coach,

You are correct about Satan. That's why you're not allowed to draw the "prophet".

Philo, if you really want to understand what Gorbachev is about, read an interview with him. Here is not a bad one:
http://www.resurgence.org/resurgence/184/gorbachev.htm

The idea of perestroika was about uniting socialism and democracy, which also means things like human rights, freedom of religion etc.

There is a big difference between believing in somebody's right to believe and having any respect at all for what they believe.
Thats exactly what the Arabs don't understand right now, over the Danish saga for instance.

Yes, the religiously obsessed are clearly a danger, for they lose their ability to reason. Look at Osama bin Laden, look at Pat Robertson. That does not mean they should be banned or not allowed to hold those opinions. It just means its a bad idea to mix relgion and politics, for once people like that have any influence on power, thats where the danger lies.

To sum up my point again, religion had nothing to do with bringing down the Soviet Union. It was Gorbachevs belief in human rights and the failure of the old system, that created the changes, not religion. Gorbachev is no fan of Christianity.

Philo, As a youth, I adored christians ideals. You certainly cannot reject things like justice, love and equality as ideals. These are the goals proclaimed by christianity. But in reality these ideals have only brought about repression and violence.

Violence is used in order to impose religious models on society. That violence is not only physical but psychological, as can be seen by the constant threats of damnation and hell prescribed by the demented faithful.

My philosophy is based on common sense. Common sense refers to a sense of measure, a sense of moderation, a sense or reality and the sense of verifiable fact. If for example, freedom is linked to adhering to a religious belief system, it's not freedom, it's repression.

Even if some religious methods are claimed to be progressive, yet they result in the destruction of life, then they are unacceptable. Religion doesn't put an intrinsic value on nature, yet without nature people cannot exist. If we do not respect nature, which religion refuses to, we will eventually disappear; and on Earth, once again, we would have nature without humans.

Mikhail Gorbachev, “Well, I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. Look at the sun. If there is no sun, then we cannot exist. So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals.” I agree wholeheartedly.

Again Philo, your mob just jump in with more and more unsubstantiated fallacies. We have proven records of what Aristotle wrote, there is nothing written by this jesus. What is written was not nor could it have been written by those attributed to the new testament, they were all written by Greek scribes, as the jews in question, were illiterate and couldn't write Hebrew let alone Greek.

Answer this, how many gospels are there.