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They provided for " the government to favor a religion that infuses individual liberty with purpose and provides it with a meaningful context"
Care to point out where?
What do you mean "where"? The government in the United States at all levels favored the Christian religion until very recent times. Do you seriously need examples?
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,349 posts, read 54,490,349 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
What do you mean "where"? The government in the United States at all levels favored the Christian religion until very recent times. Do you seriously need examples?
Do you seriously believe there are examples?
Are you seriously not familiar with the First Amendment?
Secularism doesn't have the resources to resist the encroachments of Islam. Here's why:
1. Man is incurably religious, and secularism creates a religious void that Islam is eager to fill.
2. The secularist dogma of religious pluralism gives Islam a foothold in the West.
3. The secularist dogma of non-discrimination makes it impossible to resist Islam on religious grounds.
4. Secularists in historically Christian nations make common cause with Islam because it dilutes Christian influence.
5. Secularism is a worldly, hedonistic ideology. When Islamists gain enough power to present secularists with a choice - "convert, or lose all of your worldly advantages!" - secularists will convert.
I see where you're going with it, and there are some compelling notions here, although I don't necessarily agree with the way they are synthesized.
1. "Secularist dogma" does give religious pluralism and non-discrimination a foothold, but this is actually a good thing - it's one of America's strengths. We were among the first on Earth to at least partially free ourselves from the tyranny of one biased group of people dictating to us - whether that's a king or a pope with an army. Yes, this was still a heavily Christian nation in its founding, with great injustice placed upon non-white males, but there was always a higher philosophical element in our Constitution that recognized over time, at least in principle, that the heavy religious persecution of the Old World was not consistent with the Constitutional ideals. Either you have freedoms of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, or you don't really have them. Look at all of the nations that have been or are excessively religions (or excessively atheist, actually) - quality of life and personal rights there was/has been/will be deplorable.
2. Furthermore, just because "secularist dogma" accepts religious pluralism and non-discrimination does not mean that it rolls over and accepts violence. There is a difference between practicing religion in a more mainstream, tolerant manner versus one that is extreme and militant. And if people undertake violent actions based on their religions or otherwise, then the rest of the mainstream "secularists" will be justified in rising up against them and killing them.
People have said variations of this before in past conflicts, and it's always proven wrong. It will prove so again over time.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,349 posts, read 54,490,349 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
There are thousands of examples. Can I do just one, please?
Read the First Amendment and realize the founders made NO provision for government to favor any religion. Belief may work for you in church, not so much in government.
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