> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLBD/BGM/SVM/SGM
[snip]
> <Whisper mode>
> Do you think it would upset people (especially in the US) if it
> were pointed
> out to them that people like Osama bin Laden and the Taliban use the exact
> same rhetoric when speaking of the West in general and the USA in
> particular?
> </Whisper mode>
There was no religious war declared here. Nor any instruction that we are
to kill members of another culture whenever possible.
We're both talking about God, good and evil, certainly. And to the extent
that we de-humanize other cultures, perhaps our rhetoric is similarly
unjust. But "exact same rhetoric?" Hardly. That is about as wrong as
equating terrorism with military action because they are both morally
abhorrent.
You seem to be suggesting in this and your "Christian indoctrination"
message that perhaps religion is the problem. However, the fact that
religion is misused for selfish purposes doesn't make it wrong. Humans
misuse *everything* for selfish purposes. (I suspect this argument will
come back to haunt me in a handgun discussion...)
You can choose to judge religion by the bad things done in its name or by
the good. You can choose to judge based on what you believe to be true.
But it is wrong to judge it only by the bad.
Nick
