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

[Phil Simpson]

Hear, hear!

Regards,

Phil Simpson
Systems Administrator
623.252.2547
http://www.google.com/profiles/pgsimpso



On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 5:16 PM, Malcolm Schmerl <mjs355 at comcast.net> wrote:
> 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...
>>
>
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