We know that most Christians think what was said by these two is heartless, and not supported. Heck, Falwell (or was it Robertson?) had to go on the air and apologize for their outburst because of the criticism he had received from other Christians. However, there are plenty of people out there who believe that this attack was some sort of punishment from God for something. For what? Spiritual disfavor? That this is a sign that we all need to be more religious? And what does that mean? That we all need to follow one idea, one theology, one mindset chosen by someone we deem religiously responsible? And who will that be? Falwell and Robertson are considered by many to be the most powerful religious leaders in our country, and obviously, they're out. Only divine manifestations could make it absolutely clear. And how do we know that it wasn't punishment by another God, one worshipped by others? Obviously, we cannot know. But to immediately assume that what happened is because God was mad at us is, frankly, not the result of clear thinking. Using that same logic, then why doesn't it happen in China all the time? The government line there is atheism. Surely they should be punished before us. No, what happened was because some people decided they were working for their God, and thought that what it wanted was for them to kill as many innocent civilians as possible. This is where I disagree with Chomsky; this is not an economic war, but a religious war. In that way, Falwell and Robertson (and Buchanan and North) are like these terrorists, in that they want to force people to follow their beliefs, because they think they are right. That's horses**t, and unconstitutional, and I call bollocks to it. What happened was not the result of God's will or anything else but a group of idiots that were brainwashed into doing something by a MAN or a group who believe that they are doing what their God wants done. You don't have to be an atheist to see that that's stupid, and feel intellectually superior to them. If you want to know why we atheists sometimes get fed up with the Christian rhetoric out there, think about this: even though the Government is not supposed to support a particular religion, there will never again be an atheist (or deist) as president. Bush Sr. is on record as saying that "...no atheist could be a patriot in America." Yet there are atheists out there who observed moments of silence, have gone to church to be with loved ones, and we still get weird looks from people because we admit we don't believe in a God. Heck, I've lost friends as a result of my beliefs. Frankly, that reply to Matt (and whether or not he feels intellectually superior to anyone is someone else's call, not mine) ticked me off, mainly because it was obvious that what Matt was saying was directed at those people who ARE using this situation -- taking advantage of it -- to push forward their own closed-mindedness. Those people, we can do without, even though I believe their ideas are protected by the Constitution, and I will fight for their right to spew such rubbish. That can hardly be said for them about us. "Let's be careful out there." David Murphy
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