Get over yourself

Well, Trevor, they aren't using terror--yet. But they do have a stated goal of making Christianity the U.S.'s official religion.

Christians, as a large generalized group of human beings, do not (in modern times) support "holy war." There is no large organized Christian terror network like Al-Qaeda that has the stated goal of imposing Christianity on everyone else.

My point, which seems to have gotten lost, was that Miss Birdlegs' comment that Christians don't commit acts of violence was an untrue statement.

I'm intolerant of racist and bigoted generalizations and lies.

Elizabeth is practicing the same thing she preaches against - intolerance of others and their viewpoints.

Self-defense is the only acceptable reason to kill another human being - this is my personal worldview. Whether or not what is happening in Iraq is an action of self-defense is a murky question at best, and people love to jump in the water and muddy things up even more than they already are.

I work with Iraqis who also happen to be Muslims everyday. They are not trying to kill me. My relationships with these human beings vary from strictly professional to warm and friendly. That is no different from how I feel about human beings with whom I work back home in the United States.

The current conflict between Western values and Islamic extremists is the result of many things, including misunderstandings and bad policy decisions by Westerners. We can talk about those issues all day, and attempt to correct, rectify and improve. However, I do not have anything to say to people whose stated goal is to kill me for being who I am, or for living where I live. Those people are a threat and I will do what I can to ensure they do not prosper, thrive, spawn descendants or spread their memes.

We can always ask ourselves if we, as a nation, are headed in the right direction. We have a responsibility to do so. Iraq is in a horrid state right now, but the potential to live in peace and prosperity still exists if enough Iraqis want it.

The Shias and the Sunnis of Iraq will have to stop living in the past and decide on a common future, or the country will continue to fester and things will continue to devolve.

Elizabeth brings up a topic I personally identify with, because I'm a Christian, an evangelical, and I support the traditional family. That means I also accept the Bible as the source document for my worldview.

"Stop pretending to be retarded."
Elizabeth, why you keep coming back to this site, I don't know. ( I enjoy reading your posts, though!) Is there something that both draws and repels you?

Remember the man named Jesus that started this whole Christian thing? He said the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest is to "love your neighbor as yourself". And I'm sure you remember the two stone tablets that Moses had special delivered to him on Mt Sinai. One of them included something like, "Thou shalt not kill" (wonder if they were written in Hebrew?).

So if killing is condemned by Jesus and his mentor, do you suppose either of them condone the few isolated killings of homosexuals and abortion clinic operators? Why do you choose unique or isolated situations to generalize?

Harley

The levels of discrimination that modern Christians show against homosexuals and women who have abortions, on the whole, is much different from the level of discrimination that occurs in Muslim ruled countries against non-Muslims.

I personally believe that human beings have free will and should be allowed to make their own choices up to the point where their choices harm another human being. The argument about when a group of cells should be legally defined as a human being is ongoing. Homosexuality may cause you social stigmas and have mild to moderate unpleasant ramifications in the U.S. but very few citizens are murdered for being homosexual.

Islam, as a whole, is at least several hundred years retarded when compared to Christianity, as a whole. Of course there are plenty of moderate Muslims. That's all fine and dandy. It's the 100 million or so aggressively and violently active proselytizing at the point of the sword type Muslims that worry me. If there were 100 million Christians like that, I would be just as concerned about them.

Trevor, the Islamic "meme" of "violence against unbelievers" represents a small minority of Muslims.

There's plenty of popular support among Christians for discriminating against homosexuals and harassing women who have abortions. In fact some of that rhetoric has appeared from commenters on your blog in the past; I'm sure you remember.

There is no popular support among modern Christians for burning anyone at the stake Elizabeth. Stop pretending to be retarded.

There are individuals who call themselves Christians who are clearly psychotic and dangerous but there is no modern day Christian meme of violence against "unbelievers."

"I’ve never met an Evangelical, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc. that would demonstrate violently or otherwise, just because folks didn’t agree with them on their religion."

Really? What about the people who bomb abortion clinics and shoot doctors, supposedly in the name of Christianity?

What about the gay people who've been beaten or threatened, supposedly because homosexuality is un-Christian?

What about all the people burned at the stake in the name of Christianity? (some of whom were Christians, but belonged to minority sects of Christianity)

Well put! I wish everyone else could see the same light as you have!

I agree, Trevor. On that note, I've never met an Evangelical, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc. that would demonstrate violently or otherwise, just because folks didn't agree with them on their religion. Neither do they try to force others to convert by threatening them, or cutting off their heads. The easily offended seem to want to blame everyone else for all their troubles with no accountability by themselves. I'm sick and tired of them...

In case I don't get back here before you leave I just want to thank you for your hard work in Iraq (I've enjoyed the MNF-I Newsletter). Safe travels to those delightful N. GA mountains! A wonderful time of the year to be heading there.