Hr847

[Steven]

Well, Marc, the thing is, Christianity was for the first three hundred years of its existence, a persecuted and secretive religion. People were publicly tortured to death for professing a belief in the Gospels. That kind of thing tends to influence doctrine towards thoughts of the apocalypse and absolutism. A luke-warm Christian in the early days could get an entire Church killed.

So, those first three hundred years of strife and fear have painted the next 1,700. It is a common theme amongst the Evangelical and Messianic branches of Christianity that NOW is the time, and nothing but absolute devotion to the cause of saving souls will be acceptable.

It is a sentiment that has served the religion well. Almost two billion human beings follow the teachings of Christ.

Unfortunately, there isn't a relief valve to the mindset. An agnostic or atheist expressing doubt in Christ in 21st century middle America is seen as the harbinger of ever more and more persecution. Such is the hazard of the fallacy of the excluded middle...

give us a breakdown on the excluded middle please. Id like to know your thoughts....expand a bit, the floor is yours.

[freydis]

I'm sorry, but calling a work of fiction like Harry Potter 'religious' is absurd.

Calling the Bible an accurate work of historical reference is also as much so.

*shakes head*

How did we get so ?

[Steven]

I'm sorry, but calling a work of fiction like Harry Potter 'religious' is absurd.

Calling the Bible an accurate work of historical reference is also as much so.

*shakes head*

How did we get so ?

dude your missing my point.

both are written work - subject to personal choice - and rooted in specific forms of spirituality - and yet one is banned - and another is purchased in large voulumes for public shcool consumption - im talking about a standard here.

and many respected professors, secular and practicing - would disagree with your notion that bible is a ridiculous source of historical relevance.

[phee]

dude your missing my point.

both are written work - subject to personal choice - and rooted in specific forms of spirituality - and yet one is banned - and another is purchased in large voulumes for public shcool consumption - im talking about a standard here.

and many respected professors, secular and practicing - would disagree with your notion that bible is a ridiculous source of historical relevance.

To be fair her word was "reference" not "relevance" as you stated Steven. That is a pretty big difference...

[Steven]

To be fair her word was "reference" not "relevance" as you stated Steven. That is a pretty big difference...

noted brutha.

[ttogreh]

The excluded middle... well, it all depends on one's point of view, right? However, let's go for a basic example...

The California Harry Potter thing is perfect, actually. If the school system allowed children to wear crosses, pentagrams, stars of David, et cetera, thereby allowing children their first amendment right of free expression, that would be the excluded middle. If the school system bought Harry potter books for the libraries and Bibles, Torahs, Korans, whatever books are relevant to Wiccans (I really do not know that much about the religion), Hindu sacred texts, et cetera, and offered a course in high school in comparative religion or philosophy, that would be the excluded middle.

Pluralism... the middle path. We can respect the atheist and agnostic without excluding the Christian or Wiccan.