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[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele]

I made what is called a [i]reductio ad absurdum[/i]. It is of course absurd to define Christianity by the Westboro Baptist Church. It is equally absurd to define Islam by ISIS. If you disagree with either of those statements, please explain why you disagree.
[/quote]

The Westboro church consists of 50 people in one town in Kansas.      ISIS  has at least 1 million followers spread over many countries with numerous scholars justifying its beliefs in the Koran.      So I'd say that ISIS is a significant current in contemporary Islamic thought, whereas the Westboro church is an extreme fringe.

Nobody is "defining" Islam by ISIS.         In terms of its size and influence ISIS within Islam is more comparable to say the Seventh day Adventists within Christianity.     In terms of its justification of violence, ISIS has no comparison in contemporary Christianity. [/quote]

Regardless of the numbers (which I think you are greatly exaggerating), the principle is the same. As you agree, IS does not represent Islam. My position has been that because IS does not represent Islam, it is unfair to criticize the entire religion based on its actions. There is another poster here who believes that IS can justify its behavior based on Islamic writings and therefore, such criticism is justified. Similarly, Westboro Baptist Church finds justification for its actions in Christian scriptures. I think that you would agree that, as a result, all of Christianity does not deserve criticism as a result of Westboro's actions? Or, to use your analogy, should all Christianity be judged by the actions of Seventh Day Adventists (a group about which I know nothing)?

[/quote]

It's disingenuous to pretend that the numbers don't matter. The number of Westborough Baptist Church people looks more like a handful of freaks. The number of Isis starts to look like a movement. Also of course there's the difference in their violence levels.

By the way, my grandfather was Seventh-day Adventist.   They are harmless. A little weird, vegetarian, but harmless.[/quote]

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