Thanks Redneck for your balanced posts on the facts that compare the two religions. Christian fundamentalists have existed in places of influence in political Australia since it became a Federation.

Think: "It is such a pity they have given us such a barstardised culture and way of life." Since it is so opressive I suggest you migrate to a less opressive Government.

For those who pretend the Christian fundamentalists pose the greatest threat to Australia - Please post the threats and destructive social and defiant acts they have committed against our laws and people.

Because if they opose Peter Costello's view of respect for our laws they also would fall under Peter Costello's rebuff. Then we from within the Churches can take action to excommunicate and denounce them as apostates of the teachings of Jesus Christ. "Do good to those that persecute you."

The constant vilification of Christians is not based in fact just impressions from hostile minds. Please quote the teachings of Jesus Christ when denouncing his followers who adhere to his teachings that threaten you. I suggest you read and exegete his teachings correctly then identify those that follow the fundamentals of his teaching that threaten your mortal life.

Timothy McVeigh was not following in the teaching of Jesus - if so please quote the verse from the teachings of Jesus that would give him authority for such acts. Jesus own life was threatened by Herod when he as an infant lived in Nazareth. He identified some nasty traits in the character of the Herods but never commissioned his followers to put them to death. What did he say; "Love your enemy!"

If love is a threat to your life then God help us - as obviously you are the terrorists.

Bd, Philo, excuses excuses, its fine to invade and kill, supply despots with arms, define a christian one way when it suits, yet denounce others when it doesn't. By your definition there are no christians on the planet. Those trying to advance their cause by fear, yet espouse love, are always the least able to provide evidence of the veracity of their claims.

You conveniently excuse the current and past expression of your monotheistic faction in an attempt to convey to us a delusion. Quick to condemn, but run quickly from fact. Judging who is entitled to be christian, shows how suspect your own veracity is. You conveniently dismiss the millions throughout the world that've had their lives destroyed in the name of god via force and violent conversion. Nor the myriad of christian aggressions throughout the world. Aren't the Jesuits, Knights templar, the many popes private armies that looted and destroyed, Christians. Bush, Howard, Costello, not Christians. Just you two holier than thou, that make the grade.

By their words and deed shall you know them. Jeus, he wasn't a christian was he, no using violence to clear a temple, wasn't violent. Just an act of love, like the witch burnings, Irish bombings and desperate desire to control by whatever means. You don't consider constantly ramming scriptural quotes at people as violence. To the vast majority, it's psychological violence, an affront to our intelligence, having meaningless garbage put to us in conflict with reality. Just a bigoted and self righteous endevour to cover up your inability to confront the reality of your despotic beliefs approach and the continuing destruction monotheistic beliefs constantly thrust upon the world.

The lot of you should be repatriated to where your beliefs originated from, considering you hold it in such high esteem. That way you can use you normal approach to solve your problems without constantly destroying everything you touch. Terrorism comes in many forms, christians, continue to use them all.

It is well to remember that historically most of us contributors are connected to whom the Roman writer Tacitus termed those Germanic barbarians over the Alps. Moreover, descended from those barbarians were and are the Germans who allowed their rulers to exterminate six million Jews, as so sadly indeed, many Christian bishops stood by.

Nazism gives us a reminder how even you and I, as ordinary humans can be caught up in letting our leaders give sanction to such horrors, as might be built up from the way we talk and write about Muslims today.

Certainly many Muslims have genocidal thoughts about us Westerners, which proves as humans none of us basically is much better than the other. So it seems we might take a lesson from Socrates, who when he said out with the Gods and in with the Good, meant that most normal humans using the right intellect have the capacity to find true goodness.

That is why both Christians and Muslims, should use reason and intellect rather than misguided faith to find peace together

Froggie,
Quite some time ago in Australia's history we described people like you, who are masters of "the economy" "religion" "politics" and everything else as ENO's, for two reasons, ENO'S nothing, and ENO's gives you the s$#ts.

You obviously talk through your hat on these issues, please read more, I suggest TIME Magazine, for a beginner. Bronwyn presents a well balanced post, and your superiority complex reacts, leftie! Rather than label everything you disagree with as leftie, why not discover what leftie actually means?

Bronwyn, I love your work, please continue to post informed items, for the enlightened to agree with.

Regards, Shaun

Shonga
I really seem to have rattled your cage, don’t I?
Who do you think you are, replying on behalf of someone else? You must believe that you are superior to her, or that she can't answer for herself.
My post was directed to Bronwyn, not to you, so butt out!
I notice you have not responded to what I wrote, maybe because you have no answer to it.

Let’s have some facts to show where I’m “talking through my hat”.

Tell me what is “balanced” about statements like:

"The average Muslim fundamentalist who just happens to resent his people's land and resources, not to mention their minds, being taken over by Western imperialist and capitalist forces has no such luxury. His only weapon is the fact he doesn't value his earthly life the way we do in the west."

”Western greed has a lot to answer for and many thousands have died for it. Muslims would have little argument with the West if we hadn't been seeking to gain control of their oil for the last half century.”

What a load of rubbish! Heard of OPEC, have you?

You people seem to have a knee-jerk reaction: “if it’s Western, it must be evil”.
Why not try to get into the 21st century, instead of replaying old refrains from the early 20th, based on a failed left-wing philosophy and political system?

I know you always want to be seen to be championing the so-called “underdog”, but these particular underdogs, should they ever get out from under, will chew you up and spit you out.

Not a very good article and an even more disappointing series of posts. Any article on this site related to multiculturalism or Islam seems to bring out the rabid christians and anti-muslims. Several weeks of reading such 'debates' leaves me jaded and pessimistic that debate such as this can ever shift people from their bigoted standpoints or shed any meaning on the topic. When multiculturalism and Islam is the topic, the debate seems to descend into abuse. I suggest that those that extol tolerance should refrain from joining in such debates and leave the bigots to agree with each other and congratulate each other on their wisdom, replete with biblical quotes. I am reminded of a saying:'never engage in mud wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig enjoys it'.