Beliefs
Here's an article by Dennis Prager that claims belief (or disbelief) in the authority of the Torah has predictive value. How? Well, it can predict your stance on:
same-sex marriage; the morality of medically unnecessary abortions; capital punishment for murder; the willingness to label certain actions, regimes, even people "evil"; skepticism regarding the United Nations and the World Court; strong support for Israel; or a willingness to criticize the moral state of Islamic societies.Is there a correlation between belief in the Torah and what you think about these issues? Perhaps, but I question how strong it is.
When it comes to same-sex marriage, he might have a point, though it seems to me a bigger divide may be along age lines--I've met old liberals who don't like it and young religious types who don't mind it.
Abortion? While even Prager admits the correlation isn't perfect, there are so many tens of millions who are religious but support abortion that I don't see how belief in the Torah's authority tells you very much.
Capital punishment? Prager may favor it, but there are many millions who oppose it specifically on religious grounds, so this seems a particularly poor example.
Calling things evil? Hmm. Seems to me plenty people of all stripes believe in saying certain actions, regimes and people are morally wrong, they just disagree on what the target should be.
The final three examples seem more about American than religious beliefs. Even religious people in other countries support the UN and the World Court a lot more than we do here in the US. And Israel, in general, has strong support in the US--from all types--while it's regularly condemned in Europe--even by religious leaders. As to criticizing Islamic countries, there are many Bible believers (more so in Europe than the US, I'd guess), who tend to oppose criticism of others based on religion.
I'm sorry I'm writing in generalities here, but I don't have the data needed to properly answer these question. Then again, neither does Prager.
(I realize I'm not getting at what may be the central problem with Prager's argument. There seems to be an implication that belief in the Bible will make you have certain values. Perhaps, but correlation is not causation. There may be a correlation (especially in the US) between religious belief and political affiliation, but that could mean the sort of people who agree with Prager on political issues are also the kind of people who'd believe in the Bible.)
posted by LAGuy @ 12:55 AM
2 Comments:
As usual, Prager takes some good points (even a few profound ones) and stretches them well beyond what can be plausibly argued from them.
I agree with your analysis of the various problems with this article.
Indeed, since Prager's whole point seems to be that there is an essential unity between Jews, Christians, and Mormons on moral issues, it seems strange that he brings up some issues on which there is clear disunity:
a. Opposition to the death penalty is quite common among the very religious folks that Prager is citing. The Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty should only be applied in certain extreme circumstances that are essentially nonexistent in the "developed world". (Of course, many individual Catholics disagree, but as you point out this is true on the abortion issue as well.)
b. All of Prager's Torah-believers are willing to call certain actions "evil". (And, while LAGuy is right that non-believers sometimes use this term as well, I do know several agnostics and New Agers who find the term "evil" entirely repugnant.) However, all the Christian teachers I know of insist that no person can be labelled "evil"; each of us is capable of good or evil actions, but we are God's creatures and he created us fundamentally good.
More importantly, what of the Jews and Christians who don't agree with these issues? Political liberals form a clear majority in Reform Judaism and in several Protestant denominations. Is Prager arguing that these people do not believe the Torah is divine? I think he probably is, and this is somewhat problematic. True, most Orthodox Jews argue that the Torah was dictated by God letter-for-letter, while most Reform Jews wouldn't agree. But I believe that a Reform rabbi would take it as slander for Prager to claim he denies the divinity of the Torah. And the divisions among Christians regarding what it means to say the Bible is "inspired" and "revealed" are even more complex.
Prager concludes with his oft-repeated lament of "the exclusion of the Bible at a ceremonial swearing-in of an American congressman." What part of "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" does this guy not understand?
I have no data to support this- only a gut inclination. People who favor the status quo and tradition (or are at least very comfortable with it and do not want change) tend to find the traditional sources of authority whether Bible, Torah, Koran, Federalist Papers etc.. or other very important founding document (And no doubt the traditional authority it represents) supportive of their notion of the way life ought to be. While I respect fundamental religious or ideological beliefs, people do tend to find what they want to find in the source material. There are plenty of old communists throughout Eastern Europe who bewail the shattered economy, mafias, and such which was due to folks losing faith in the Manifesto and its progeny
Post a Comment
<< Home