petere, with your optimism and unrealistic view on life and human nature, you should join the Foxy brigade.
Your opinion if I am getting it right, sounds wonderful, now just try to implement it.
Most of the problems of the world are historical and religious.
What other conflicts can you think of that have been going on for thousands of years?
Even if I toned it down a bit, it would still be hundreds, of years, and do you honestly believe everything will be hunky dory in, forget twenty, let's say, forty years?
Sorry petere, it isn't that simple.
The absolute stupidity of these people and by extension, this govt, is that in fear of becoming unpopular, they allowed waring factions to migrate, not one braniac thought to write a single note about the fact that when they arrived they would keep fighting, and that in fact some of them considered us also as the enemy.
How smart are this lot?
So it is that there must be exemptions for religions, but we must also decide how much compromise we are willing to entertain.
That is a much harder question.

Dear ALTRAV,

«I'm on your side»

I am on the side of religion and God as my perspective is spiritual, not social: which side are you on?

Religion teaches that one ought to place God in the driver's seat, rather than one's sexual passions, whatever they may happen to be, so their specifics should not matter anyway.

«I would not push that one, at all because that same money goes towards doing a lot of good.»

Religion is always about what YOU do and don't, not about others, so even if others do good things with this tainted money, YOU still ought not be a thief, not even a "good thief".

«Every book of religion promotes things which are fundamentally out of step with our times»

So has it not occurred to you that something is deeply wrong with our times?

«we should base our laws and culture around the ten commandments, as they are rules, not religious»

I can't see what else these commandments are, but religious. However, some of them are only relevant and intended for the Jewish religion, such as "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage": No other people were brought out of Egypt.

«What is oppressive is having to pray five times a day.»

Yes, if you HAVE to - how possibly can one pray with a pure heart when forced? But in itself, praying five times a day is a wonderful religious practice. Christians used to pray seven times a day (only a few monasteries still keep this tradition today)!

«On the other hand anything to do with being anything but man or woman is not even on the colour chart»

Sorry, but this does not agree with my religious faith. I firmly believe that we are neither men nor women (or indeed human). It's best to never fuss about such insignificant attributes of our bodies and instead focus on our divine common essence.

Dear Foxy,

«This is not an attack on religion as you infer.»

There you go - just read Petere's cruel post above: they want to annihilate religion. Nothing to do with sexual orientation, nothing to do with the welfare of children, these are just pretexts - they would just do anything they can to prevent religion being passed to the next generations, so it is forgotten.

Nevertheless, God will prevail!

Yuyutsu writes Monday, 10 December 2018 1:04:46 PM P.7

" Religion is the sole purpose for which we wear human bodies and come to the world. We are here to reach God,"

You may think it impresses some readers to be so affirmative of your beliefs that its "truth" somehow gains credibility. You are wrong. Your assertion is nothing more than opinion. It pleases you and comforts you to so believe, but a significant number among Earth's population find no such solace in the supernatural and the magical. In fact they view it as comical that mortification of the flesh and the eschewing of mundane pleasures can arouse euphoria in any sane human.

«Sure there are some pretty bad things in the Bible's»

Your response: "Are you referring to "thou shalt not steal"? I believe it to be good and true as ever!"

It seems to me that you see a flippant and deliberate perversity as an effective argument. Perhaps you have good reason to believe so and if this is the case, a brief explanation would dispel the apparent negativity that your question arouses.

It is undeniable that there are some pretty bad things in the bible. They are widely known and are 100% widely condemned. It should not be necessary to present a list to one of your acknowledged erudition in matters spiritual and sacred. Are the scriptures the recording of the deity's inerrant word breathed through chosen scribes and made into the written word? Or are they metaphor selectively used to mask errancy?

petere,

I believe Henry Parks, Premier of NSW and Famous Womaniser, tried banning religious schools or at least making it impossible for them to survive, that was back around the 1890s; seems that it didn't work.

'I believe Henry Parks, Premier of NSW and Famous Womaniser, tried banning religious schools or at least making it impossible for them to survive, that was back around the 1890s; seems that it didn't work.'

imagine how much dumber the country would be if he was successful. You would have country full of getup clowns.