paarsurrey
Veteran Member
"I'm happy to agree that each of the 500+ times that the Quran criticizes non-Muslims, it does so within a specific context."My first thought is that most people who read the Quran are not scholars. My second thought is that - for the last 1400 years - scholarly disagreements have led to enormous bloodshed.
My third thought is that it's fair for me to assess what messages a normal, non-scholar will get from the book. I'm a professional, technical editor, and we use cognitive science in assessing how books will be understood. One major concern I have about the Quran is that - over 500 times - it instructs Muslims to despise non-Muslims. Now the scholars can argue that each of those 500 occurrences has a specific context. For the sake of discussion, I'm happy to agree that each of the 500+ times that the Quran criticizes non-Muslims, it does so within a specific context.
500 specific, individual bits of context do NOT matter!
Human brains are designed to spot patterns and draw general conclusions. It's how we work. Any cognitive scientist worth their salt will tell you that a human brain - after reading the Quran - WILL ABSOLUTELY take away the message that Muslims should not trust non-Muslims. This is a core foundation of all propaganda, and I have to give the writers of the Quran credit for a solid understanding of creating and using propaganda.
I'd like to get feedback on this much before moving forward..
Your observation is correct.
Regards