amber300 I am not suggesting communism at all. Religion clearly is as destructive as drug addiction. Recreational drugs are banned and in the same way religion should be banned. If we analyse it there is no difference between the self delusion of believing in a god and the delusion drugs create. Most likely both are releasing the same chemicals from the brain.

Back to communism , yes Christianity is also a political totalitarian movement seeking to control peoples lives. We have witnessed this in Christian social terrorism lately with the banning of gay marriage , the attempt to treat women as farm animals by taking away the choice over their own bodies by banning abortion, by atempting to exploit children to serve the Christian agenda by trying to brainwash them into believing in unproven gods and intelligent design so they can be controlled.

I would argue Christians and any other god belief can be cured of the affliction of their beliefs and would like to see rehabilitation as part of any banning of religion. Having said that if people want to get high on Jesus as long as they dont take it out into public and allow it affect other people thats ok.

Hi West
I think we're getting off track, but anyway.

Yes, I know you were not suggesting Communism. I was putting it forward as an ideology that objects to religion, as an example of how wonderful that made peoples’s lives …I don’t think.

I’m probably much older than most posters and was brought up Catholic. I found the ceremonies and hymns, beautiful, meaningful and enjoyed feeling part of a tradition that went back a long way. There were things I disagreed with, but since the 1970s, a lot of church teachings are up to a person’s own individual conscience, rather than being told what to do, as we were previously.

Unfortunately as an adult, I found I lost my belief in a God, especially a good God, and have brought up my children, like a lot of Australians, without any religion. Sadly, I now regret that, as it does help to give some meaning to our complex lives. I feel I have denied them a lot of my own heritage. There are times in our lives when we do need to believe in something spiritual . They might have also not been able to believe in God, but at least they would have had the opportunity.

Heaven only knows what…Christian social terrorism is….and I’m not asking for an explanation.

I would like to think that all Australians can live in peace together, and that includes people whose ideas, opinions are different from mine, but I also don’t wish to have others differences paraded in public, where I feel they offend me.

To each his own.

Pericles, I was waiting for it.
Peace be with you and your family.
Thank you

amber dont fret about your children , the most miserable person I know is a person who is obsessed with Jesus. Everything is a sign of foreboding and life is a test after test by his god. Everybody is a sinner in a sinful world. Physically he is draining away.

Forget god

We all want peace, well at least most of us do. Peace is what we should all be talking about and what we can all individually do to get along with everybody else. I have found god creates division, I recognise the reason is because when somebody talks about god they are actually talking about their own ego and preferences. Some people can handle it for sure. Many cannot and they are the ones exploited by churches and demagogues. Thats why I see a need to ban religion. Im not talking about banning belief.