lots of good discussion... you guys haven't let me down. i've neglected my own thread a bit... so please excuse me for being a little behind in the discussion.
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Originally Posted by roachboy
i object to the intolerance exhibited by "christian" politics--which have no relation to the message in the new testament in particular--not to the message about teh dignity of the poor, not to the fact that believers are abjured to not pass judgement on others less they themselves be juged---christian right politics seems to me the abandonment of any meaningful political correlate to the notion that one can and should love one's neighbor.
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Christianity in the contemporary iteration has a lot to work on in this department, but i believe that the response to the Christian message will always be somewhat hostile. Christ taught that we are all sinners and that salvation is only possible through grace from the Father. Our postmodern world is especially unwelcoming to this idea: that what we do can be wrong and that someone (or something) else is out there that has the authority to tell us what is right. If we are to love our neighbors and we witness our neighbor going astray from what is right, then how much love is being given if we allow them to be destructive to themselves? It seems to me that the real debate about how to treat eachother isn't really rooted in Christianity in particular... it's in the acceptance or rejection of an absolute moral code. if there is such a thing as right and wrong... then Christian are doing the loving thing (as best as they know how) by trying to help them stay on track. if there isn't... then they (with somewhat self-gratifying motives) are simply projecting their own judgemental criteria on another. it seems that if we're to deal with these issues, we must recognize where the fundamental difference lies.
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it has been twisted around in political discourse to a message about what looks like religious imperialism--love is only extended insofar as people who do not believe insofar as they are potential converts--real differences present other problems--which you can see being played out around issues like the "war on terror" and the rationale for racism it provides, all wrapped in both the flag and the veneer of christian sensbility.
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while we must recognize that every person has intrinsic value (and i believe Christianity, by and large, does that) i simply do not perceive the same implications you do on this. i think that when people disagree with how the west is dealing with islamic fundamentalism they rush to equate a fault in christian thought. it's easier to project the ideas you disagree with on a group you have much deeper differences with rather than face the possibility that people across the theological spectrum put stock in an approach that you reject... that the divide is more than a theological preference.