Hi Yabby

U need to be pretty desperate to use the Dutch system as a model to follow. Again for the last 40 years many with totally failed philosophy have tried to teach kids the art of wearing a condom. It is obvious by looking at the homosexual community that no matter how much education you have unless you are taught self control it just aint going to work. Aids in on the rise depsite the propaganda campaign. In Uganda where abstitence is being taught outside of marriage they have having huge success in combatting aid. Not what you or many others want to hear but it is fact.

"The Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm calls the years between 1914 and 1991 "an era of religious wars" but argues that "the most militant and bloodthirsty religions were secular ideologies"......Prof Niall Ferguson "The Next War of the World" Foreign Affairs Sept/Oct 2006 p61.

You've got to give it to the secular humanist (whatever that means) whingers.....they're an insignificant rabble but they want to dictate to the majority and, thereby, deny us our democratic rights.

The noted Atheist Madalyn O'Hare managed to have the saying of the "Lords Prayer" banned from American State schools in 1963; on the grounds of separation of Church and State because she wanted to protect her son William from all that religious nonsense. However her denial of William to be exposed to Christian Prayer only made him more curious and today he is a Christian evangelist. Atheism that bans a childs right to be properly informed and feeds misinformation to children about the Christian faith denies a right of children to be educated. William today is a strong advicate of religious education to children.

Philo, do you want to attempt to address the point, or are you happy simply whining about non-existent threats? I understand this is a subtle point, but try to follow: being informed about the history and nature of religious belief is not the same as having religious belief presented as fact and being forced to undergo religious rituals. The former, pretty much everyone who has posted here is happy with. The latter is disgusting indoctrination, only supported here by you and a couple other sanctimonious nitwits.

bushbasher,
Please present relavent historical facts rather than bigoted opinion. Your personal hostility is shown in your name calling. Something which Christianity finds imature in the respect of others. The Christian value of a person is based upon the example our Lord demonstrated by caring for the lowest of social outcasts. Obviously you have not learned that lesson, and it is now obvious you prefer not too. However you are born for this generation and have a divine purpose, but obviously you do not value your own dignity.

A society needs laws to stay cohesive otherwise it is based opon anachy. Give us an example of a society where atheism is the foundation of its laws. Current attitudes by atheism places little value on the sacredness of all life. With the rise of the atheistic Greens Party life will have less and less value. They read the same texts as communists as their strongest advacates were former Communist Party members.

It is the Greens who push for banning religion in schools, parliament and society. It is they who want to allow the personal use of socially harmful drugs.

"U need to be pretty desperate to use the Dutch system as a model to follow."

Runner, sometimes I wonder if you are actually religious, or just
a comedian trying to act ignorant. Given the Dutch teen pregnancy
rates at around 12% of the US figures, I'd say that every Aussie
politician should take note! Many countries are actually now
examining the Dutch system, to understand why it works so well.
Lets hope that Australia does the same.

As to Uganda, I remind you of their ABC system, C standing for
condoms and their promotion. When some religious fanatics caused
the emphasis to be taken off the C, the HIV rate started to
climb again in Uganda.

Last I looked at some figures, around 8% of Australians bother to
go to a church or similar. Clearly Australia is now a great example
of an secular country thats doing ok. The godsquad are a small but
noisy irritant to most of us.