Alan: It appears that rigidly orthodox belief systems provide ready rationales whereby devotees feel -- and often express -- hatred for those who do not share The Faith.
In all three Abrahamic religions this hatred plays out on the seemingly "innocuous" level of orthodox declarations that infidels are destined for hell.
However, once a believer is validated in his conviction that God has devised The Universe so that infidels will suffer eternal torment, it is only a stone's throw from "A New Normal" wherein "true believers" start stoning "The Other."
In some instances "stoning" even applies to one's own children.
In the following passage from Deuteronomy, it is remarkable that stoning one's children (basically for "being children") is not just an "option" but a sacred obligation to be discharged by "all the men of the city."
According to the God of Deuteronomy, all men MUST have blood on their hands.
Religious absolutists whose belief system depends on divinely-ordained separation of "the saved" from "the damned" must nourish their energy-intensive habit by believing themselves "exclusively right" and the easiest way to cleave to such personal rectitude is to see others as categorically wrong.
This manichaean world view is founded on textbook dominance-submission hierarchies reminiscent of degraded humans who "kick the dog" to demonstrate personal superiority.
This manichaean world view is founded on textbook dominance-submission hierarchies reminiscent of degraded humans who "kick the dog" to demonstrate personal superiority.
Notably, no absolutist ever asks himself: "How is it that among the thousands of religions and sects, only my group of believers embraces The Absolute Truth and that the singular, absolutely inviolable Truth to which I subscribe was communicated to me by The One And Only God whose rules and regulations are set forth with an extraordinary degree of specificity -- a compendium of scrupulous mandates that can never be breached without Divine Punishment?"
Although subtle, the egotism embedded in these sub-dom world views is comprehensive.
"I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Well, there's so much to live for!" "Like what?" "Well... are you religious?" He said yes. I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian." "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ? "Protestant." "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" "Baptist" "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" "Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.
Emo Philips
Although subtle, the egotism embedded in these sub-dom world views is comprehensive.
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Assailant Stabs Six People at Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade
JERUSALEM — An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stabbed and wounded six participants, two of them seriously, in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem on Thursday, with police saying the suspect was jailed for a similar attack 10 years ago.
About 5,000 people celebrating the event were marching along an avenue when a man jumped into the crowd, apparently from a supermarket, and plunged a knife into some of the participants, witnesses said.
"We heard people screaming, everyone ran for cover, and there were bloodied people on the ground," Shai Aviyor, a witness interviewed on Israel's Channel 2, said.
It was the worst attack in years on the event in Jerusalem, a divided city where the religious population is more prominent than in other parts of Israel and highlighted the tension nationwide among disparate social groups.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "a despicable hate crime", and President Reuven Rivlin warned that social intolerance could spell disaster for Israel.
Police said they arrested the suspected perpetrator, an ultra-Orthodox man. Spokeswoman Luba Samri said he was the same assailant jailed for the stabbing of three marchers at a similar Jerusalem event in 2005. Israeli media said the suspect had been released from prison several weeks ago.
The parade has long been a focus of tension between Israel's predominantly secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority, who object to public displays of homosexuality.
Many devout Jews, Muslims and Christians criticize homosexuality as an abomination of their beliefs. Gay marriages performed inside Israel are not recognized by the authorities.
Police and medics said the attacker wounded six people. Two were taken to hospital in serious condition, including a young woman, said a doctor at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, where the victims were being treated.
The march is held in the largely Jewish side of the divided city. Palestinians predominate in occupied East Jerusalem.
Oded Fried, the head of a leading gay rights group, said the attack would not deter the movement. A similar Gay Pride event on June 12 in the more gay friendly business hub of Tel Aviv passed off without incident.
"Our struggle for equality only intensifies in the face of such events," Fried said.
Netanyahu said Israel would prosecute those responsible to the full extent of the law, adding: "Freedom of individual choice is a basic value in Israel."
Rivlin, whose job as president is largely ceremonial, said: "We must not be deluded a lack of tolerance will lead us to disaster."
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