Religion especially Christianity is not merely belief about a person or God but belief in a life and attitude we are to emulate, to posess to live and to follow. God is Spirit as motive and attitude are spiritual not a physical historical being, though expressed in His physical Creation.

It is ininformed to just believe people assent to a reality (actual or immagined) as defining a Christian person.

You cannot say a person is a Buddahist unless he practises the teachings of Buddah. Merely mentally assenting to the reality of Buddah and claiming to believe in Buddahism does not define one as a Buddahist.

Dear Josephus,

I think that the point that some people are trying to
make regarding some Christians (or any other religion
for that matter) is that - it's all well and good
to feel that one is on the right path, however problems
arise when one tries to enforce that path onto others
believing that yours is the only right path.

And of course as I've stated in the past to one
particular poster who makes judgements and assumptions
about others on this forum:

"I think God would prefer an honest and righteous atheist
to a preacher whose every word is God, God, God, God,
and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul, foul."

Lexi,
A person would not be considered a committed follower unless they believed it was the right way, the right truth, the right life. Otherwise they are merely an observer of perhaps what they assume good ideas.

"I think God would prefer an honest and righteous atheist
to a preacher whose every word is God, God, God, God,
and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul, foul."

So you pass judgment on people you disagree with and whose life and actions you do not observe! If you observe their actions as so foul then be honest and condemn them to their face.

Dear Josephus,

I don't pass judgement on anyone's beliefs (providing
those beliefs don't hurt others) - merely on
the actions of individuals within those religious
institutions. Kindly re-read my previous post.

A vital healthy society is not one in which we all
agree. Without personal commitment to the attributes
of fair play and integrity our nation is in grave
danger. Malice and intolerance stalk our society staking
claim to our minds and not one corner of our social
order is unaffected. This darkness is a significant
threat to our national good, perhaps the most significant
threat in our history for it strikes at the heart
of democracy. Where people are not free to disagree,
there can be no democracy, since that is what democracy is.

There is a tendency on so many people's parts to think that
their way is the right way and that people who disagree with
them are bad. Many of the things that most of us were
brought up to think "could never happen here," have already
begun to happen: dangerous scapegoating, violent hate crimes,
small-minded intolerance for the views of others.

It is therefore important that we renew dignified and
respectful dialogue with those who do not agree with us than we
keep slavisly congratulating those who have the wisdom to
see things our way.

I hope that this clarifies things for you.

See you on another thread.