On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 00:59:10 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

I was going to ask if you were OK with religion getting too involved with
government, but I forgot something: You'll never provide a straight answer
to that question.

Well, that's an interesting question if only because there isn't a
"straight" answer - or at least one that you will find sufficiently
acceptable just because of who you are.

If you mean in the sense that government (or the State) should never
put itself in the position advancing or promoting one religion over
another, then I would agree.

If you mean using religious or faith based argument as a basis for
forming policy, then I would not agree. There is a place for faith
based argument just as there is a place for secular based argument.
The State has to consider all sides of the discussion, not just one
side in forming it's decisions or policies. If one side or the other
prevails in those discussions, that's how the system works.

While secularists don't like to admit it, we are largely a Christian
nation - or at least most Americans will identify themselves as such.

Let's disconnect religion from god for a moment and talk about the Brady
Bunch, another group of religious fanatics. Like certain god sects, they
also think they have the right to determine how everyone should live
(gun-less). I'm sure you don't like the Brady religion, right?

Secularists in general believe they have the right to tell everyone
else how to live. As do those steeped in religious thought. The very
fact that government exists to tell us what to do and how to behave is
necessary to organized society.

What's your point?