Posted on 11/15/2005 7:11:30 AM PST by FerdieMurphy
How do I know if my supposedly real reference sample for a $20 is a real $20? Perhaps I'm comparing a fake to a fake.
I would just ask the Treasury Department if it's real and get an absolutely definitive answer. In the case of deity, I can go to a hundred different supposedly authoritative sources and get a hundred different answers. Most will tell me their $20 is the only real one, leaving me broke if I believe them since I only have a wad of $20s verified as genuine by other authorities.
It's a matter of intent. There was no government plan to wipe out the Indians.
How the Spanish tortured natives for not bringing in enough gold was not moderate.
Nor was it Christian.
Christianity has also been the originating cause of many atrocities.
No, it hasn't.
Let me rephrase that, it has also been used effectively by bad people to originate many atrocities.
Who would have used something else, probably more effectively -- which is why tyrants generally end up seeking to eliminate Christianity, whether it be Hitler or Stalin or Mao.
Communism has also been used by bad people to commit atrocities.
Who were following utilitarian communist principles.
You can do anything once you have an all-powerful, all-important figure to serve, be it God, Allah or the state.
You will do anything without God.
I actually think religiousness in the US has helped us in a way. With dual loyalties, to god and to state, it's harder for people to be completely fanatical in their support of the state.
The way it works is you owe certain loyalty to the state. You other greater loyalty to God. God always trumps state. It is our founding principle.
Didn't I just say it was a matter of planning? No planning == no intent.
Nor was it Christian.
According to the powers that be it was, the occasional outspoken monk not withstanding.
No, it hasn't.
1731, Salzburg, Austria. Archbishop Count Leopold von Firmian orders the expulsion of all Protestants at the height of a cold Winter. 20,000+ protestants had to sell their possessions and leave, and with everybody selling, they got almost nothing from the Catholics. Landowners were luckier, getting a couple extra months before having to leave. Many children were siezed to be raised as Catholics. Nobody knows how many died before they found safe haven in lands with Protestand princes. The majority weren't resettled until a year later.
which is why tyrants generally end up seeking to eliminate Christianity, whether it be Hitler or Stalin or Mao.
Religion is just as good a tool as anything else. Ask Osama.
You will do anything without God.
You can do anything with God. You can kill men, women and children and believe you'll go to heaven for it.
You other greater loyalty to God. God always trumps state. It is our founding principle.
Nothing trumps Constitution, which has done well to protect us from becoming an oppressive theocracy.
You can have intent but fail to plan.
Nor was it Christian. . . According to the powers that be it was,
The powers that be? Saying something doesn't make it so. If the Supreme Court should uphold a law prohibiting criticism of a political action, does that make the law constitutional or does that make the Supreme Court wrong?
1731, Salzburg, Austria. Archbishop Count Leopold von Firmian orders the expulsion of all Protestants at the height of a cold Winter. 20,000+ protestants had to sell their possessions and leave, and with everybody selling, they got almost nothing from the Catholics.
Christianity is not the "originating cause". The "orginiating cause" would be von Firmian's desire to maintain order, power and to acquire wealth. Christianity was the inspiration to dissent, however.
Religion is just as good a tool as anything else. Ask Osama.
He'd agree with you that Christianity is a weakness.
You can do anything with God. You can kill men, women and children and believe you'll go to heaven for it.
And you will, if God tells you that. But what does God tell you to do according to the Lord Jesus?
Nothing trumps Constitution, which has done well to protect us from becoming an oppressive theocracy.
Which brings us back to the first question I asked.
Yes, you would.
In the case of deity, I can go to a hundred different supposedly authoritative sources and get a hundred different answers.
It seems to me that you don't believe in the 'Treasury Department' to begin with.
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