Philo you can not defend your fantasy based superstition on history. It was the enlightenement that developed the concept of equality. The enlightenement was in response to those solid Christian ideals , sexism, racism, corruption and violence. If you want a good illustration of what Christianity is by what it does you should read animal farm. Christianity is a purely negative superstition as it is a superstition based on exclusionism. The tolerance you seem to be trying to illustate as part of the cult of Jesus is only the tolerance that has been forced upon Christians by a more enlightened and secular world. Left to its own devices Christianity is a cruel, corrupt and destructive cult. The occult fiction collection - the bible is self damning in this regard. The occult charcter of Jesus preached exclusionism. The character of god a loathing monster of destruction.
Yourself demonstrates this by the fact you have to resort to dishonesty to defend your superstition a superstition you would not have to defend if you kept it to yourself and not tried to interfere with the lives of others with.

So true, West. So sadly true.
As for equality.... who are the only people demanding homosexuality be condemned? What government-sponsored tax-exempt corporate giants are fighting tooth and nail to prevent gays being treated equally before the law?
The monotheistic cults of Judaism, Mohammedanism and Christianity.

West,
Where in the teachings of The New Testament; the basis of Christian teaching and ideals, do you find encouragement of the behaviour you describe in your post? "The enlightenement was in response to those solid Christian ideals, sexism, racism, corruption and violence."

The enlightenment of history happened to be a return to the true tennets of Christian attitudes and practises. Read your history, Christian faith is not what the oppression of a Roman Church practised. It is the Christian revival of the reformation of the Church that brought social change to society. Return to formal education, nursing care, printing press, freedom to slaves, elecric wheel, pasteurisation to name a few were all as a result of Reformed Christians overcoming Romanism oppression and social hardship. The enlightenment was not atheism, it was a return to the truth of Christ teachings.

Your understanding of what is solid Christian ideals indicates you ignorant attitude, not an understanding of the facts.

What has atheism done in politics in the last 200 years? It has given us the Socialist Republic of the USSR where 40,000,000 Christians were put to death for practising their faith. Were 8,000,000 died in concentration camps in Siberia. What brought about the overthrow of this opressive regime? It was the revival of Christian values in their society, now taught in schools.

What has Socialist atheism done in China? Atheism is opressive and unenlightened darkness that murders its opponents. Millions have been put to death for the practise of their faith. It is the current revival and conversion to Christianity of the Chinese that is changing attitude within the society. Over 100,000 each week in China become Christians who are willing to suffer State persecution for Christ.

Atheism in politics is demonstrated to be the scourge of the 20th Century. We have in NSW parliament two Greens who are sworn members of the Communist Party and enemies of the practise of Christianity in the State and in politics. Yes West, atheism in politics is your new enlightenment - like hell!

Philo clearly you have no knowledge of history whatsoever. The Enlightenment was motivated by the desire to return to the high civilisation of the Roman Empire as Christianity had brought Europe into intellectual, cultural, technological and moral stagnation and often regression.
The New Testament is fiction on par with Harry Potter it has no relevance to reality. To believe in magic such as walking on water, raising the dead , resurrection is completely ridiculous. What credibility can a person have who is foolish enough to believe in such childish fiction? Worst still there are those who for what ever malicious intent seek to convince others that the bible has occult value. That is to say that it is inspired by a god that they most conveniently speak for and that the Bible itself is a book of magic , that it is a guide , something akin to the book on charmed. In the Bible Jesus committed a terrorist attack on the temple clearly it would have had to have been an extraordinarily massive attack to justify him being brought in front of Pilate and Herod instead of a legal court. Especially sensitive because Pilate did not report Jesus to Rome and Herods meticulous public servants also recorded no Jesus and no incident.
Here we have a fantasy figure –Jesus who has inspired Christian violence over the centuries. Christianity the occult belief in the fictional character of Jesus has inspired Christian dishonesty over the centuries. A Jesus that stole slogans and so called teachings from eastern esoterics inspiring Christian culture theft such as xmas and easter over the centuries.
The last 200 years have turned around the effects of Christianity, poverty which was actively created by the church so as to claim piety through helping the poor it created has turned around. Science has given us medicine, regulation and steps towards income equality and fairness, technology and safe building. Whereas Christianity is a cult of intolerance and hatred attacking homosexuals and un-ritualised marriage, the hatred and subjugation of women the enlightenment has driven us toward acceptance rather than tolerance.

Communism was a Christian invention of Protestant origin, hot on the tail of Martin Luther. The idea of the early communists was to live as Jesus taught. Stalin himself was a clergy man and modelled his power on that of the Church. Without the occult of Christ Stalinism would never have occurred. What have Christians achieved? Christians hate and have no respect for gays and seek to ban gay marriage to make a negative impact on the life of gays. Christians hate and disrespect women, Christians believe it is for Christians to decide for women how they should treat their body. Christians engaged in slavery, bleeding Africa of its most precious resource. Only in the early 20th century did some churches admit non-whites are human. Christians colonised the world spreading disease and bloodshed, polluting the atmosphere with the burning corpses of South and North American, African and Asian Children, Women, sword in one hand, bible in the other. Christians brought the Pagans of Europe to Genocide, Persecuted other types of Christians (more Christians were fed to the lions in the late Roman games by Christian Authorities than were executed under non-Christian Rome). Witch burning is still called for by Christians, homicide through exorcism still goes on, the teaching of pure fabricated lies such as intelligent design occurs, cover up of child abuse in churches continues. Christians advocate beating children. Corruption such as nepotism and simonism occurs by Christians in government and managerial positions and allowing jobs or promotion only to Christians. Church groups defrauding tax payers through taking government grants to take for themselves continues. The inquisition only stopped in the recent past only because it was made to stop by secularists. The bonfires of the vanities, the never ending parade of religious wars. Christian terrorism in Ireland, Serbia and the U.S (for some Timothy McVeigh has become a Christian hero).

Christianity inevitably leads to persecution. Christianity is a divisive and violent superstition based philosophy. How could it not be? Jesus himself based on the Character of Chrisos a military deity, Jehova an invention of a bloody Hebrew military coup.