There are Neanderthals, there are Republicans, there is Terri Schiavo, and then there are Biblical Literalists
But none of these facts excuses the Neumanns or should give us pause about their being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The simple fact is that literalism, especially biblical literalism, kills.
For God's Sake: Biblical Literalism Kills -- Literally - On Faith at washingtonpost.com
Interesting article that illustrates the consequences of free spirit's ideas....
Of course there are other commands in the bible, arguably free is advocating stoning people to death and plucking people's eye balls out....
the article continues below (follow the link to the full article)
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This case is not about who is, or is not a Fundamentalist. It is about people hiding behind a claim of reading the Bible literally, which nobody does anyway. A great example can be found among those who claim to follow every word of the Bible and use that claim to explain their rejection of homosexuality and witchcraft, but have no problem violating equally biblical bans on pork or cooking on the Sabbath.
Of course, they will point to a new scripture which extends the prohibition on the first two, and frees them from the second set of proscriptions. But that is an interpretive move and that means that they are no longer literalists who are freed from the consequences of their actions simply by invoking the Free Exercise clause.
The case of Kara Neumann and the parents who allowed her to die, is about the dangers of any group of people, of any faith, refusing to admit that they too are part of an interpretive tradition, making decisions about the meaning of the text which they revere. When they fail to acknowledge their role in interpreting the text, they are creating an excuse to check their consciences at the door, and end up deeply hypocritical at best and murderous at worst.
Be it Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Pagan or anything else, any insistence on the literal reading of any ancient holy book, in contemporary times, quickly devolves into ugly and dangerous behavior. In fact, the reason that both early Christians and the first rabbinic Jews were able to create new communities was because the literal reading of the Hebrew Bible had ceased to be a functional approach to that text.
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On a final note, the IRONIC thing, if the following extract is correct, is well, that Free spirit's assertions are just plain nonsensical, but I think that has already become clear to most:
Much of the conflict between science and religion is the result of literal interpretations of the sacred text of the Christian and Jewish faiths known as the Bible. A literalist view of the Bible is actually an outgrowth of the philosophy and time period from which modern science arose (called the "Enlightenment"the 18th century) that identified truth with factuality and that truth must be verifiable as fact. Therefore, it is a relatively recent view that does not go back to the original community of Christians that wrote the materials collected together in what Christians call the "New Testament" (and, therefore, not even further back to the communities of the Hebrew Bible, the "Old Testament").
Truth of Metaphor
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Biblical Literalism is the most common form of
schizophrenia as of yet discovered in humans. It is usually diagnosed from the sufferer's belief that the
Bible, in its entirety, is an accurate account of actual events which have taken place since the world was created by
God, in 6 days, 6000 years ago.
As many as 80% of Christians suffer from Biblical Literalism, and it is furthermore thought that Biblical Literalism is a pre-cursory symptom of
kiddy fiddling.
If you think you or someone you know may be a Biblical Literalist, there is help. Most hospitals offer powerful
euthanasia for any Biblical Literalist seeking help. If you can't afford medical bills or you don't dig hospital treatments, a bit of music from
Gary's Gang will also do the trick.
Biblical Literalism - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
