Originally Posted by cnredd

Not at all...

But I've never said that people do things SOLELY on whether or not they may get judged in an afterlife...For those that do it's ONE other thing to consider tha people who don't believe in an afterlife or being judged in one has to deal with...

The sense of right and wrong can also come (and mostly does) from an individual's upbrining...The "being judged afterward" can be the difference bewtween someone wanting to do something with 49% willingness and 51% willingness...

You telling me that your willingness of doing something is already at 95% because of the difference between right and wrong only tells me about YOU...not everyone...

And you know as well as I do that there could be millions of people in the percentile I've given...

Which is the difference bewtween millions of things being done in what people considers right and what people consider wrong...

And ESPECIALLY when people KNOW that what they're doing is wrong but do it anyway...

Which was never me...so don't bring it up...

I'm a Christian...when have you seen me "spead the word"?...

I guess you'll judge me a "bad Christian" now because I'm not doing what I'm "supposed" to do...

I notice the harsh hypocrisy of your last two comments...

First, you have an issue of "religious people" judging you...(by way of your "guilt trip" comment)...

And then...in the VERY NEXT PARAPGRAPH...You judged those same people in their religious obligations...(supposing to "spread the word)...

It would be much easier to write "I don't like people who call others a-holes...I think they're a-holes."...

Originally Posted by dabateman

If I may interject.

1) Not all religion is bad, it's the concept of fundamentalism that is troubling. Generally fundamentalists have issues with the rights of others that disagree with them. The same is true for radical atheists. Neither is willing to accept that a belief system is a very personal journey not arrived at lightly nor changed easily.

2) We should be very careful about imposing our belief systems on others by force of law. This goes for both sides. Removing religious monuments from federal grounds that have been there since the foundation of the nation is just as bad as supporting staff led prayer in the classroom. Respect and tolerance don't equate removal and silence nor do they equate imposing and demanding. There is a middle ground upon which the rights of both can and should be respected. There is a middle ground upon which both can and should come together in the spirit of solidarity and progress. Sure, there will always be differences, but as long as we defend each others right to existence and defend each others status as equal, then we shall be able to stop out the extremism that has gripped not only this country, but much of the world.

Originally Posted by Spencer Collins

Excellent post,I could not agree more had I written it myself..