Turkey warns EU becoming 'Christian club'

Gammelpreusse · 01-30-11, 10:02 AM

Eh, I'd not be so focused on the geographical aspects of any country joining, neither on religious ones. I'd have no problem with Turkey joining on these grounds, neither would I object to Canada, Russia or African countries in general.

Arguably Islam has the incorporates some of the same greek roots as Christianity, much of our science is based on islam, which in return is based on greek philosophy. Heck, even our number system is based on arabian origins.

In this regard it is also interesting that the Chinese regard the European and near eastern cultural areas as union from a historical/cultural perspective. (the same way most germans can't stand Bavaria but foreigners only see Germany)

But I am taking this from a broader perspective, not from a daily political one, where Hungary, for examples, kicks all European values in the nuts currently without many people actually being bothered. So much for the advantages of having a christian club. And Northern Ireland does not make for a better example and do not let me get started on the 30 years war.

So there is a bit of hypocrisies in the treatment of Turkey, too.

In my mind the only real attribute that is a "must", when it comes to countries joining Europe, is an adherence to the values of enlightenment. That one is much much more important to western culture, in regards to political conduct, to science and respect for humanity then any christian/judeo tradition with it's history of book burning, pogroms, crusades, general oppression, witch burning and so on. A tradition that is much closer to today's reputation of current Islam then modern Europe should adhere too. Luckily christianity got pushed back to privacy in most parts of Europe, retaining only the better aspects of it.

On these grounds, and there I agree, Turkey, Russia and other countries that are in talks about joining the EU are not ready for that. And within the EU there must be some better ability to screen and punish countries like Hungary if they want to stay in. If they want to leave for having authoritarian regimes, then they are free to do so.

01-30-11, 10:02 AM	#15
Gammelpreusse Planesman Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 191 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Eh, I'd not be so focused on the geographical aspects of any country joining, neither on religious ones. I'd have no problem with Turkey joining on these grounds, neither would I object to Canada, Russia or African countries in general. Arguably Islam has the incorporates some of the same greek roots as Christianity, much of our science is based on islam, which in return is based on greek philosophy. Heck, even our number system is based on arabian origins. In this regard it is also interesting that the Chinese regard the European and near eastern cultural areas as union from a historical/cultural perspective. (the same way most germans can't stand Bavaria but foreigners only see Germany) But I am taking this from a broader perspective, not from a daily political one, where Hungary, for examples, kicks all European values in the nuts currently without many people actually being bothered. So much for the advantages of having a christian club. And Northern Ireland does not make for a better example and do not let me get started on the 30 years war. So there is a bit of hypocrisies in the treatment of Turkey, too. In my mind the only real attribute that is a "must", when it comes to countries joining Europe, is an adherence to the values of enlightenment. That one is much much more important to western culture, in regards to political conduct, to science and respect for humanity then any christian/judeo tradition with it's history of book burning, pogroms, crusades, general oppression, witch burning and so on. A tradition that is much closer to today's reputation of current Islam then modern Europe should adhere too. Luckily christianity got pushed back to privacy in most parts of Europe, retaining only the better aspects of it. On these grounds, and there I agree, Turkey, Russia and other countries that are in talks about joining the EU are not ready for that. And within the EU there must be some better ability to screen and punish countries like Hungary if they want to stay in. If they want to leave for having authoritarian regimes, then they are free to do so. __________________ Last edited by Gammelpreusse; 01-30-11 at 10:16 AM.