[WikiEN-l] In defense of non-monotheistic religions

Thu Apr 10 17:31:42 UTC 2003

I can't believe I've devoted so much time to this. I guess Rev. Moon's desire -- to unite the world via, among other things, inter-religious understanding -- has me in its grip :-)

I just finished reading talk archive #6 -- yes, their are FIVE previous talk archives on this topic! And I waded through the first half of the [[idolatry]] article.

It really amounts to a defense of non-monotheistic religions, against the accusation of "idolatry" from the monotheistic religions. As such, the article really requires a thorough rewrite.

The article is not describing what "idolatry" is, let alone distinguishing facets such as "idol worship" or "polytheism". It's just saying, in effect, "You guys condemn us, but you don't even know what you're talking about. So there!"

I think RK has been awfully patient, although he does tend to blow up now and then. 

But the problem is not the personalities of the contributors, in this case. It's the focus of the whole article. Or, should I say the lack of focus.

We need to identify just what it is, that the ancient verses condemned. We can report on the reasons various rabbis and priests have given over the centuries for this condemnation. We can even mention any relaxation of these prohibitions.

Also, and most importantly, we need to distinguish clearly between:
* what Jews and other monotheists condemn
* what polytheists and the like say they are "really doing"

Until we clarify these issues, the article will go nowhere because everyone is arguing at cross purposes.

Ed Poor