Originally Posted by djplong

bk: Yeah, I should be catching mroe of those. "Founding Fridays" was a pleasant surprise when I was deliberately trying to watch Glenn Beck.

Yoda: I think we're coming at this from two different ends. Someone else posted the story of the man who drowned at his house thinking God would save him with the 'punch line' of God saying "I sent you a truck a boat and a helicopter, why didn't you take any of them?".

Richie: To address your points in order.

I went to Catholic School (St. Williams in Boston, St. Theresa in Staten Island) as well. I was an altar boy at St. Theresa's. Not once did I encounter any priest who did any of the horrors that have been reported. In addition, the priest who officiated my first wedding was once of the nicest guys I ever knew. This is what I mean about not painting with a broad brush.

The Catholics have given up "conversion by the sword". For the most part, so have Muslims - the Wahabbists and their ilk being the noisy exceptions. But, then, Catholics have had a several hundred year head start on 'being civilized'. Let's not forget that the Salem Witch Trials were only a few hundred years ago and the "troubles" in Northern Ireland have only just now calmed down.

Today's bomb-laden vest is yesterday's Crusader. Today's massacre at a marketplace is yesterday's "Burning Times". Today's Madras is yesterday's inquisition chamber. And honor killings still go on in that VERY Christian country of Brazil.

Yes, I get what you're saying. But if we forget our past, we're condemned to repeat it. Christianity has a LOT of blood on it's hands. It is to their credit that it's such a minority now (but there are the "Christian Soldier" types out there - just not doing much damage as far as I can see).

Religion is a deeply personal and PRIVATE matter and has no place in government (specific religions, that is).