Age of Enlightenment

[naz]

Age of Enlightenment

According to some scripture in the bible the devil would rule for 1,000 years or more then the light or god will rule. Do you think we are finally entering in the age of enlightenment, stepping out of the darkness and into the light for the next 1000+ years? How long do you think this period will last, how much further do you think it will take us and how how long do you think it will be before Satan (the dark) claims rule again?

[ChaosBorders]

Age of Enlightenment

According to some scripture in the bible the devil would for 1,000 years or more then the light or god will rule. Do you think we are finally entering in the age of enlightenment, stepping out of the darkness and into the light for the 1000+ years? How long do you think this period will last, how much further do you think it will take us and how how long do you think it will be before Satan (the dark) claims rule again?

Not really.

[naz]

Not really.

Not really what? We are not in the age of enlightenment and it never happen?

[McCulloch]

The often-violent conflicts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries involving Torquemada, Servetus, Zwingli and Castellio began a process which led to the pursuit of freedom of thought, uncontrolled by the Church and the Inquisition.

In time, this drive towards greater independence and individual liberty led to bitter fighting in seventeenth-century Europe, including the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil War.

Then, in part arising from the English constitutional settlement of 1688, came the eighteenth-century revolutions in America and France that swept away monarchies in favour of more representative forms of government.

These in turn made possible the

• abolition of slavery,
• rights for working men and women,
• universal education,
• enfranchisement of women, and
• the idea of universal human rights and freedoms

.

The triumphs and sacrifices of these hard-won victories should make us value these precious rights even more highly, especially in an age when democratic governments under pressure sometimes find it necessary to restrict rights in the name of freedom.

From the product description of A.C. Grayling's book, Towards the Light: The Story of the Struggles for Liberty and Rights That Made the Modern West

Do you think we are finally entering in the age of enlightenment, stepping out of the darkness ?
Yes, I do. As we continue to shed the darkness of the ignorance of religious dogma and unbending ideology, we enter a period of light. It is a process that has been going on for about 500 years, and we have not yet completely arrived.

How long do you think this period will last, how much further do you think it will take us and how how long do you think it will be before the dark claims rule again?
That is entirely up to us.
"The means of defence against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home." James Madison
These may well be pivotal times.

[ChaosBorders]

Not really.

Not really what? We are not in the age of enlightenment and it never happen?

No idea if it'll happen, but I've seen no indication we're in an age of enlightenment.

[McCulloch]

I've seen no indication we're in an age of enlightenment.

Five hundred years ago, it was not questioned that the punishment for heresy should be death or exile. Now, most of the nations of the world have affirmed individuals' rights to freedom of religion.

Three hundred years ago, few questioned the institution of slavery. One hundred and fifty years ago, Christian Americans fought a war to protect their right to own slaves. They lost. Now, most of the nations of the world have denounced slavery.

In 1865, John Stuart Mill first brought the idea of women's suffrage. In 1893, New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the vote but women did not get the right to run for the New Zealand legislature until 1919. Voting rights for women were introduced into international law in 1948 when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today the only states which hold elections that exclude women are the Vatican and Saudi Arabia.

[naz]

Abolitionism – “The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and evangelical religious groups condemned it as un-Christian.�

Christians did think it was un-Christian so saying it was Christian-Americans standing up for their rights to own slaves while others stood up for human rights is a little misleading. Of course there was division but that is why the war was fought and people continue to stand up for their rights and liberties today. That battle carried on long after the war, and extended for almost two centuries. Which eventually lead to the Civil Rights Movement and certain liberties and rights are still being debated today.

[McCulloch]

Yes, there were Christians involved in the process of enlightenment. It is amazing to me that after more than one thousand years of dominance in Europe and Europe's colonies, the Christians suddenly figured out that slavery was a bad thing. The plain fact of the matter is that all through the period, and during and before the American Civil War, there were a number of Christian apologists for slavery. Such a position would be unthinkable today. Thus my conclusion that we are more enlightened globally now than then.

[ChaosBorders]

I've seen no indication we're in an age of enlightenment.

Five hundred years ago, it was not questioned that the punishment for heresy should be death or exile. Now, most of the nations of the world have affirmed individuals' rights to freedom of religion.

Three hundred years ago, few questioned the institution of slavery. One hundred and fifty years ago, Christian Americans fought a war to protect their right to own slaves. They lost. Now, most of the nations of the world have denounced slavery.

In 1865, John Stuart Mill first brought the idea of women's suffrage. In 1893, New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the vote but women did not get the right to run for the New Zealand legislature until 1919. Voting rights for women were introduced into international law in 1948 when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today the only states which hold elections that exclude women are the Vatican and Saudi Arabia.

We're making some progress, in some areas. Until we stop spending so much on war and instead cure world hunger, thirst, most diseases (which we COULD do financially) I think 'age of enlightenment' is far too strong a term.

[McCulloch]

We're making some progress, in some areas. Until we stop spending so much on war and instead cure world hunger, thirst, most diseases (which we COULD do financially) I think 'age of enlightenment' is far too strong a term.

Admitting numerous setbacks, I believe that human civilization has been generally moving towards enlightenment for the last 500 or so years. As Alice Cooper said, "We've still got a long way to go." I'm just hoping that the current war on terror is not too much of a setback.