Re: A note about the Atheist Legal Center, or at least its founder

2005-12-13 Thread Ed Brayton
Larry Darby wrote: Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in restoring good government to Alabama - and the United States of America, for Americans for a change! I am reminded of an old Albert Brooks comedy bit from the early 70s where he says that radio disc jockeys are endowed

Re: A note about the Atheist Legal Center, or at least its founder

2005-12-13 Thread Paul Finkelman
I wonder if Mr. Darby's anti-Semitic self-promotion really belongs on this list serve? Larry Darby wrote: Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in restoring good government to Alabama - and the United States of America, for Americans for a change! Those persons who want to stay

Re: A note about the Atheist Legal Center, or at least its founder

2005-12-13 Thread Francis Beckwith
I second Paul's concern. Frank On 12/13/05 7:37 AM, Paul Finkelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I wonder if Mr. Darby's anti-Semitic self-promotion really belongs on this list serve? Larry Darby wrote: Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in restoring good government to Alabama

Re: A note about the Atheist Legal Center, or at least its founder

2005-12-13 Thread RJLipkin
Paul's query again raisesthe question of the List's purposes. My own view is that phrases like "Zionist-Occupied Government" and, in Paul's words,the speaker's "anti-Semitic self-promotion" do not belong on this List. I recognizeand admire Eugene's typical reluctance to censoremails posted

Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Mark Graber
I confess to thinking zionist-occupied government no more out of bounds than Protestant empire or claims that America is a Christian nation. I confess to think the later two more accurate, but do not think the first the sort of hate speech that ought to ba banned from the list. Mark A. Graber,

Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread Jlof
I wonder if Mr. Darby's effort is not redundant. Do we not already have the ACLU, ABA and the three branches of our national government which are, de facto, operating atheists? Just wondering...John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com and Recovering Republican...Also, an interviewer of Mr.

Re: Can a murderer ever be redeemed?

2005-12-13 Thread Alan Armstrong
When I think of a criminal being redeemed, I think of the thief on the cross who said that We are getting the just rewards for our deeds. I believe that St Augustine of Hippo did not want to execute heretics, but wanted to give them an opportunity to turn from their wicked ways. If a person is

Re: Can a murderer ever be redeemed?

2005-12-13 Thread AAsch
In a message dated 12/12/2005 8:40:08 PM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Does that mean that it is illegitimate to base one's opposition tocapital punishment on it (or, for that matter, a literal, albeitdebatable, reading of "Thou Shalt Not Kill"), or, conversely,

From the list custodian re: viewpoints, wording, fund-raising, and subject matter

2005-12-13 Thread Volokh, Eugene
Folks: My general approach to this list has been to allow all viewpoints, though to insist that the viewpoints be framed in as polite a way as possible given the nature of those viewpoints. This includes anti-Semitism, anti-Protestantism, anti-evangelical-Christianity, anti-Catholicism,

Further from the list custodian

2005-12-13 Thread Volokh, Eugene
I am reluctant to allow certain viewpoints on the list and forbid other viewpoints based on how many people were lynched or murdered in this country owing to those viewpoints. (Incidentally, there have fortunately been relatively few Jews -- not none, but relatively few -- lynched or

RE: Can a murderer ever be redeemed?

2005-12-13 Thread Volokh, Eugene
I agree with Sandy that *this* aspect of the redemption inquiry is indeed related to the law of government and religion. (I anticipated this in some measure when I wrote that we ought to discuss [the redemption question] only to the extent that it touches on the law of government and

Re: Can a murderer ever be redeemed?

2005-12-13 Thread JMHACLJ
In a message dated 12/13/2005 1:20:06 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Yet surely the answer is that it's perfectly legitimate forpeople to base either their support or opposition to capital punishmenton religious justifications, just as it's legitimate for

Re: Can a murderer ever be redeemed?

2005-12-13 Thread David E. Guinn
One can take this a step further and distinguish, as Rawls does, between constitutional /democratic contexts (where this type of public reasoning occurs) and the cultural background (where it does not.) It becomes very problematic when the standards of public reason are applied to cultural

Re: Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread Jlof
By saying, carefully, that the ACLU, ABA and the three branches of our national government are “de facto, operating” atheists I sought to head off the type of response below. Oh, well….So, please, let me, briefly, elaborate on what I meant by interspersing my comments among the comments of Ed

Re: Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread Will Linden
This sounds chillingly like the Stalinist insistence that people deserved to be purged because they were objectively counter-revolutionary. And serves handily for labeling whoever the speaker has decided to dislike as objectively fascist or objectively racist, or perhaps even objectively

RE: Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Mark Graber
I confess to agreeing more with Eugene than Michael on this one. First, one can equate, say Zionism with Nazism on various grounds without anyone taking offense. Both are nouns, both are names for political movements. This does not strike me as offensive, even though I am a Zionist who regards

Re: Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread ArtSpitzer
In a message dated 12/13/05 2:42:31 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: St. Paul, in Romans 1:18ff, makes it clear that ALL men know there is a God; some worship Him, others don’t and hold down this truth (that there is a God) in unrighteousness. Thus, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an

Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread Perry Dane
Hi, In one sense, John Lofton's notion of operational atheism has much more to it than meets the eye. Consider, for example, the views of Radical Orthodox Christian theologians (e.g., John Milbank) and some other important post-liberal contemporary Christian thinkers (e.g., Stanley

Re: Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread Ed Brayton
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Comment: Well, let’s see, please, if what I said is “utter nonsense” or “absurd.” In the New Testament, in Romans 13, 1-8, God tells us the purpose of civil government. It’s powers are ordained of God and our rulers are to be ministers of His Law. Do any of our

RE: Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Richard Foltin
I concur. The reference to "ZOG" evokes a view of Jewish conspiracy and influence that is simply a more current version ofthe "history" recited in the fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion -- and has no more place in civil discourse. Richard From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL

Re: Hmmm, Atheist Law Center, Eh?

2005-12-13 Thread Jlof
I appreciate Prof. Dane's serious response to what I wrote. And, for-the-record, I would like to say that although I am a Bible-believing, Calvinistic, postmillennialst, I (we) are very critical of the so-called Religious Right because most of their leaders are Republican Party cheerleaders

RE: Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Larry Darby
Neoconservative is another code word for the Zionists (some Jews, some Jewish-Christians) who dominate the US Government. Theyre Israel-firsters. The dominant philosophy is Trotskyism. Dominionists is another term that covers those who put Israel first, as opposed to the US of A. A sure

RE: Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Larry Darby
Zionism is on target with both religion and government. That's indisputable. Racism of Zionism is of Judaism, the Master Race or people of the book or the chosen people. One has to have one's head buried in sand not to understand that the ongoing FBI, SEC, Senate, and other investigations of

RE: Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Michael MASINTER
On Tue, 13 Dec 2005, Larry Darby wrote: [snip] To understand the fallacy of calling someone anti-semitic, it's helpful to understand that semitic refers to a group of African-Asian languages, not Jews or any religion. Arabic, Ethiopic, Hebrew are just 3 of several semitic languages.

RE: Zionist-Occupied Government

2005-12-13 Thread Rita
I think you (Mr. Graber) appear to be unaware that the term used was not a neutral government dominated by Zionists; it was the specific phrase Zionist-Occupied Government. This phrase was coined by and is used exclusively by white-supremacist and Neo-Nazi groups such as Aryan Nations, to