Xians' Rights(was AA-Nazi- upon request)

[Guest guest]

Devin, you clearly have a great deal of antagonism toward fundamentalist Xianity, and I believe it is pushing you into positions that are both lacking in support, as well as dangerous to basic civil liberties. As I have attempted to persuade you on the creationism issue, demonizing those with whom you disagree -- and particularly as a means of discrediting the individual liberty that allows them to believe and advocate as they will -- is of dubious value. Your write:

Somehow the rediculous idea that the right to practice one's religious beliefs supercedes all other individual rights has been forced into the mentality of the American public.

What is your evidence that most Americans believe the right to practice one's own religious beliefs trumps all other rights? I can provide you with many examples showing this is not true, but first I'd be interested to learn what data you have arguing otherwise.

This only serves

the purposes of dogmatic fundemetalists who viciosly and violently oppose the idea of religious freedom.

Actually, it would "serve the purpose" of a great many people who belong to new religious movements, aka cults, which are new religions one does not like. The protection of religious liberty is not needed by those who adhere to popular or tolerated religions. These protections are crucial, however, for those whose beliefs are unpopular or controversial.

If a religion is

based on the idea that it must violate the rights of people that are not a member of that religion we, as a society have a moral obligation to discredit that religion.

Ok, discredit away. If you believe a particular religion is founded on an imperative that members must violate the rights of others, I'd certainly be interested in seeing the religion discredited for promoting such views, not to mention reported to state and federal law enforcement agencies. Nothing wrong with discrediting people who hold noxious views or beliefs. Rather, it is a fine idea.

In the case of the libertine

and vile fundementalist xtians, their dogma neccesitates prosylitizing.

So? They believe you and I are going to hell if we don't accept Jesus as our personal savior. If I believed other people were going to spend eternity in unbearable torment unless the accepted a particular view as true, I guess I'd also be pretty interested in spreading the message. Given what these Xians believe is going to happen to us if we don't believe, they would not be very nice people if they just stood back and said nothing, now would they?

The idiology has no legitimate credibility, therefore,

it can only be promoted by use of manipulation, lies, threats and violence.

I do not know what the phrase "legitimate credibility" means. I do know that few fundamentalist Xians believe their religion constitutes lies, and certainly few would advocate threats or violence as conversion tools, or as means to domestic political ends.

In other words, practice of fundementalist xtianity

mandates the violation of the basic human rights of those that are not a member of that religion.

So you assert. But just exactly how does a fundamentalist who believes Jesus has saved him/her from eternal hell, and who has a Bible they think sets it all in black and white, thereby violate ANY rights of anyone, believer or non-theist? You are making some very sweeping and extreme statements about a group of people whom you clearly despise, but you have offered no evidence for your accusations against them.

The result is that I live in a

society where dogmatic propaganda that blatently promotes ideological bigotry an violence is more protected and respected than legitimate information that critisizes their idiotic dogma.

How is your criticism of fundamentalists any more "legitimate" a form of free speech than their right to state their views, and their right to practice their religion? And on what basis -- please be specific -- do you claim that the First Amendment's guarantees of religious liberty and free speech -- as enjoyed by every individual, including Xian fundamentalists -- at all detract from your same rights, or any other rights?

--Mona--