ISIS v Saudi

[David Johnson]

"And, as I said, we cannot call them 'wrong' interpretations either. There is no way anyone on Earth can tell you the correct interpretation of any holy book that has supposedly been passed down from an eternal, all knowing, all power full creator."

Yes, all those Christians who followed the Old Testament and stoned adulterers on Blackpool pier last night (there were loads), well fair play to them. It's not for me to say that was an "extreme interpretation".

And those imams who issued a fatwa against British fighters in ISIL, they are obviously just guessing.

Maybe you should address your "extreme interpretation" of what is right or wrong in Islam to Islamic scholars.

Let us all know how you get on.

[Sam Slater]

Murder, rape and pillage of the Midianites (Numbers 31:7-18 NLT)

They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings ? Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba ? died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was furious with all the military commanders who had returned from the battle. "Why have you let all the women live?" he demanded. "These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys and all the women who have slept with a man. Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves.

Can anyone explain a moderate or extreme interpretation of this for me? Cheers.

[David Johnson]

Extreme interpretation - fair enough.

Moderate interpretation - we don't want this kind of thing going on when I am trying to listen to the great Miles Davis album, "Kind of Blue".

[dave756]

"Look, if you read a passage in a book that can be interpreted differently depending on the reader, there is no 'extremes'??.."

So you don't think cutting someones head off is in slightest an 'extreme interpretation' of some words in a book, OK then thanks no need to reply I understand and respect your view.

[Sam Slater]

No one, then.

As I thought.

There are no 'extreme' and 'moderate' interpretations, only 'correct' and 'incorrect' ones. And since no one knows what is correct and incorrect apart from God or Allah himself we should seek to reform the religious texts that followers often use for their own ends. That means critique of religion. And that means ALL religions, not criticising one religion and defending another for political convenience or just an easy life.

[David Johnson]

"No one, then."

That's because everyone agrees with you..........................

[Sam Slater]

No. It's not an extreme interpretation, it's an extreme act. And that act could come from a misinterpretation of how one deals with -for instance- infidels. It could also be from a correct interpretation. A misinterpretation is an incorrect interpretation, not an 'extreme' one. Again, you cannot interpret something in an 'extreme' way. It just doesn't make sense. You either interpret correctly, or incorrectly. And, again, only God/Allah can say for certain which passages are interpreted correctly or not. You didn't have the passages recited to you from God, where he sat you don't over a cup of tea and told you the hidden meaning behind everything, did he? You have no knowledge of what God/Allah means that other people do not have, do you? No one has the authority to judge God/Allah's words with certainty (and just about every Imam/priest on the planet would agree with me here).

I can judge the act as 'extreme' based on the cultural norms and expectations of the society I was raised, but not from a religious perspective. Even the act of beheading someone cannot be seen as 'extreme' from a religious point of view if you do not know for sure what God/Allah wants you to do. God/Allah may want you to rape that person's family first, make them watch, scoop out their eyeballs with a blunt spoon and shit in their mouth BEFORE beheading them for all you know. God/Allah may see a beheading as pretty fucking lenient. You don't know, I don't know......nobody on the planet knows. And always be highly skeptical of anyone who says, or implies, that they do know.

By all means judge such a violent and immoral act as 'extreme' or 'wrong'. But know you're judging the act like I am - from our own inner moral compass which has been moulded largely by the morals of the society you was raised. You cannot say it is 'wrong' from a religious point of view or state 'real Muslims/Christians wouldn't do that.' because that then infers that you know what God/Allah wants to happen.

And, again, the phrase 'extreme interpretation' is meaningless. No one on this thread, or anywhere else ever, has ever explained what 'extreme interpretation' actually means and how it can be distinguished from an 'incorrect interpretation', a 'correct interpretation' or a 'moderate interpretation'. It's a phrase somebody made up once upon a time and lots of people thought it sounded good so they repeated it.