Tocqueville On Islam

Posted: 4/11/2015

Trigger

Recently read this posting “Alexis de Tocqueville on Islam”, which made me aware of other, remarkable and prescient observations by Alexis de Tocqueville.

Selected Quotes

Citations below were taken from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville and are well attributed.

1. “I studied the Koran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. So far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadence so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, its social and political tendencies are in my opinion to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadence rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism itself.”
   (Letter to Arthur de Gobineau, 22 October 1843. I tried to Google for this letter, but came up only with footnotes in other publications mentioning this letter, but not the full text of it.)
   [These are some strong words by Tocqueville.]
2. “Muhammad brought down from heaven and put into the Koran not religious doctrines only, but political maxims, criminal and civil laws, and scientific theories. The Gospels, on the other hand, deal only with the general relations between man and God and between man and man. Beyond that, they teach nothing and do not oblige people to believe anything. That alone, among a thousand reasons, is enough to show that Islam will not be able to hold its power long in ages of enlightenment and democracy, while Christianity is destined to reign in such ages, as in all others.”
   (Democracy in America, Book One, Chapter V.)
   [Is it not true that the New Testament is in this respect quite different from the Old Testament? So did the Quran also make the mistake to prescribe too much in detail?]

Ageless Lessons From David And Goliath

Posted: 6/26/2012

I am sure there are thousands of interpretations of this 3,000 year old biblical story. May I add mine:

Major Lessons

To me it is absolutely amazing to discover how the Jewish people about 3,000 years ago were able to pack so much eternal wisdom in one well told short story.

The lessons are:

1. Nobody is invincible
2. Brain beats brawn
3. A teenager can win against a as far superior perceived adult
4. With faith in God there is nothing to fear but God
5. Confidence in your abilities can overcome tremendous challenges
6. A shepherd, shield bearer, and harpist can beat a professional warrior
7. Light armor can beat heavy armor (the history of warfare is full of such lessons)
8. King Saul was a tall man himself and his armor was no less formidable, but he did not want to fight Goliath
9. The Quran describes this story too (I did not know this for a very long time)
10. This agreement of a fight between two persons instead of a battle between armies might be one of the earliest recorded attempts of a binding treaty to settle an international dispute.

Does this not sound like God’s Providence. I think, it does. I wish, I had learned all this in my secular public high school in Germany, but I didn’t.

Tax Exemption For David And His Family

When I studied economics, I did not learn that the Bible has a number of pertinent examples of tax incidence, distortion and evasion. Modern economics textbooks are secular and void of them.

King Saul promised three things to whoever defeated Goliath:

·         Great wealth

·         His daughter in marriage

·         To exempt his family from taxes in Israel

Was an exemption from taxation for the victor and his family such a reward even about 3,000 years ago? Thus, taxation was known to be a burden even back then and the mighty and powerful knew about it.

King Solomon is said to have been the wisest of all kings. However, his wisdom ironically failed him concerning taxation. Within his kingdom, King Solomon placed heavy taxation on the people, who became bitter.

Does not the Bible also describe one of the first known tax revolts with major consequences, i.e. Solomon’s kingdom split into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon, because his successor and son Rehoboam ignoring his advisors raised taxes further. The Bible quotes Rehoboam as saying "Whereas my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, so shall I add tenfold thereto.” (1 Kings 22:11). What a fool! A divided empire and an almost two decades long lasting civil war is what he got instead.