Hi - it's that lurker again.
This subject of religion is one that I have had an interest in, along with
History, for a long time.
Let me state up front that I was born into a WASP family almost 80 years
ago. Not that the family was very religious - church attendance was usually
just major holidays so the family could be seen. Many people even today make
the appearance of "conformity" for the sake of their own safety or
livelihood. After studying History and Comparative Religions for almost 60
years I decided that "Revealed" religion was not for me.
Christian Seberino wrote (3/27):
a.. If religious groups were the only groups with extremists that might be
true. Correct me if I'm wrong but in a democracy if the majority wants
something they are allowed to change the laws to get it. Not just
Christians but any group. This is an argument to make sure the voting
populace is well educated, sane and fair if you ask me.
This is exactly the reason that our Founding Fathers created a REPUBLIC
rather than a Democracy - so that a mere majority (50%+1) OF THOSE ALLOWED
TO VOTE AT THAT TIME - which did not include much of the population - could
not impose their views on the REST of the population. There was a time when
the common people had no say whatever in the operation of anything. The
Church controlled the Government and had life and death decision rights over
anyone who dissented - that was called the dark ages. It appears that things
haven't changed very much in some parts of the world. We do not need a
Christian Taliban in this country.
The big problem is that most people today believe the propaganda put out by
the polling companies like Gallup, etc.
This is NOT a Christian Nation - The VAST majority of the population are NOT
Christians. In fact the Christians themselves cannot even agree on what
constitutes a Christian. We have about 260 different Protestant sects that
all call themselves "Christian: yet agree on hardly anything. Many of
these - Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics,
etc - are not considered to be "real" Christians by many groups.
If one looks at the numbers actually submitted by the Churches themselves
and published by reputable Religious publishing companies, (such as the
Handbook of Denominations in the United States, published by Abingdon Press)
they would find that the largest single group are the Catholics (Orthodox
and Roman Catholics combined) with 23.86%. All of the Protestant groups
COMBINED (including the controversial groups) are only 30.40%. The
Non-Christian balance includes about 30% that can by definition, be
considered "Pagan."
I have participated in a number of polls, including some from Gallup. The
questions are slanted toward the results wanted by whoever is paying for the
survey. There are no places for write in answers - only answers on the list
are allowed. Blank answers are not counted against results. It would be
entirely possible for them to get only one answer from a million
questionnaires - with all the rest blank - and have it be counted as 100%
approval of that subject. I place very little reliance on "polls."
There has been an ongoing discussion of the "Marriage vs Living Unmarried"
subject.
The arguments that are most often put forward for marriage are, first and
foremost - procreation, the responsibility for offspring, commitment to the
partner, etc. I know a number of unmarried families with wonderful
responsibility and commitment toward children and spouses. I also know
married families that are a total disaster.
What, then, is the reason for people who CANNOT or DO NOT WANT children to
get married. How about older people who have lost a spouse? Aren't they
entitled to companionship? I know several "gay" couples (both sexes - more
F-F than M-M) who have had long caring relationships. They are as dedicated
to each other as any married couples ever could be. I don't understand the
attraction, but if that makes them happy who am I to condemn it?
I really can't believe that the vast majority of men or women jump from bed
to bed. Marriage is no guarantee that one of the partners is not going to
play bedroom bingo. In today's climate of STD's it is STUPID to bounce from
bed to bed - married or not.
The idea of pre-nuptial agreements is a built in plan for failure. Zza Zza
(Sp?) Gabor's famous line was "I'm a great housekeeper. Every time I get
divorced I keep the house." I'm sure this one was cooked up by lawyers.
Bill Eade
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