purchase antabuse online One of my minor fascinations/horrors is the Islamic concept of taqqiya – which I also see spelled taqiyya – “religious lying.” It is associated mostly with Shiites, who were a minority in much of the Islamic world, and hence concealing their religion when asked about it point-blank was at times prudent. Of course once this is justified – and indeed it seems human, which is justification enough when it comes to religion – it entered the realm of theology, and in the hands of various theologians could be embroidered or expanded. In this sense it could be a one-word description of the whole philosophy of diplomacy, with its combination of honesty, secrecy, and deceit governed by “prudential considerations.”
buy modafinil sydney The relation of this concept to the Catholic Church is obvious enough. In fact an interesting topic of exploration might be looking at certain Christian theological concepts and evaluating them more closely by looking at their manifestation in Islam.
But one way or another, I’m not a fan of lying, or even diplomacy, really. The more I delve into these things, the more I think that honesty – even horrible honesty, because God is sometimes horrible in this way – is the “one thing necessary” in all matters spiritual. Without it there is only emptiness.
But shameless lying pays dividends in the world, in a way that never stops being mysterious. Look at this example from Bill O’Reilly, a man a lot of people I know consider an American hero. In this way I can see how the idea of a holy lie could emerge: if God has something to do with the make of the world, and the world loves falsehood, how could God not love it too? And if God promises good to those who love him, what better means could be contrived for the prosperity of believers than habitual and conscienceless dishonesty?
This on the final day for filing tax returns.
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