re the inimitable rushdie is it just me or has this part gotten beyond useful gregg is not as i understand his posts giving any support to the bounty on rushdie s life if that s correct end of one point gregg is using the concept of legal in a way most westerners don t accept his comments about islamic law i think make a great deal of sense to him and are even making a little sense to me now if a person is a member of a group religion or whatever they bind themselves to follow the ways of the group within the bounds of what the group requires as a minimum the big bone of contention here that i m picking up is that in the west we have secular governments that maintain more or less a level of control and of requirements outside the requirements of optional groups i think the majority of us reading this thread are in tune note i didn t say in agreement with the idea that you are finally responsible to the secular government and within that to the group or groups a person may have chosen with that in mind it not possible under secular law legally as most people would define the term to hold a person to a particular group once they decide to separate from it only if the secular authorities agree that there is a requirement of some sort contractual etc is there any secular enforcement allowed by a group to a group member or past group member a religion can and often does believe in and require additional duties of a group member and it can enforce the fulfillment of those duties in many ways ostracism is common for example but the limit comes when the enforcement would impose unwanted and or unaccepted onus on a person in conflict with secular law this is the difference in a theocracy the requirements of the secular authorities are by definition congruent with the religious authorities outside a theocracy this is not necessarily true religious requirements may coincide or may not similiarly religious consequences may or may not coincide with secular consequences if any regards dew dewey henize sys net admin risc hardware pager x
