The Tug of War November 26, 2011

The Tug of War

By Hemant Mehta
November 26, 2011

Reader Dave made this image (click to enlarge):

I’m not sure I agree with it. (Since when are Jews and Muslims on the same side for anything…?!)

Want a more appropriate image? Have all those faiths pulling from all different directions with a couple nukes flying in for good measure.

The atheists would be the ones furiously trying to push the halves of the Earth back together.

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What Are Your Thoughts?leave a comment
  • treedweller

    agree that every symbol should be pulling in a different direction, but an interesting concept otherwise.

  • Sivi_Volk

    No, we’d be the ones working at the chains with hacksaws and files.

  • Investigator

    Every group thinks exactly that: that they’re the ones trying to put it back together.  We do ourselves disservice if we don’t admit we can be just as divisive as everyone else.  

  • “Since when are Jews and Muslims on the same side for anything…?!”

    Funny that. I was just listening about a report where Orthodox Jews are attempting to force women to sit on the back of a bus, because they did not want to gaze on their unclean menstruating vileness.

  • Cheepak Dopra

    “(Since when are Jews and Muslims on the same side for anything…?!)”
    Judaism and Islam are nearly identical.

  • Winky Llama

    You forgot about atheists, bro. 😛

  • Paul Crider

    This is a really important point. It’s not only a disservice but it’s dangerous to assume we atheists are always ethical.

    There are plenty of examples of violent atheists in history and plenty of examples of religious moderates “furiously trying to push the halves of the Earth back together.”

  • Amani

    I’m highly doubtful those “violent atheists” were violent because they were atheist, they might have also been psychotic, racist, sexist, etc… Religious belief however is frequently the root cause of violence since followers are required to adhere to even the most violent or despicable tenants. Religion also frequently fosters and/or gives vent to violent and hateful urges that might otherwise be controlled by common sense and compassion.

  • I think that was sort of the point. While religious dogma is a strong factor in violence, not the least because it is considered ‘protected’, there are secular dogmas out there, from political ideologies to woo-woo supporters.

  • I don’t think the image would convey the full effect there. You’d need an animation for that.

  • Tony

    Atheists are the ones saying “This picture looks implausible…”

  • Michelle Galipeau

    Jews and Muslims fought on the same side in the Bosnian War 

  • Michelle Galipeau

    I did a piece on hyper-tzniut, Jewish modesty so extreme that the women wear several layers of clothing topped off with a burqa. Dead serious.

  • Apparently, both Judaism and Islam also have a taboo on eating pork.

  • Erp

    Middle Eastern Jews and Muslims were probably on the same side during the Crusades. 

  • C.W.K.

    Yeah, Islam carries over the kosher laws of Judaism into what they refer to “halal” (pronounced “Ha! Lol!”) Visit a major east or west coast U.S. university, and you’ll find a special food bar dedicated to the cuisine. It’s quite tasty, actually.

    More relevantly, Islam and Judaism are more similar to one another than either is to Christianity (including perhaps even Jewish Reformists), in that they tend to place more emphasis on conduct-oriented commandments than on faith and works. Christian seem to be more interested with how God exists, what justifies their faith, and what their relationship with Him is. Jews and Muslims, on the other hand, appear less concerned with such matters and are content with a basic affirmation of faith.

  • C.W.K.

    Middle Eastern Jews, Muslims, and often Christians were on the same side during the crusades. The European powers were neither very kind nor discerning toward the peoples of the Middle East during the crusades.