Should Americans really give intolerance a pass if it is rooted in religious faith?Posted by Gavin Sheridan at July 20, 2004 12:16 AM | TrackBackMany American Christians once read the Bible to mean that African-Americans were cursed as descendants of Noah's son Ham, and were intended by God to be enslaved. In the 19th century, millions of Americans sincerely accepted this Biblical justification for slavery as God's word - but surely it would have been wrong to defer to such racist nonsense simply because speaking out could have been perceived as denigrating some people's religious faith.
People have the right to believe in a racist God, or a God who throws millions of nonevangelicals into hell. I don't think we Americans should ban books that say that. But we should be embarrassed when our best-selling books gleefully celebrate religious intolerance and violence against infidels.
That's not what America stands for, and I doubt that it's what God stands for.
I'm strongly against religious fanatism no matter where it comes from. It is always dangerous and leads to dangerous kind of behaviors.
People who think they have the right to justify racism through biblical studies are insane to me.
Tolerance in Christianism and Islam are the best way for mutual understanding between both communities.
Posted by: Isabelle Esling at July 22, 2004 11:22 AM