shame the muslims dont think the same, as if there is any sign of christianity or any religion other than the muslim faith being practised in there desert sorry countries you will more than likely be imprissoned or severly punished

As far as we know, insects, birds, fish and other mammals don't practice religion. They don't have our capacity to understand that the Grim Reaper will tap them on the shoulder one day. Jay could be right in saying that religion is the security blanket of mankind to protect them from facing up to the reality of their own mortality.

On the other hand, at least one astro-physicist (Dr. Paul Davies, University of Adelaide) is now saying that the mechanics and mathematics of the Universe's creation are so elegant that it is becoming less likely (in his view anyway) that they are purely the function of random chance occurences.

I don't know which myself, I'm still struggling with that.

I reckon Jesus had the right idea, though, regardless of whether he was the Son of God or not. You know - "Love thy neighbour as thyself" , "The meek shall inherit the Earth"(if that's alright with you), "The rich man getting to Heaven" etc etc.

What really gets my goat is the way that people down through the ages have taken these simple messages and distorted and corrupted them for their own ends. Normally this has meant the subjugation, control or division of the masses. Starting with the Pharisees and down through the Papal heirarchy, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, Henry VIII to modern day charlatans like George Bush. You can be sure of is that if some public figure states they are doing something in the name of God/Allah/Buddha or the Hale/Bopp comet, they almost certainly have other motives.

Rant over. Peace be with you.

We are the goon squad and we're going to town. Beep Beep!

You still having trouble with you posts

Edited by OzzieBob (17 Mar 2005 9:49am)

"Racism is not only unacceptable – it is criminal"
Tim Cahill, Everton FC

That is simply not true, I have personally been to a Greek orthodox church in Jordan where they have a byzantine mosaic of a map of the holy land (it's a tourist attraction). I went on a Sunday and the Greek orthodox preist was giving his sermon in arabic to locals who looked like locals. There is also a Syrian Orthodox Church in Syria.

I'd say that, given the increasing dis-satisfaction with the material and selfish world we live in, religion has perhaps never been more important. I'm not sure that this thread was intended to be a Christian v muslim debate but the truth is that religion, throughout history, has flourished most strongly amnongst the disadvantaged and disaffected. The more downtrodden people become (or feel they become), the more extreme they're prepared to be, as evidenced by the willingness of so many Palestinians to die for what they believe in.

Church of England attendances (the C of E was founded in the reign of Edward VI, not Henry VIII, by the way) are at an all time low because, as Rach has said, it will not publicly stand up for what it believes. Roman Catholicism, too, has seen an increasing number of adherents pay little more than lip service to its central doctrine and beliefs because it continually shies away from the very issues it should be publicly addressing . The countries where Catholicism is at its strongest is in poorer countries, such as in South America, where poverty and exploitation of the many by the few is the norm. In the more 'civilised', Western countries, Christianity in all its forms has had its balls cut off for the simple reason that people don't think they need it. Consumerism is the new religion.

There are many who argue that the decline in religion has co-incided with the break up of the traditional family unit. The increasing number of single parent families and the rise in petty crime committed by children from homes where there is no stable parental influence are social phenomena that simply can't be ignored. In the past, strict religious upbringing precluded such behaviour. Marriage was considered sacred and a commitment for life and not something to walk away from simply because one or other of them got p*ssed off with it. One of the main reasons why islam is taking such a hold in this country is because it places great emphasis on the security and stability of the family unit; the academic achievements of students from such backgrounds, I believe, far outstrip (pro rata) those of the indigenous population and the culture of the extended family is also far more deeply ingrained. It doesn't take a genius to work out that a strong, secure, family based society will prevail over one as disjointed, shallow and uncaring as ours has become.