For most of history, evil has come with the mask of religious authority. The Pharoahs were Gods on Earth. Kings the world over were the representative of the Divine on Earth. Self evidently, priests the world over were, likewise, the annointed of God, and gained their power through the use of religious faith.
For all of recorded history, the power structures of all societies of which we know were connected to religious beliefs. Some social orders–notably nomadic orders–were relatively flat, although their “priests” were still held in high regard. Others, like the Egyptian dynastic order, endured for thousands of years.
To the extent that evil was a part of the social order, it was sanctioned by appeal to unseen forces. It is for this reason that many atheistic reformers view religion, itself, as an evil.
Yet, manifestly it has served as a powerful force for Good as well. Martin Luther King Jr’s religious beliefs were critically important to him. So were Malcolm X’s, or Gandhis, or Mother Teresa’s. Slavery was abolished (in the West; it still exists in Africa and parts of the Middle East) as a result of Christian activism.
In dark, hard hours, the faith in angels, and God, and the final reward of virtue have kept countless people from giving in to despair and hopelessness, and lapsing into power-mongering and hatred.
We have reached a point where the only religious narratives which want final power–which are anti-Liberal–are those of Islam and Leftism.
The former is, I believe, capable of internal reform. We need to recognize that most of what is most evil in that doctrine–the abuse of women, the exhortation to kill the infidel without restriction or restraint–are not actually scriptural. They are not in the only book which is claimed to be perfect, the Koran. As an example, it says in the Koran that all the writings of the Jews and Christians are also holy, and that none are rejected. They are merely imperfect, in contradistinction to the Koran.
This means that a faithful Muslim who was so inclinded could look, as an example, to the teachings of Christ as recorded in the New Testament, and follow them, provided one did not in so doing violate anything in the final revelation, the Koran.
Such a theology is not only possible, but represents the best path forward, in my view. Islam does not mean and has never meant submission to the will of MAN. Anyone within the faith who claimed that would be, in my view, demonstrably pretending to be a Prophet, which is impossible within their faith. That would, in fact, constitute de fact apostasy.
Islam constitutes submission to the Will of Allah, as represented in the Koran. And manifestly, there are calls both for charity and for violence. Surely this constitutes a recognition that both are needed at different times? Surely the ability of individual Muslims to make their own moral decisions, based upon their interpretation of their own scripture, was intended? Islamic tradition holds that every verse has many meanings–I believe the number is 7. Surely that indicates that Allah had intended his followers to exercise discrimination and judgement? This is my view. It makes perfect sense.
The same cannot be said of Leftism. Here is the point I wanted to make: as an atheistic doctrine, leftism cannot make appeal to any non-empirical entities or forces. Practically, they use “history” as such a force, in much the same way ignorant biologists use “evolution”, as if it could have a teleology without a consciouness behind it.
Given this, the faith we are required to maintain is one based upon falsifiable empirical claims. They claim that their doctrine liberates mankind. What is their evidence? Surely one would look to places where their aims have been achieved. What about Cuba? They did everything they were supposed to. And they are miserable.
What about less ambitious projects, say the urban renewal of Detroit? Failures, Utter and complete failures. $16 trillion in to the War on Poverty we have made NO PROGRESS. In fact, we are backsliding. We destroyed the nuclear family, destroyed the social structures which were contained in it, and ruined the lives of many millions.
Islam can only prevail is if we collapse culturally. It can only prevail if we are so effete and tired that we WANT it to prevail.
Leftism is another matter. In a world filled with examples of man’s inhumanity to man, Leftism is the final challenge. It is the counter-moral narrative which is ripping us apart, and sundering us from our Liberal roots, and sense of personal moral balance.
And it is demonstrably wrong, on its own merits. It makes no appeal to another world. It claims it can make this world better, and has been TRIED many times. It always fails, because it lacks an underlying, genuinely moral narrative. They want to make people honest by making it impossible to be dishonest. This is simply not how it works. It is like trying to force people to be happy at gunpoint.
If we can get past this hurdle, then Islam will be a piece of cake. That is a big “if”, though. Do more people want their freedom than want it taken away? It is an open question.