A Usenet persona calling itself Wilko wrote:



BCITORGB wrote:

weiser says:
=========
"If you have two operating feet, get up and walk
out of the ghetto.
=========

did i say something about a ghetto here?

and, frankly, i don't give a **** about what the people in kansas want
to teach their kids. but from where i sit, their actions and similar
"ban the books" from literature classes actions in the US bible belt
look awfully similar to what the taliban was up to.

Look awfully similar? I think they are basically the same thing.

The Taliban weren't exactly the most creative of folks, they got a lot
of their ideas from those who came up with a religion before them, the
christians and jews.

It's amazing how well they copied the ideas of some person forcing other
to do as they wish all because that one person claims to be more in
touch with something bigger than us all than the other person. Religion
is basically a power game, with just enough spirituality to keep the
simple people from seeing the truth. The truth is that by using religion
to make people conform to an idea, you can make those people do things
they would never do for money or by threat of direct force.

Freedom would be allowing people to believe in what they want, without
being worried that some religious leader immediately convicts what they
want or believe as herecy.

Does that include allowing the freedom to believe in a particular religion
and the free and open choice to subscribe to the teachings of that religion,
or are you demanding universal secularism?

The difference between the Taliban and the Catholic Church is that the
Taliban demanded that *everyone* believe in radical Islam, and they would
beat and/or kill you if you didn't do as the religious authorities demanded,
whether you were an adherent of Islam or not. The Catholic Church today does
not demand that ANYONE subscribe to it's dogma, although it does demand that
if you choose to be a Catholic, you obey the church in matters of
religiosity. No one is requiring non-Catholics to act as Catholics, it's
just that you can't BE a Catholic if you refuse to follow the teachings of
the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is a private club, and it has
rules, and like any private club, if you don't obey the rules, you can't be
a member.

Funny how the church still advocates
abstinence (sp?) as a way to prevent AIDS

Abstinence just happens to be the ONLY way to entirely prevent
sexually-transmitted AIDS 100% of the time. That is a scientific fact.

What, I ask you, is wrong with advocating abstinence? It's not like they are
demanding abstinence and are proposing criminal sanctions for promiscuity.


or how it prevents the use of
birth control in countries where the population explosion is causing
gigantic problems.

How, exactly, is the Catholic Church "preventing" the use of birth control
anywhere in the world? The Catholic Church may *condemn* the use of birth
control, and may refuse to participate in the dissemination of information
and the distribution of birth control, but it has no legal power to
"prevent" anyone from using any form of birth control they choose. The
Catholic Church's stance on contraception is based in its religious beliefs,
which it is entitled to hold, even if you happen to disagree with them. Or
are you suggesting that the Catholic Church be denied its right of free
speech on the matter of contraception?


Also interesting how in most developed countries there is a direct
correlation between the level of education of the population and the
amount of people still believing in some kind of higher being.

Any proof for this remarkable assertion?

In most of Europe the amount of people still going to some kind of
church dwindles by the day, although a lot of people discover other, not
related to some church or constricting religion, forms of spirituality.

And yet the Catholic Church is one of the only religions on the planet that
is seeing an increase in members.


great! have your
regious freedom (if that's what you think it is)! i think it's a
purposeful dumbing down of your children.

That reminds me, funny how the catholic church in essence kept the
population dumb for centuries by picking the brightest people as their
priests, and letting everyone else procreate, effectively eliminating
many of the smartest people from every generation from adding to the
gene pool.

Interesting thesis, albeit entirely unfounded and untrue. Can you say
"Galieo?" How about "Da Vinci?" Should I go on?
--
Regards,
Scott Weiser

"I love the Internet, I no longer have to depend on
friends, family and co-workers, I can annoy people WORLDWIDE!" TM

© 2005 Scott Weiser