<p>"Passing regulations banning gay marriage is not the same thing as "respectfully disagreeing." And yes, you are a bigot. If a form of religion is bigoted and you practice that religion, then guess what? By transference, you yourself are bigoted. The very least you can do is stand by your views and stop trying to hide behind your religion. Don't get me wrong, Christian bigots aren't the only ones I despise. But I'm American, so those are the ones that have any effect on my immediate surroundings. If I were in India, I'm sure I'd be protesting Hindu religious fanatics, and if I were in some Muslim country(or at least one where I wouldn't get shot for doing so), I would be protesting the Islamic fanatics too."</p>
<p>You speak of the bigoted nature of Christianity (and me for believing in it) with striking confidence and ease. I'm curious: Is the Jewish faith bigoted? Are orthodox Jews bigots? What about Buddhism -- is it also bigoted? Is the Dalai Lama a bigot?</p>
<p>"You speak of the bigoted nature of Christianity (and me for believing in it) with striking confidence and ease. I'm curious: Is the Jewish faith bigoted? Are orthodox Jews bigots? What about Buddhism -- is it also bigoted? Is the Dalai Lama a bigot?"</p>
<p>Why would I know about the views of Orthodox Jews. The fundamentalists destroying my society are Christian, so I know about them. If I lived in Israel then I would know about Orthodox Jewish intolerance. But when less than 1% of the U.S. is Orthodox Jewish, it's not really the segment I have to worry about. </p>
<p>You seem to want to make the point that people pick out Christians for persecution, while giving a free ride to other religions. But that is not the case; the reason it looks that way is because - maybe, just maybe - the majority of the religious whackos in THIS country(US and I'm guessing the same in Canada too) are Christian. Hindu views on sexuality are 10x more restrictive than Christian views, but guess what? Less than 1% of the country is Hindu, so you don't really have to worry about the extremists in that sect. Christianity, on the other hand, is roughly 80% of the population in the U.S., so the born-again/evangelican nutjobs are a measurable percentage of the population. See the difference?</p>
<p>"I think it would be better if a conservative would elaborate on the reason Creationism should be introduced in a science classroom."</p>
<p>I don't believe that. The conservatives who push for Creationism in the class are fundamentalist Protestants -- a pretty tiny group within Western conservatism, and a small group within Christianity for that matter. I'm a conservative, orthodox Catholic, and I don't read the Creation narrative in Genesis as literal history. Neither does the Pope (see Joseph Ratzinger's brilliant In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of Creation and the Fall). </p>
<p>That said, is Darwinism so infallible that we should be teaching it and it alone to our children as literal fact? There are other theories out there.</p>
<p>mercer68, you speak of fundamentalist Christians as if they make up this huge percentage of Christianity in America. They simply don't; they are a fringe. Fundamentalism within Christianity is a wholly Protestant invention and is actually pretty new, drummed up in the late 19th century in North America as a radical response to the Enlightenment. They're loud and know how to use the media (and the media them), but there really aren't that many of them. </p>
<p>Your average politically conservative Christian and Christian fundamentalist are quite different. Calling conservative/orthodox Catholics or even mainline Protestants "fundamentalists" just shows your ignorance. You don't know what the term means.</p>
<p>"Your average politically conservative Christian and Christian fundamentalist are quite different. Calling conservative/orthodox Catholics or even mainline Protestants "fundamentalists" just shows your ignorance. You don't know what the term means."</p>
<p>No, I'm well aware of the difference. I said Christians make up 80% of the population, not fundamentalist Christians. Fundamentalist christians are just the largest religious fanatic sect, and you're right, they're vastly outnumbered by normal Christians, but you're also right that they have a disproportionate voice in the media, and that's a problem. People rely on the media for information and as long as these groups are the ones who get to push out their false information, the average American isn't going to make a conscious decision to block them out. In fact, more people claim to be certain of creationism than evolution, thanks to the filth these idiots put out. </p>
<p>"That said, is Darwinism so infallible that we should be teaching it and it alone to our children as literal fact? There are other theories out there."</p>
<p>It's not infallible, but it's the best SCIENTIFIC theory out there. If there are any seriously verifiable alternatives available, I'm all for hearing it. Creationists seem to think that poking at the holes in evolutions proves that Creationism is right, but the burden of proof for bringing up an alternative theory lies on their shoulder.</p>