Paul1405 asks

'Answer are Bush, Blair and Howard Christian'

Only they could answer that but your bitterness and twisted views show you have little clue as to what or who are Christian is.

Runner

And you will turn the other cheek exactly when?

And love your neighbour?

I won't hold my breath.

Interesting example of Boaz revisionism.

>>So..for example when I point to a portion of a holy book which requires or exemplifies behavior which is quite radical ..such as 'beat your disobedient wife' he sees the mention of such things as 'spreading fear,hate and loathing'<<

Once again, you manage to tell only half the story.

I have been entirely consistent on this point, throughout our posting history.

And once more, my position is this.

If you are prepared to vilify someone else's religion on the basis of selected quotations from their holy book, then you must accept that your own holy book contains much the same by way of dubious, anachronistic instructions.

Instead, your position is invariably that your book should be seen as allegory, or metaphor, or simply "colourful language", while others' books should be taken literally, word for word.

In taking this stance, you surely cannot fail to see how you appear to be promoting fear hate and loathing.

Which is also, as you may start to realize one day, what is behind my dissent from comparative religion.

>>Pericles has said "For the gazillionth time...I am not interested in comparative religion" which is his response to requests like "why don't you actually look......at the material provided...<<

Using one fantasy as a weapon against another's fantasy is about as productive as arguing whether a chalet in Rivendell represents a better real estate investment than one on Pandora.

Comparative religion is, to me, merely an exercise in comparative fiction. Since it has no basis in reality, anything can be - and clearly is - argued from its contents.

Dear Severin,

Firstly allow me to Thank You for your
kind words. (Blush).

Now, back to the topic.

It is so easy to caricature Catholicism as a
self-interested monolith divorced from the
wider community and out of touch with the
experiences of people. Many outsiders think the
church is one entity controlled from Rome with
the pope at its apex, the bishops as local
managers and all its activities hierarchically
controlled.

This is where Vinnies provides a contrasting
perspective. It is a genuinely lay-run
organisation where clerical influence is almost
non-existent. It is often forgotten that Catholicism
is not a centralised corporation, but a complex
interlocking constellation of different,
semi-independent entities: lay organisations,
religious orders, dioceses, parishes, schools,
hospitals, and other ministries, all with their own
legal status, independent finances and administration.

Certainly since the mid 19th century Catholicism
has become more over centralised than ever before in its
history, nevertheless many parts of the church are
still independent. And Vinnies is one such part,
which is why I chose it for this thread. To me it
represents the best of Catholicism in action. The
Christian call to service that gives its 'raison
d'etre.'

And assisting 1.8 million marginalised people annually
in Australia is what I regard as a positive contribution.

Dear Al,

Sidney Myer (Simcha Baevski), was a Belarusian Jew, not
a Christian. If you scroll down to "External Links,"
on the website that you gave in your opening post.
Under "Myer Family Office Site" click onto the
"Australian Jews" and the letter "M" under Myer, you'll
find Sidney Myer listed as a Jew. Also if you scroll
down to "Category," under "Belarusian Jews," again under
the letter "M" you'll find Sidney Myer listed there as well.

Also, if you happen to be driving past the Box Hill
public Cemetery in Melbourne, drop in and visit Sidney
Myer's gravesite and check the inscription on his
sepulchre

Aha... Miss Marple, you've done it again!

Dear Foxy

To be honest, I think you would the lovely person you are whether you had been born into any culture. I was using your good nature to contrast with that displayed by AGIR and Runner. Proving religion has little to do with decent behaviour, empathy or compassion.

Back on Topic

I was not disputing that St Vincents perform exemplary work, however much of this would be unnecessary in a more democratic less market rules economy. I also posit that charitable works existed before the advent of Christianity and continues alongside it today.

I do recall the parable of the Good Samaritan - the entire point being that his aid was from a person who was not a Christian.