A rant. I have posted before about non-Christian abuse but now I have questions to ask

[onpatrol98]

46. If you don't believe in God, why should you care if your next door neighbor does.

"Are you just stirring the pot by being deliberately obtuse?"

This contributed nothing to the conversation. I assume it was said for no other purpose than to be rude.

"Or are you really unable to think of a single reason?"

Again, serves no purpose. Apparently said for no other purpose than to be rude.

"Do you really believe that decent people have to wait until it "appears to impact their personal lives"?"

My point was simply to address the notion that somehow religious institutions were unique in claiming authority. I was challenging the notion that someone proclaiming "divine" authority was somehow more egregious than someone simply claiming moral authority.

Now, if you think I'm obtuse for assuming the point of a discussion board is to...discuss, well, that's certainly your right. It's not productive. But, oh well.

I believe part of being liberal, is being tolerant. When people are harmed by religious institutions, we should speak out and try to change things. When our political party does it, we should do it. When a family member does it. When the local garden club does it, we should feel obligated to do it. Otherwise, we're hypocrites, and no one will be listening to us.

But, if you're only motivated to action, when institutions you don't like are doing harm to others, I think your concern is politically motivated. It doesn't mean you should stop. My belief is actually that we should do more.