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happy birthday, you crazy pregger christian momma mia! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Now there I think you've gone too far. True, there is a substantial minority within Islam who have turned it into a death cult. However, I believe the majority does consider it a religion of peace. Unfortunately, they too often tend to be a silent majority. The muslims I have worked with are very peaceful people. More peaceful and indeed spiritual than many Christians I know. What were you saying about sample size in another thread? Not that I disagree with you, and maybe you should notify markharju of your observations, but try to be consistent. I'm not being inconsistent in the least. I'm only making observations, not generalizations based on limited observations. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

No. Pedphilia has nothig to do with sexual orientation. Most pedophiles are straight. Look in the psych literature for the most accurate assesment of pedophilia. If you look a little deeper into the church's sex scandal, it's part true pedophilia and part post-pubescent homosexual attraction. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Reducing the faith of over a billion Roman Catholics to a safe haven for pedophiles and a fairy tale is throwing the "bullshit flag?" I don't think so. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

You can take the boy out of the catholic school but you can't take the catholic school out of the boy Eww... Nasty pictures! Go away! Truth be told, I didn't even go to catholic schools... I was raised on military bases and went to DOD schools in europe and asia and a handful of states. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I wonder if we'll see an assassination attempt on Benedict anytime soon. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

You can take the boy out of the catholic school but you can't take the catholic school out of the boy I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Should she have given him an enema? perhaps w/ battery acid, shards of glass, maybe followed by a hot curling iron for shits and giggles? I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Now there I think you've gone too far. True, there is a substantial minority within Islam who have turned it into a death cult. However, I believe the majority does consider it a religion of peace. Unfortunately, they too often tend to be a silent majority. The muslims I have worked with are very peaceful people. More peaceful and indeed spiritual than many Christians I know. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Although an absurd and invalid comparison (religions with nations), I will point out that the USA does not claim to be the only way to eternal salvation, condemn all others to Hell, and does not deny its history. The USA acknowledges that it acts in self-interest. The USA is NOT hypocritical like just about every religion. And you're one who can certainly spot an invalid comparison since you make them frequently. Actually, it's quite valid. The Vatican is a city state, an automomous "country" as it were. Addressing the other inaccuracies in your post, the Catholic Church does not condemn others to Hell (in fact it condemns NO ONE to hell), it does NOT deny it's history (I guess the public apologies and writings of JPII are lost to you, pity). And as misguided and wrongful as the inquisition was, those who led it were also acting in the self-interest of the church, just as the United States did when it became the only nation to anhihilate two cities w/ nuclear weapons (365,000 people, just as a reminder). And to say the US is not hypocritical, well that's just laughable. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Your world view seems rather black and white. I work daily with Christians, Arabs, Iranians, Hindus, atheists and Jews. I don't find the Arabs and Iranians any angrier than the others. My colleague most likely to blow his top is Jewish, and the most placid is an Iranian. And your "sample" is representative? Puh-lease. I also know plenty of very peaceful muslims and people of middle eastern descent and your point is well taken. Markharju's post does seem a little beyond the pale but the point behind his post has some validity to it also. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

well spoken sir. Some people are upset that others acknowledge their religion's association with burnings at the stake and other tortures. I've never denied that those things occurred. You have a selective memory. Or is it age? Regardless, those things were from centuries ago (that would be years times several HUNDRED) . CENTURIES. Some adherants of the Muslim faith STILL torture and murder heretics. Today. Now. But all I hear you whining and crying about is the Catholic Church. Get the fuck over it. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

Don't bother asking him that... he is quite content living in his house of inconsistencies... he has but one agenda here. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

The irony is that they are only proving the point that they think the pope was making in the first place (which he wasn't). And I'm continually amazed at how "religious fundies" are all lumped together, Christians and Muslims, etc.... do Christians do these things when they misinterpret the remarks of a Muslim leader? Do they firebomb and burn the leader in effigy? Didn't think so. Yeah, we're ALL the same aren't we. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

That's awesome! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

HAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPY BURFDAY!!!!!! To one of my fave dizzy.commers! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

WOW! What a story! I would have loved to have seen the ex's face when he found out that she bested his hitman! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

For a long time one of your buddies had a sig line that asked "Are you a good person?" It directed to a web site that made it very clear that belief in your particular God-myth (as opposed to, say, the Zeus myth or the Ganesh myth) was a requirement for being a good person. That really bothers me. It should. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

well spoken sir. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I'll see it just 'cos you recommended it, sweetie! I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

You are quite wrong. Anyone can believe whatever they like and it's fine with me. HOWEVER, when the voices they hear tell them to start interfering with others, that is when I have no tolerance. Whether it's the Inquisition, the Islamic jihad, or lobbying to legislate away abortion rights and birth control. Did someone in this thread do such a thing to deserve the "invisible friends/I think you're stupid" insult? The ability to be "interfered with" by the laws of the nation where you live is not unusual and happens in all kinds of ways. Is it then OK to interfere with others if it is done for non-religious reasons? "Invisible friend" is not an insult - it's a statement of fact. If you disagree, tell me which god is unfriendly to his/her believers, and which god is visible to the human eye. Claiming that you "see God daily" is yet another redefinition of a word in the English language to mean something other than its accepted meaning, a habit common among the religious in order to make their beliefs sound rational. I have not written that anyone is stupid, you added that. I also find it offensive when someone on dz.com claims that others cannot be "a good person" if they don't believe in the correct myth, regardless of behavior. Who claims that you can't be a good person if you don't believe in a "correct myth" (sic)? You may not have outright called someone stupid, but the implication has been strongly, solidly there. As for the word "see," you're the one w/ the limited view of things, not me or Muenkel. The verb "to see" has several different meanings in the English language and it is not a bastardization at all to use them in any way. "See" my point? However, you didn't bother to ask HOW I or Muenkel see God everyday, you launched, once again, into antagonist mode and asked what color hair or eyes SHE had. But those sort of infantile barbs don't get me as they once did, John... I'm NOT the old dog in this fight. Finally, for you to continue to claim that you use the term "invisible friend" in any way other than as an antagonistic term, causes me to lose what little respect for you I had begun to muster. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

The problem w/ posts such as your original one is that it makes a blanket statement that equates Benedict w/ the Nazi's and completely ignores the whole story. And the snipets you posted here are far from the "whole" story. But it's convenient for you to believe such a thing, instead of really seeking the truth, so you do. And it makes a nice, juicy soundbite that keeps people steeped in predjudice. Yea for you. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

I read quite well thanks. Perhaps YOU should read more thoroughly. John has a long history of making insults at people of faith. Let's drop the facade here. Saying that people of faith have "invisible friends" was not an innocent statement and for you to pretend it was is assinine. How is "invisible friend" an incorrect description of a god? It isn't John, but it's entirely disingenuine of you to pretend you don't mean it as an insult. Such is your history. And you know what they say about old dogs... If it's both accurate AND you think it's an insult, don't you think that refects badly on your beliefs? Do you complain if someone calls a spade a spade. It actually only reflects badly on you, as sundevil posted very well. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...

From the way you and kallend speak of these two events, you'd think that not a thing has transpired b/t then and now, either in the office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) that Pope Benedict used to head as Cardinal Ratzinger or head of the Roman Catholic Church. It's amazing how selective people's memories can be. What do you think is an appropriate punishment for murder? I'm sorry, could you be a little less obtuse? Don't try to set me up kallend. Your church sanctioned the murder of tens of thousands of people on account of their "heresy". What should be the punishment? Is there a statute of limitations on murder? Not my place to say, really. But what I do see is that no amount of reparation the church has attempted to do, is doing and will continue to do will be enough for you. Your views are well known, that the church should be extinct for what it did hundreds of years ago. And in a recent post I pointed out that the US, in WWII exterminated over 350,000 people with nuclear weapons under the very poor excuse of justifiable wartime losses. What should the US be punished with? Extinction? I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And...