Dear Bushy.. if the onus is on me to explain "Christian" witch burning, let me try.

"Salem Witch hunts" is probably the prime example in your mind?

I can explain that simply..if you look into it you will find it was more an issue of clan/family rivalry and the way one clan took out the other was to accuse them of being witches :) simple...

Here is an article about it:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_burn.htm

But my ultimate answer is simple. Refer to the good book, and refer correctly. Any Christian practice must be based on the New Testament interpreting the old...and I find pretty much nothing suggest of such treatment of witches.

The closest might be Pauls encounter with a demon possessed girl and all he did was get annoyed and cast out the demon. Not exactly Salem stuff right? :)

So, the only thing which needs to be explained is how the historical practice of Witch burning was UNbiblical. And a reading of the NT will show it to be so.

You could try a little exercise .. google "New Testament on witch burning" :) and see what comes up.

Enjoy.

Perilous.. I'm happy for a profit making Christian concern to pay company tax.. it's the only tax they are exempt from as far as I know, but then..how many make a 'profit'? If Word Book store does not pay tax.... I'd be "livid" about that. I think they do as they are a Pty Ltd company.

You ask..how will it happen? (end of Civilization) very simply, by "doing nothing" on our part :)

Well I must say that the comments on this article do not give me much to chew on. They consists almost entirely of anti Christian abuse and simple contradiction. Where are the closely thought arguments? Where the deeply considered opposition? But it is interesting that this article has provoked even more anti-Christian hysteria than usual. I can only conclude that I have disturbed the strongly held convictions of the secularists, perhaps strongly held but poorly warranted. They really do not like their entire world view attacked. One writer even wondered why I should be published! They cling to the thin language of human rights and empty freedoms and are aghast that I have the nerve to point out that they have no basis at all. In desperation they resort to abuse meanwhile hiding behind their screen names.

Peter Sellick

Sells

Your article comes across as severely judgemental, ignoring the suffering of those who, for whatever reason, feel that they have no future or that the future they have is so bleak as to be unbearable.
I find it very difficult to believe that you are as insensitive as this article suggests.

Why are you so fearful of death? It is the natural end of life for us all, not something to be feared.
If we are going to affirm life in a way that is Christian then we must celebrate death much as we celebrate birth. This must include celebration of 'difficult' deaths like the deaths of children, and of those who take their own lives.
I am not an advocate of euthanasia. Nor would I ever encourage suicide for many of the reasons you have given. I cannot, however, deny the pain of those who contemplate or attempt suicide. I cannot describe it as murder with all the associated judgemental overtones.
You have attracted much abuse simply because your tone is judgemental and insensitive. If this were all the Church had to offer people in their pain and grief then I too would walk away.

Jesus did not seek to avoid death in favour of a 'little more future for himself' or to avoid giving his family, friends and followers the inevitable grief that would follow His death. In many respects His death was a chosen path that He could have avoided and yet you celebrate His death.

It is not necessary to condemn people in their time of pain in order to affirm life! On the basis of this article I wonder that anyone feeling this sort of pain would ever take their pain to you or your Church. But perhaps that suits you!

Waterboy,

An excellent riposte to Sells' judgemental comments. I can only hope he reflects on your very Christian and humane post.

Thank you

Waterboy
I assure you I know about the deep pain of depression and suicidal tendencies. I was a hospital chaplain for 3 years. My point is not judgmental it is that people who find themselves in this situation need focused support, not advice on how they can kill themselves in the delusion that that action is painless.

The church does not celebrate death. Indeed it looks to a time in which “death is no more”, death will always be the final enemy. I think the recent idea that we celebrate death at all is mistaken. Rather, each Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection. Good Friday is a necessary step to Easter Sunday but the celebration is firmly on the Sunday.

Fear of death is one of the things that distorts our society. On the other hand, to naturalise death and make it just another part of living seems too short hand to me. This is a kind of naturalism that will easily lead to the affirmation of suicide, after all it is just natural. But as Christians we are not called to live in the world, by the laws of nature but to hope for a future to come. Suicide cuts off that hope that only God brings and that is why we should never excuse it, even if the suffering is great.

I'm puzzled why this surprises you, Sells.

>>Well I must say that the comments on this article do not give me much to chew on<<

You produce a simplistic and heartless piece on a serious topic, and wonder why the primary response is bewilderment at how out of touch your version of Christianity can be.

As far as I can tell, this is the meat of your proposition:

>>Human rights are seen as being attached to the individual, they have no basis in community.<<

While it is difficult to disagree with the first half of this throwaway line, you provide no support for the second part. What justifies your position that the individual does not form part of the community? Or, to be more specific, that the "rights" of this "community" are automatically superior to those of the individual?

It is all very well to sneer at the entire concept of people having some say in the way they conduct their lives, but you cannot replace it with anything that does not require a subservience to your own particular brand of mysticism.

This is the best you can do on that front.

>>The Christian tradition sees human life as a journey into God that only ends in death.<<

The argument that one's choice of the means of dying is automatically murder comes from your own narrow world-view, much as some Christians view homosexuality - axiomatically wrong.

There are arguments one could have for and against euthanasia, or for and against abortion, from a purely humanistic perspective.

But I think what the general reaction of this thread is telling you, Sells, is that by insisting upon a dogmatic approach to a serious issue, you have excused yourself from actually applying any thought to it.

And it shows.