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wow mage, i can't imagine someone reading my post the way you did. i am speaking from the perspective of a US citizen. of course christianity doesn't penetrate EVERY SINGLE aspect of our society... but there is no denying that the christian church has influence either directly or by cultural association with nearly everything that goes on. even the things that run-counter to a christian worldview in our society are often a reaction against christian influence.
bionic monkey, i don't demand that everyone have knowledge of biblical scripture... but on what grounds would you defend speaking out of ignorance? saying that ignorance exists on both sides (and it does) does not vindicate anybody. it seemed like you were trying to rebut but did so with agreeing with me and taking my conclusion even further. so you may know more than some christians, so you have a better grasp than the average person on the street... so what? i will argue that the average person on the street knows very little outside of what is seen in movies or pop culture. knowing more than they really doesn't necessarily amount to much. i don't pretend to know you or where you're coming from, so i can't make a personal judgement. however, i will assert that knowing more than the average person (in and of itself) does not constitute knowing in any meaningful measure.
unright, i know what you're saying and agree with much of it. going back to my original point, there is too much social and political dogma associated with Christianity. i think christians have tried to make their faith relevant in too many ways that aren't central to the faith itself. instead of legislating morality... we should live morally ourselves and spread the hope of Christ through our personal relationships. holding a protest sign with a hateful message has a deleterious effect on the church's image. a person seeing the sign on the news perceives only the contextless information the sign provides. the christian has repelled people with dogma that has little to do with Christ's ministry and the people unfamiliar with Christ have the impression that they know something of the bible through the irresponsibility (and sometimes ignorance) of a poor example. it's a lose/lose situation.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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