in all fairness, it is in Christianity, since violating the golden rule has been a sin since Vatican 2 or so (iirc) but it's not on a tablet anywhere, so they ignore it.
Not particularly, although it falls under the larger umbrella of universal justice and social peace and loving your enemies that is more or less written into every major religion. A main problem is that these problems have only really been spoken of at length for a hundred years and from that perspective it can be hard to identify and magnify the prophets. Speaking for my own denomination, the Presbyterians have started the habit of coming up with a new creed every few decades that starts to explore the ways in which proper Christian life has become further revealed to us, and I predict that someday in the future the Book of Confessions will be thought of as a third testament.
If Ryan North and theweaselking are seriously asking for a response, then I think we're judged on a curve. If we leave the world a socially better place than we found it through the urgings of the Spirit, whether that means treating your slaves better than your father did or releasing your father's slaves or making amends for the legacy of slavery based on your time, then you can are entitled to some confidence that you are in a right relationship with God. That sort of person who bequeaths only 99% of their social injustice to their children will, I suspect, be pleased to arrive at a Heaven with no social injustice and will have no trouble fitting in.
Vatican 2 does not equal the Bible. In fact, it is doing extactly what the comic is poking fun at.
Besides, how does thinking you are superior to someone else violate the golden rule? Hating them and doing bad things to them because you believe yourself superior violates the Golden Rule but simple belief in your superiority doesn't seem to be a sin in and of itself. Unless, of course, someone an point to somewhere in a religious text that says otherwise.
The problem with "treat other people as you would like to be treated" is that it does not sufficiently define "people".
Christianity specifically has the bit about "what you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me" - but it ALSO has the bits about how women aren't people, shouldn't own property, are often unclean, and about how slavery is good.
some types do. catholicism doesn't have that stuff bogging it down (part of the pick and choose package of the various Vatican councils and papal edicts) but a lot of Christian faiths do.
Anyway, i never said it wasn't illogical and contradictory, but it's in there. But anything that stems from the bible can be proven and disproven using the same book, you know that.
I think it rather depends on whether or not you'd appreciate being treated that way, but in all fairness, I rarely think of racism as a real problem unless people are being treated poorly. I know it's a bit hypocritical, but angry racism where you treat minorities like shit is so prevalent that I can't be bothered to be bothered when someone prefers a minority for something positive.
If you're a woman, there's a increased chance that you'd think sexism was bad even back in the day.
If you're a person of color, I think there's also an increased chance you'd think racism was bad even back in the day.
Women were writing proto-feminist texts as far back as the Middle Ages, and recorded speeches from black people during slavery show that they weren't exactly okay with it.
So, yeah, if I were alive a couple of hundred years ago, I think I would still believe that racism and sexism suck. Hard.
If we just go "Hey, it was okay to be racist back then, it was the done thing." then we absolve people of any responsibility in regards to individual thought. Since a whole movement developed specifically to fight racism, and one that did the same for sexism, obviously everyone who was brought up with x ideals wasn't turned into a zombie. Plus you've got examples through history of people who regardless of background said "Hey, why don't we treat these guys like those guys over there?".
The moral of this story: Think for yourself, or get judged for what you think anyway?
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:17 pm (UTC)Or maybe wood suffers *terribly* when it's burned.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 05:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 06:05 pm (UTC)in all fairness, it is in Christianity, since violating the golden rule has been a sin since Vatican 2 or so (iirc) but it's not on a tablet anywhere, so they ignore it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 06:32 pm (UTC)If Ryan North and theweaselking are seriously asking for a response, then I think we're judged on a curve. If we leave the world a socially better place than we found it through the urgings of the Spirit, whether that means treating your slaves better than your father did or releasing your father's slaves or making amends for the legacy of slavery based on your time, then you can are entitled to some confidence that you are in a right relationship with God. That sort of person who bequeaths only 99% of their social injustice to their children will, I suspect, be pleased to arrive at a Heaven with no social injustice and will have no trouble fitting in.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 06:42 pm (UTC)Besides, how does thinking you are superior to someone else violate the golden rule? Hating them and doing bad things to them because you believe yourself superior violates the Golden Rule but simple belief in your superiority doesn't seem to be a sin in and of itself. Unless, of course, someone an point to somewhere in a religious text that says otherwise.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 06:49 pm (UTC)Christianity specifically has the bit about "what you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me" - but it ALSO has the bits about how women aren't people, shouldn't own property, are often unclean, and about how slavery is good.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 07:04 pm (UTC)and while thinking you're better doesn't violate the golden rule, treating them differently because of their skin or sex does.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 07:06 pm (UTC)Anyway, i never said it wasn't illogical and contradictory, but it's in there. But anything that stems from the bible can be proven and disproven using the same book, you know that.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 07:17 pm (UTC)Crud...
Date: 2009-01-28 07:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 07:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 07:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-29 12:29 am (UTC)If you're a person of color, I think there's also an increased chance you'd think racism was bad even back in the day.
Women were writing proto-feminist texts as far back as the Middle Ages, and recorded speeches from black people during slavery show that they weren't exactly okay with it.
So, yeah, if I were alive a couple of hundred years ago, I think I would still believe that racism and sexism suck. Hard.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-29 08:36 am (UTC)If we just go "Hey, it was okay to be racist back then, it was the done thing." then we absolve people of any responsibility in regards to individual thought. Since a whole movement developed specifically to fight racism, and one that did the same for sexism, obviously everyone who was brought up with x ideals wasn't turned into a zombie. Plus you've got examples through history of people who regardless of background said "Hey, why don't we treat these guys like those guys over there?".
The moral of this story: Think for yourself, or get judged for what you think anyway?