The Mu'tazilites, the Ash'arites, Gay Marriage, and the Coming Iraqi Fail

Robert Reilly studied Muslim history and wrote a book.

He's interviewed here.

Trust me, you're sorry that the Mu'tazilites are in the dustbin of history.

So why do I mention the Iraqi Fail?

In interpreting God's laws, there is a principle in Islamic jurisprudence which states, "Reason is not a legislator." In other words, the only laws that apply to you are the ones God gave you. Reason has no authority or status in creating laws, or even in interpreting them.

The political consequences of such a view are easy to see: If reason is not a legislator, then why have legislatures at all? They have no standing, because reason has no standing.

Doesn't give you much reason for hope in Afghanistan, either, does it?

If nothing else, the current Muslim flavor is in accord with the proponents of gay "marriage":

...for the Ash'arites, the omnipotence of God requires that He be the only cause of things. So the First Cause ends up as the only cause, which denies the existence of secondary causes in the natural world. Fire does not burn cotton; God does. Gravity does not make the rock fall; God does it directly. There is no such thing as natural law. This denial of cause and effect is devastating. It helps explain the dysfunctional nature of much of the Islamic world today...

Yes, well. Notice that irrationality is the feature here...