To: Straight Vermonter
Incorrect, in one sense. The Renaissance of Europe was, at the beginning, a rediscovery of the Near East, Greek and Roman worlds. In a sense, their accomplishments would not have been possible without their forebearers as well.
Like the Christians, the Muslims made great early advances. For a variety of reasons unconnected with their religion, the society was decimated by faction and quarrel.
I think if you were to examine the sciences you would see the great Arabic impact.
You see, a German isn't predisposed to anti-semitism. The Holocaust was the culmination of two thousands years of Christian anti-semitism. Yet, I don't believe that Christians are any more disposed to anti-semitism than Muslims are to terrorism.
I think you and I could have an interesting debate on this. Let's continue by e-mail, if you want. RW
P.S. I gather you are not for Howard Dean. :)
To: republicanwizard
"The Holocaust was the culmination of two thousands years of Christian anti-semitism."
Wrong. The Holocaust was sui generis. European anti-Semitism and Nazism had nothing in common. Christianity's opposition to Judaism was religiously based--and it was a mutual antagonism; Hitler's hate was built exclusively on pernicious theories of race, clearly altogether different. Hitler, in fact, hated Christianity. Yet this glib revisionist assertion--that Christianity caused the Holocaust--is repeated frequently lately and it is a slander. It is just as bigoted in its anti-Christian bias as any anti-Semitic comment.
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