a friend, or as a possible lifelong companion? If the latter, there would be practical problems, ramp access required at home etc. It raises the bar, but isn't a disqualifier.

13. DOH! How could I not have noticed? Then maybe switch to radio commentary, so we can both enjoy it. Describe the room, so he can manouver a bit more confidently.

14. Not enough data. The 55-yr-old may be more flexible, depending upon his past experience, number of jobs handled. But if he's been doing the same old same old, and so has the 35-yr-old, the younger bloke would get it. But again, personality as shown by talking in the interview is vastly more relevant.

15. A Female Mechanic? Unusual. Good, should be more of 'em. And I'm prejudiced enough to believe that enough of a glass ceiling still exists that she's probably better than the average male. Why? Because she must have a real passion for her job to resist the social pressure against doing Guy Stuff.

16. Why shouldn't I be?

Apart from question 10, I really don't see how much this has to do with "hate". Fear on the other hand, yes, there's some of that.




No comments: