[Tfug] Another CC* weighs in....

[Malcolm Schmerl]

First of all, note that the word 'hell' was never capitalized and never 
used in a religious context.

Secondly, children are not stupid. Hiding things from them only serves 
to stimulate their curiosity. Eventually they will seek to satisfy that 
curiosity and do so without parental guidance. Good parenting involves 
guiding children into life, not censoring it for them.

Christian Conservatism is, in my view, extremism. It is also a minority 
view that actively seeks to impose its standards on the rest of us. I 
used to quietly accept this, but as I age, I've realized that somebody 
needs to speak out against this tyranny of the minority. Is it not 
stated in the Constitution that we have a right to freedom of religion? 
As I see it, that also means 'freedom from religion.'
This sort of thinking is responsible for many of the world's ills from 
Nazi Germany to present day Iran to the Taliban. In all cases, a 
self-righteous minority, insisting that their way is the only way, 
imposes its will on the entire population. I was born Jewish and 
throughout my life I've had to let a lot of thoughtless comments go, but 
at no time did I ever demand that anyone tiptoe around me. If you object 
to the word 'hell' so vehemently, then who knows what you'd object to? 
Don't ask me to tiptoe around you; either suck it up or avoid me. I will 
respect anyone's right to believe what ever they want just as long as 
they allow me to live by my own standards.

Are there not much more important transgressions to be thinking about? 
For example, the rape of the Gulf of Mexico by oil drillers is an 
immorality of far greater importance. Are you hiding this from your 
children, too? Are you concerned about what kind of world they'll inherit?

On 06/15/2010 09:44 AM, Paul Steinbach wrote:
> At the risk of getting flamed (ironic in a discussion of hell)...
>
> Personally I am bothered by the use of the word hell treated so 
> casually because it excludes me as a Christian conservative.  The word 
> hell to me is not funny.  The word damn is not funny to me.  
> Unnecessary use of these are more serious and more offensive to me 
> than the f-bomb.  Treating these words casually trivializes my beliefs 
> in this forum in the same way that a church elder telling me I can't 
> be a good Christian because I am not friendly enough trivializes my 
> faith at church.  It emphasizes differences.
>
> I am a geek.  I have much in common with the posters here - often  
> more than the people at church.  Some of you know me from WorldCare or 
> SimplyBits.  I am have friends across the philosophical spectrum.  I 
> enjoy the posts even if I lurk more than I post.  I just ask that you 
> remember us minority members when you post the header.  Some of us 
> have beliefs that are a subgenus of geek.  And we promise not to post 
> the joke about the busload of atheists going over a cliff...
>