A Usenet persona calling itself BCITORGB wrote:

Scott weiser says:
===================
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,
====================

And my point is that religion, unfettered, becomes the Taliban.

That's a broad and largely untrue statement. I would agree that any dogma,
unfettered, CAN become totalitarian, but so what?

I see
that you refer to the Catholic Church today. But how do you account for
the Catholic Church of the Inquisition?

That was then, this is now.

Or the Catholic Church that
scared the beejeesus out of anyone doing science?

That was then, this is now. Even the Catholic Church can change.

I'll stick with my
initial proposition: there's only a fine line between one group of
fundamentalists and another.

A not unreasonable proposition, which you can apply just as easily to
"fundamentalist" scientists.


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

Is this a good thing?

Is it a bad thing? I say that anything that gets you through the day, makes
you happy and doesn't hurt someone else is a good thing.




But why is it losing people in Europe?

Is it losing people? Are you sure?


Can it be that educated people
find little of value in the teachings of the church.?

Can it be that you are wrong?


frtzw906


--
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