Lest we forget, this is not a Persian crime, but a religious one, and one based upon opinions that are shared by some people from all the Abrahamic religions.
Some people email me wondering what I have against religion:
I think belief is an abrogation of our moral responsibility as human beings to reason and empathise with other people rather than passing the responsibility to a text which cannot be reasonably challenged or ammended.
I do think that religion makes good people better, but it makes bad people worse – and it is easier to destroy things than build them. Until someone disproves the 2nd Law, religion and humans are a volatile mix.
I think that the more secular a society is, the more moral, creative and innovative it is.
In America people are not arguing about whether gays should be executed but whether they can marry, I am not gay, but that seems like a fantastic trend of love and understanding that should continue. The US is progressive, secular society, it would be a shame to reverse the trend.
Finally, I ‘believe’ – believe in the sense that there is evidence to support it – in progress, and that means that everything including morality can get better. Moral relativism is a virtue.
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