Comment by throw0101b
2 years ago
> [Dolphins] also routinely murder the infants of rivals.
Infanticide was very common in ancient times pre-Christianity:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infanticide
and is still somewhat accepted in modern many cultures if the child is a girl:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex-ratio_imbalance_in_China
It also should be noted that Singer himself is not against it in many circumstances (though he doesn't view the entities involved as people, so it's not infanticide under his own definition):
> Similar to his argument for abortion rights, Singer argues that newborns lack the essential characteristics of personhood—"rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness"[61]—and therefore "killing a newborn baby is never equivalent to killing a person, that is, a being who wants to go on living".[62]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer#Euthanasia_and_in...
What many in the West think of as 'obvious' universal rights are in fact culturally contingent on Christianity.
I’m not arguing that dolphins are objectively or even relatively good or bad. I’m saying that ascribing them with assumed superior moral judgement is silly, especially given what we actually know about them.
> Infanticide was very common in ancient times pre-Christianity:
But christianity allows for infanticide. God himself did wipe out all the first born infant sons of egypt after all.
> What many in the West think of as 'obvious' universal rights are in fact culturally contingent on Christianity.
The racism, misogyny, slavery and genocide is also culturally contingent on Christianity as well.
"Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction[a] all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+15%3A2...
The "beauty" of the bible is that it is hundreds of pages long and gives christians the justification for all the evil and good in the world. It isn't an accident that the greatest acts of genocide in human history have been carried out by christians. Entire continents genocided, entire races enslaved, entire cities nuked. All by christians.
A religion, book, god, etc that orders you to murder children and infants cannot be a source of morality. If you think equality of sexes, races, etc are grounded in christianity then you do not know christianity. A religion that believes a woman was created from a man's rib and brought about his downfall is the basis of the universal rights?
Please note that Christianity is characterized by its emphasis on Jesus and the New Testament, in contrast to say Judaism. Feel free to criticize Christianity as well as other religions, but the criticism is more fruitful if based on actual practices or authorative texts such as the Catholic cathecism
Wikipedia:
> In 318, Constantine I considered infanticide a crime, and in 374, Valentinian I mandated the rearing of all children (exposing babies, especially girls, was still common). The Council of Constantinople declared that infanticide was homicide, and in 589, the Third Council of Toledo took measures against the custom of killing their own children.
> Please note that Christianity is characterized by its emphasis on Jesus and the New Testament, in contrast to say Judaism.
Also note that Jesus was jewish and he explicit said he came to uphold the old laws and prophets ( old testament ). And the bible contains both the old and the new testament for a reason.
> Feel free to criticize Christianity as well as other religions, but the criticism is more fruitful if based on actual practices or authorative texts such as the Catholic cathecism
I quoted the bible. What's more authoritative than that?
> In 318, Constantine I considered infanticide a crime
So constantine I should be credited, not catholicism?
> The Council of Constantinople declared that infanticide was homicide, and in 589, the Third Council of Toledo took measures against the custom of killing their own children.
So these christians went against the word of god? As I said, the bible and therefore christianity allows for infanticide. God himself commanded it. Obviously I believe infanticide is wrong. But to credit christianity with the banning of infanticide doesn't pass the smell test.
Also, it's hard to take anyone seriously when they claim the bible is not an authoritative christian text when it's the foundation of christianity.