Religious Freedom and Theocracy

Check out this great post on freedom and Hellenic theology over at Evritos’s ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ. Here's an enticing excerpt:

For us, Creation (THESIS) and Nature (PHYSIS), two of many primeval forces/deities (PROTOGENOI) present at the beginning of the KOSMOS in (one version of) our creation myth, are themselves expressions of the highest spiritual imperative. For us, this means that everything in the KOSMOS is inherently sacred, which of course includes all of humanity. Logical consistency demands, then, that there are no exceptions to this idea.

I think it expresses the frustrations about theocracy and religious extremism quite well. Religious intolerance and the conversion mentality do not only aggravate community violence in countries like India*, but they also make war on thought. Choice becomes heresy. Hypothesis becomes thoughtcrime. Diversity becomes the enemy.

If any of the terminology Evritos uses mystifies you, download this English translation of Hellenic theological terms. Make sure you have Adobe Reader or an equivalent program installed.

* Christians desecrate sacred statues and call worldview-foreign gods “demons” (or whatever the new buzzword is). Children are sucked into the religion without their parents’ consent and are taught religious intolerance for the “infidels,” creating divides within families. Practitioners of traditional Hindu religions get fed up with this and retaliate. The cycle of violence continues. Here’s a Christian’s account of the issue, if needed.