My bloodsister had a cousin who was married to Muslim who was not a radical. He was a student and did volunteer work. A very gently spoken man. My bloodsister and her cousin were having a discussion regarding the difference between radical Islam and moderate Islam. The cousin turned to her husband and asked what he would do if he received an order from his religious leader to kill her. He said he would be very unhappy about it, but would kill her.

The only differences I see between a practicing Muslim who is moderate vs one who is radical is a matter of degree and whether hate on their part is involved. Whether the person is killed out of hate or out of duty, they are just as dead!

The reply was made in a sarcastic frame.

Radiance, we have been here before on the Catholic thing. I was challenged by some guy that I don't see on OPP anymore to do a little deeper research. I did...and guess what? You're absolutely correct! The RCC does not come in first place for sexual abuse, or second, or even third. And since the time that the story was brought to light by a dishonest media, the Vatican has enacted new rules to ensure that these abuses do not happen again.
I DO have to say that I find fault in the RCC in the fact that they tried to keep the story quiet, but the media wrongly made it look like the RCC was the only religion responsible. Not true at all.
What I find wrong with you statements is that Christopher Columbus discovered America when he never set foot on mainland American soil. Amerigo (Americus in the Latin) Vespucci supposedly discovered South America, but not North America (I have no opinion as I haven't studied it). Lief Erickson was actually on mainland American soil long before any other explorer. Now, there seems to be pretty solid evidence that the Chinese reached the western coast long, long before even Lief!

It really looks bad for you to call people names and it affects how others view the RCC. I'm not getting on to you...just saying.

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Have heard also about Lief Erickson, but never about the Chinese. My husband is an Erickson and who knows descendant of Lief? Just jocking, his ancestors are Swedish.

Calling names? Sometimes I lost my patience, have to fight back, when they abuse. But as a Christian,
Jesus said:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you".

I do kindness most of the times. But still they abuse when I am kind. They take advantage. So, I have to know the kind of people to deal with. For many are hypocrites. There are those whose goals are to eliminate Christians. Feed them with your hands, but they bite your hands.

Not so much religion as the organized variety. Every religion in history has ended up as a more secular oriented organization, no matter how laudable their original intent. The reason for the prohibition against Congress making a law about religion is because the Founders saw the huge influence that the Roman Catholic Church had on France and Spain, and to a lesser extent, that the Church of England had on the policies of the British Crown. They were state religions, a de facto branch of government. In Spain, up until about 1750 it was hard to tell where secular stopped and religion began. Smedlev, thanks for this interesting and thoughtful post. When I said "religion," I really meant organized religion.

Islam, Judaism, Hinduism all have their conquest periods. The Crusades were in part a response to more than 400 years of Muslim aggression against Europe. For most of history, more wars have been fought at the behest of religion than just about any other cause.
Back to the Founders. Many of them were mistakenly labeled as "Deists;" when they were actually what was known as Non-Clerical Christians. This was a kind of catchall for various Christian beliefs that rightly saw large and powerful churches with their wealthy, politically connected priests, preachers and bishops for the scam they were and still are. In other words, they saw Christianity I think more as the early Christians did, before the advent of Catholicism and Orthodoxy beginning in the late 200 ADs.
An early Christian, watching a modern day televangelical program would probably think he was viewing some sort of pagan worship ritual.

Not so much religion as the organized variety. Every religion in history has ended up as a more secular oriented organization, no matter how laudable their original intent. The reason for the prohibition against Congress making a law about religion is because the Founders saw the huge influence that the Roman Catholic Church had on France and Spain, and to a lesser extent, that the Church of England had on the policies of the British Crown. They were state religions, a de facto branch of government. In Spain, up until about 1750 it was hard to tell where secular stopped and religion began. Islam, Judaism, Hinduism all have their conquest periods. The Crusades were in part a response to more than 400 years of Muslim aggression against Europe. For most of history, more wars have been fought at the behest of religion than just about any other cause.
Back to the Founders. Many of them were mistakenly labeled as "Deists;" when they were actually what was known as Non-Clerical Christians. This was a kind of catchall for various Christian beliefs that rightly saw large and powerful churches with their wealthy, politically connected priests, preachers and bishops for the scam they were and still are. In other words, they saw Christianity I think more as the early Christians did, before the advent of Catholicism and Orthodoxy beginning in the late 200 ADs.
An early Christian, watching a modern day televangelical program would probably think he was viewing some sort of pagan worship ritual.

================
Have heard also about Lief Erickson, but never about the Chinese. My husband is an Erickson and who knows descendant of Lief? Just jocking, his ancestors are Swedish.

Calling names? Sometimes I lost my patience, have to fight back, when they abuse. But as a Christian,
Jesus said:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you".

I do kindness most of the times. But still they abuse when I am kind. They take advantage. So, I have to know the kind of people to deal with. For many are hypocrites. There are those whose goals are to eliminate Christians. Feed them with your hands, but they bite your hands.