"This is a Christian country"

[hgc]

Another speaker is a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It's very scary to see such a man of power in a congregation that is creationist.

I don't believe that you mean the Chief Justice of the United States, do you? That would probably be Jim Smith, Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. It is Mississippi, after all.

 

[thaiboxerken]

It is the stereotyped, strawman, mythically characterized Christians who are more often despised and ridiculed than not, or so has been my observation

Nothing strawman or mythical about those type of christians. Feel free to watch "Jesus Camp" or "Friends of God: Road Trip" or "Borat" and you will see that those type of christians really do exist, and in great number. They are in congress, in the senate, in the Supreme Court and one is President.

 

[thaiboxerken]

I don't believe that you mean the Chief Justice of the United States, do you? That would probably be Jim Smith, Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. It is Mississippi, after all.

It's still scary.

 

[Lonewulf]

It's a strawman when people say it? Frequently? All over the place?

Most Christians at Del Mar College seem to think that this country was founded on principles from the bible, the ten commandments, etc. They think that this is a "Christian" country.

 

[UserGoogol]

I think that, when the world is as big and diverse as is, there are always going to be some people who are essentially "living strawmen." The question is whether these strawmen are worth paying attention to or whether they're just a silly little group of fanatics. I would say they are worth paying attention to in this case, for the reasons just stated, but there can be a very fine line between the two cases.

 

[Darth Rotor]

Nothing strawman or mythical about those type of christians. Feel free to watch "Jesus Camp" or "Friends of God: Road Trip" or "Borat" and you will see that those type of christians really do exist, and in great number. They are in congress, in the senate, in the Supreme Court and one is President.

Irrelevant.

There are jerks all over the world. That does not make all human beings jerks.

Have you followed me so far?

Your tendency for generalization on this particular topic is trite, tiresome, and fallacious.

DR

 

[thaiboxerken]

Darth, the sheer number of those "stereotypical, strawman christians" proves that they aren't just a stereotype or a strawman. They are actually affecting politics and are a genuine threat to a secular USA. Thanks for playing though.

 

[wolfgirl]

There are jerks all over the world. That does not make all human beings jerks.

No, but it means that there are plenty of jerks. Which I believe was the point being made about radical fundamentalist xians. Not that all xians are radical fundamentalists, but that there are a lot of those types about.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Irrelevant.

The fact that it's not a strawman is irrelevant?

Tell it to the Copts, tell it to Mitt Romney, and tell it to this young lady.

Do you recall which banned book Farenheit 451 starred, among the subversives in Bradbury's dystopian tale?

DR

Do you actually have an argument, or just a bunch of non sequiturs?

And if the press picks up a story with no basis except for the unsupported and inaccurate claims of a seventh grader, and repeats it without question, isn't that just support for the idea that atheists are treated poorly?

 

[Lonewulf]

Do you actually have an argument, or just a bunch of non sequiturs?

What, Christians argue with anything else?

(Well, okay, I can't get insulting to people in general. To be more specific: Christians on this forum argue with anything else?)

 

[UnrepentantSinner]

Interestingly enough for as supposedly religious and informed at Americans are supposed to be we actually turn out to be religiously illiterate and not just of "other" religions, but of Christianity.

 

[my_wan]

Darth, the sheer number of those "stereotypical, strawman christians" proves that they aren't just a stereotype or a strawman. They are actually affecting politics and are a genuine threat to a secular USA. Thanks for playing though.

The only thing scary is that people believe that and start pandering. You pit a cat with a mouse and when the cat wins by the skin of its teeth you start hollering "oh god how are we ever going to beat that cat".
Get real...

 

[Tony]

Want to see something scarey - watch the Borat movie. More particularly, the part where goes into one of those big charismatic churches. One of the speakers is a congressman - I forget who - but it is pretty spooky.

The congressman was Chip Pickering. Guess which party he is from?

 

[thaiboxerken]

Get real...

I really don't understand what you're trying to communicate. I will say this, while the RR has lost ground, they've also gained ground in the recent years. We should always be wary of the RR, they are not harmless and they really do have power in the USA.

 

[clarsct]

Do you really equate the United States with the United States government?

Notice the "IF" at the beginning of that statement. >I< am not doing so, but it seems others may want to imply that this is true. Thus, my response to that type of reasoning.

What are you comparing to? Surely not Europe?

Let's see. When was it that Germany created the Atomic Bomb and pioneered atomic energy? Oh wait! That's right. WE did that. Sorry. Admittedly, we did it with stolen German scientists, but they defected due to the political climate in Germany at the time. They came to us because of our freedoms, religious freedom in particular.

Wasn't it in Denmark that we first descovered how to cap oil wells? Oh, no, my bad again..that was the US, as well.

Wasn't it those British dudes that discovered heavier than air flight?
No! Wait...that was in North Carolina..in the US. Again.

Hmmmmm. And those French scientists that came up with the polio vaccine...Oh, no...That was the US.

I could go on, but I think you get my point.
We have, traditionally, led the world in scientific achievement. We have been able to recruit some of the greatest minds around to help us in this. I believe that some of that is due to a secular government that allows all sorts of beliefs and freedoms. True, we had other advantages, like abundant natural resources. But I think the combination of that with free enterprise and secularism is what makes us unique.

Mind you, this is just my opinion. It would be monumentally difficult to prove such a thing. The raw data alone would be staggering, then trying to isolate variables and make sense of it....the imagination boggles.

Just remember, there was a time when religion was in control of most aspects of Western society...we call these times 'The Dark Ages'.

 

[Schneibster]

I really don't understand what you're trying to communicate. I will say this, while the RR has lost ground, they've also gained ground in the recent years. We should always be wary of the RR, they are not harmless and they really do have power in the USA.

They are welcome to it- but they just found out they've been getting screwed for a decade. Got led around by the nose. People don't like that. Makes them feel inferior. Bet that tide turns pretty soon. Bet there's a bunch of new preachers real soon. Not that that's any better.

 

[Darth Rotor]

I really don't understand what you're trying to communicate. I will say this, while the RR has lost ground, they've also gained ground in the recent years. We should always be wary of the RR, they are not harmless and they really do have power in the USA.

Why should the RR not have political power, and other groups have it, Ken?

DR

 

[thaiboxerken]

Why should the RR not have political power, and other groups have it, Ken?

Because they don't pay taxes.

 

[my_wan]

I really don't understand what you're trying to communicate. I will say this, while the RR has lost ground, they've also gained ground in the recent years. We should always be wary of the RR, they are not harmless and they really do have power in the USA.

I'm referring to the fact that just because Bush won two elections against an decent idiot and a total buffoon you think the RR is sooo powerful. Not only did Bush lose the popular vote in the first election but again the total buffoon he only won by one state and less than 1% of the vote. The dems don't need the RR they need to quit pandering like a stick puppet with corncob up their behind.

 

[thaiboxerken]

Bush won the first election with questionable methods. He won the second election by pandering to the RR with a gay marriage ban promise, which he never pursued. The RR is a large percentage of the popular vote. Without that pandering, Bush would've lost.