The Christian Right is simply a healthy counter weight for a permissive self regulatory society who's morals standards change over time. I fear this change is mostly to the detriment of people.

Dear Kang

read Romans 1 please. (homosexual behavior)

Dear Ant... maybe its time to re-read the gospels :) fill in the gaps about our Lord. Childhood impressions were derived through the filter of the teacher.. now its time to see the full story yourself mate.

Regarding your story, please read the book of James.. it is MOST relevant. Something about 'warmed and filled, but not fed or clothed etc' You will identify with it I'm sure.
Cheers

Alan Matheson,
It is obvious you draw energies from the Adorno et al theories of the fifties, but I do with some disappointment have to inform you; your political compass is way out of synchronization. Authoritarianism is a true Leftist sickness, and yes it does exist in Christianity, but you did not mention where it lay in abundance anywhere else; so I can only gauge by your inference that you are of the old bent men mentality.
There is a history before Adorno et al decided to try reorganizing psychology to stack against conservatism. Even ever trying so hard to agree with your hypothesis draws nothing other contemptuous assumptions without any scientific theory other than a philosophical theory you hold dear.
Caves are cold in winter, something to remember.

Boaz_David, my Christian friend as I tried to indicate in my previous post physically, mentally and spiritually does live the life as suggested in James as best they can. When they told the story they did not talk about the things he has done in the past; I added that part through having known him for some years. That is, spiritually and physically they do give.

I get pretty cranky B_D with those who try to flaunt their religious beliefs in the political arena, but then their actions are abusive towards others who cannot defend themselves. In James I do believe there are passages about landlords ripping off their labourers; which I think would generalise to anybody in authority in the world as it is today.

I am a card-carrying follower of Jesus Christ. However, I totally agree with those of you who abhor being told by others what you can or can't believe, whether the religious right or any other group. The God I follow doesn't force anyone to believe or to adopt a particular form of morality, nor should those who serve him. I should say though that I recently heard Christian philosopher Os Guiness suggest that any society that ignores its roots is in danger of losing its way. From where I sit the west is in danger of doing just this. The west, including Australia, was shaped by to a large degree by the Christian faith. Why the push to deny and ignore this? Surely a mature society recognises where it has come from in the process of discovering who it is and what it wants to become.

Arnie

Thanks for getting the thread back on track.

Now, the problem is, not everyone sees christianity as the great positive force in everything.

Democracy, philosophy and humanitarian ways of thinking preceded christ - for example as espoused by the early Greeks.

Where secular people have issues with christianity (apart from self-righteousness) is that christianity wants to take the credit for all the good and avoid responsibility for any bad.

As a society, it is important that we learn from the past - both the good and the bad. The issue raised on this thread is that the fundamentalist extreme right wing of the christian church is attempting to govern us all and impose their rigid belief systems such limiting sex-education, contraception, autonomy of fertility, teaching of a christianised version of science and other subjects in our schools and so on.

Arnie, sure, take pride in your beliefs but don't try to claim any moral superiority by stating our western culture owes all to christianity, it doesn't. It is a growing, evolving culture of many diverse philosophies and owes as much to the early romans, greeks, chinese, arabs as it does to christianity - a religion which is only 2000 years old, which is a blink of the eye given the milleniums of human existence.