Merits of faith - Update


The real driving forces behind history are not what you have been told.
Some of my email the last couple of days has criticized me for taking a harsher line against Islamic fundamentalists, particularly in the bits I quoted in the entry UK destined to be Islamic?

Perhaps it's only obvious to someone who doesn't follow a monotheistic faith, but from my perspective there isn't much root difference between the Big Three monotheisms. There are differences but those differences come from external factors and not from any merits of the faiths themselves. Let me explain.

Some Christians love to trot out their (ancestor) faith as the reason why Western Civilization advanced. That's not exactly true. While it is not the only reason, it's beyond coincidence that as Pauline Christianity became the faith of the Roman Empire, the Empire itself fractured and shrank. Major advances in science and technology were lost for centuries, some never were recovered. Eventually this led to the Dark Ages in Europe.

Meanwhile Islam expanded. Charles Adams in his excellent text For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization makes the strong argument that part of Islam's attraction for unbelievers was a lower tax rate combined with simpler tax laws. There is something to be said for that, but it is only part of the answer.

See, the real answer is in trade and tolerance, and to a lesser extent immigration and emigration. I touched on this before. Societies with high trade and tolerance of other cultures spread, while insular societies shrink. Call it the selfish economic version of history, but the pattern is pretty obvious once you know where to look.

Sure enough, as the Islamic nations tightened their hold and cut themselves off from outside influence, Islam began to recede. And as the Western Civilizations emerged from the Dark Ages, one of the major influences was trade. In fact, the entire colonization of the New World was driven not by faith but by greed seeded by trade.

I admit I am a devout believer in the free market, choices freely made and without coercion. I do not believe that a faith that must be forced on someone has any worth, any more than I believe that only one brand of cornflakes can be allowed. If history is any guide, it shows that a faith flourishes when it is but one choice among many, when it has to compete to be heard.

It is that free choice that I am interested in. It is that free choice that makes my life as a Pagan possible. It is the separation of faith from government that allows freedom to thrive.

That is what I am willing to defend.

That is ALL I will defend.

So when someone speaks of taking away choice as part of an imposed religion, I will speak out. My freedom is increased when other people have theirs increased. That is worth fighting for.

It's not that I am anti-Islamic, I am anti-statist.

Update - I got some complimentary emails from this entry.

Sometimes people are paying attention.

And that is very nice to know.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sun - June 10, 2007 at 02:56 PM  Tag


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