I think the analogy works only so far. In both law and academics, “true essence” has remained constant through time, even though practices and techniques have changed, they have not altered the true essence which makes sense in modern times but also made sense and is the same exact true essence from ancient times. To claim ethics to be the true essence of religion thus mandates that it remain constant, and taken literally from the texts, where then mass murder of newborns and non believers becomes a problem for someone who claims to take their ethical cue from ancient scripture.
Really? I’m not sure much has remained constant at all. My response would be that we don’t actually have a meaningful choice about keeping laws of some kind in existence, and I don’t know what “ancient scholastic obsessions” he could mean if not religious ones. E.g, most interpretations of Plato or Aristotle at least had a religious aspect. (And even so, we probably should re-examine academic traditions from time to time.)
I think the analogy works only so far. In both law and academics, “true essence” has remained constant through time, even though practices and techniques have changed, they have not altered the true essence which makes sense in modern times but also made sense and is the same exact true essence from ancient times. To claim ethics to be the true essence of religion thus mandates that it remain constant, and taken literally from the texts, where then mass murder of newborns and non believers becomes a problem for someone who claims to take their ethical cue from ancient scripture.
Really? I’m not sure much has remained constant at all. My response would be that we don’t actually have a meaningful choice about keeping laws of some kind in existence, and I don’t know what “ancient scholastic obsessions” he could mean if not religious ones. E.g, most interpretations of Plato or Aristotle at least had a religious aspect. (And even so, we probably should re-examine academic traditions from time to time.)