(continued/part2)

OLO is a bit like a 'marketplace' of ideas, which is exactly the type of place Paul where the Apostle proclaimed Christ in his lifetime.

16)While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17) So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18)A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?"

Then they took him (Paul) and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20) You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." 21)(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

22) Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23) For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. (END).

We will indeed come across as 'babblers' and 'extremists' even "NUTBAGS" 'and 'anynameuwish2give' but the gospel survived in Pauls day, and will continue to do so now. It will also survive attempts by the ICV to repress and Garra's attempt to ridicule. (see on the road to Damascus Garra :) There will always be 2 reactions to Christ, those who 'stir up the bad fellows from the market place to riot', and those who see Christ as He is.

Robert
even handed ? = "all things are equal, even totally diametrically opposed and contradictory things" Is this your view ?
If you take 'no' position in life, I guess that works.

I am interested to know how the Western Muslim copes with our Family Law Bills and also the legal status of fathers and ex-husbands. Most Western men find these laws unpalatable.

Does'nt Garra routinely denigrate those with different views as xenophobes and bigots in other forums? I won't trawl through them to find out, but from memory I'm pretty sure he does. Like a schoolyard bully, can give but can’t take 'eh.

I would like to know Waleed’s opinion on Australian muslims who sell hate literature against non-muslims in shops in our major capitals. Should they be punished with the same anti-vilification laws you passionately supported when used against christians? If the answer is no, then no wonder muslims are seen as two-faced!

I am wondering if the term "nutbag" if it identifies a religious person or identifies a fair skinned race falls under the term vilification in Victorian 2001 Raicial Religious vilification laws.

It appears likley that the first persons to be jailed in Australia for blasphemy under Victoria's shari'ah law have been convicted at the testimony of Muslim spies deliberately planted in a Christian Meeting. Three of the supposed points of vilification were the reading of the Koran or Hadiths that caused laughter.

The two Pastors born in Pakistan were relating their experience with Islam and their years of study of the sacred Islamic texts. They can no longer talk of their experiences with Islam, and now must publicly proclaim they have vilified Muslims. Their right to free speech has been denied under the recomendation of the ICV.

Muslims in democratic countries must compromise their faith to remain tolerant, otherwise they believe in a totalitarian Muslim State under shari'ah law. The dominant influence of totalitarian thinking people in a society remove the right of free and independent philosophical thought no matter the religion / philosophy.

No, Philo. If you read Waleed Aly's article, you'll see that the label "Nutbags" refers to a folder in his Inbox where he files hate mail. I imagine that if he received posts similar to yours, B-D's or davo's by email, then that is where he would store them if he wished to keep them.

That is a very different thing to conducting a 'seminar' for the purpose of vilifying Muslims.

Well, everyone. I guess B-D and others have convincibly proven beyond reasonable doubt that I and Waleed Aly and "Crazy" John Ilhan and the NAB executive Ahmed Fehour and Hazem Elmasri and English cricketer Nasser Hussein and 1.2 billion others are all part of a huge conspiracy to take over the world and convert everyone by killing them.

I wish I knew the point of having dead converts.