Regarding Religious Education... boy oh boy, we have some desperate need for clarity there.
I'm having an interesting time on YOUTUBE, debating with Muslims and others, and this one used the 'carrot and stick' approach to me after I invited him to Christ.

QUOTE:
u have heard what u have heard...now, i invite u to a paradise where there is no sleep and no tiredness, where u will be able to surf all u want every day u want for eternity, and u will have the best and most pure beach babes created specifically for u, who will become virgin after every time u sleep with them, and who have no impurity like menses or stool or urine, whose eye will only be for u, not for other men, unlike many aussie and other women unfortunately...where u will have all u desire and all the best of food..and wine that does not give hangovers...and rivers of it...and the best part ...that u will be be close to GOD, under his protection, and u can even go and visit jesus (pbuh) and other PROPHETS like him...this is paradise and IT IS EASY FOR GOD TO CREATE. and God was never tired on th 7th day or any other day...as is mentioned unfortunately in the corrupted version of the book sent down to Jesus (pbuh)..and GOD knows best what we hide and what we reveal.

the other choice is Hell...u can find more about hell from your bible probably..its painful and eternal is a basic summary.
UNQUOTE.

The only thing which comes to mind here is "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

What we must appreciate, is that THIS is what is driving people to suicide in the name of Allah. How do I know this ? good grief, if you saw the video's on this blokes profile you would SEE why. "Al Qaeda Ambush".. "Red Mosque Seige" etc etc...
This bloke is calling me 'maate.. g'day... ' etc...so he might even be Australian.

Such rediculous ideas must be NIPPED in the bud.

Ah well.............this got off to a good start...

I agree with most all of you. I'm getting a tad cheesed off with those that wave their deity around as the 'one true God'.

Can I suggest twenty paces at dawn one armed with a Bible, one with the Koran, winner then takes on the Sun worshipers, armed with...er,...whatever, winner takes on one armed with a bronze statue of Buddha.I reckon that should finish it nicely.

Being whacked with a bronzed statue, can make an extremely bad impression on your mind.....

Sorry, BOAZ_David, but I must protest. As ridiculous as those ideas are, they are no more or less ridiculous than many others professed by adherents to other faiths. Remember that the Ku Klux Klan started out as the Holy Knights of ... firmly cemented in their Christian faith.

As I recall, the movie "Bedazzled" satirised what any form of Heaven would amount to ... hanging about in eternal adoration of the Creator and only existing by exercise of His whim ... that doesn't sound any more realistic to me than your Muslim debater's version of Paradise.

This forum is not a place to single out any particular faith for special treatment: it is a place to reconsider the role of *any* faith in our lives and in the education of our children ... IMHO it is not the role of secular state schools to invite children to Christ or Mohammad or Buddha or Krishna any other faith/deity in particular.

But I must confess that the views you report scare the pants off me ...

Religion has it's roots founded in tribalism and hence no amount of education or logic will deter people from believing.Just look at our Islamic Doctors who plotted the Glasgow bombing.Highly intelligent yet believe all that the Koran espouses.

Anyone who has been indoctrinated into any religion finds the tribal bonds and belief systems extremely difficult to break.There is something deep in our psyche that makes us yearn for the power of enternal existence.I think as adults we yearn for the security of a parent figure and the concept of god fills the void.Let people have their religion but do not let religion over ride science or logic.

I've got no idea what Boazy's post above has to do with the subject of RE in schools, but since he wants to participate in the thread, perhaps he could answer the following question:

Does BOAZ_David - or other members of his Brethren sect - go into state schools to provide Religious Education classes?

A simple yes or no will suffice.

PeterJH,

"It's a fact the Christians believe in the existance of a god and a person named Jesus. It's also a fact that there is no evidence of the existance of the same said god, nor, probably, Jesus. Those facts are what should be taught and in an academic environment of philosophy or comparative religious studies. Anything less is the censorship that you are concerned about."

Indeed - and to not do so is to say that modern human beings are incapable of contemplating and articulating human life/"spirituality" to the same or even more 'evolved' levels of understanding than people from antiquity - real or mythic.