Just want you brothers to know how much I enjoyed ...

2011-04-12T01:33:41.040-04:00

Just want you brothers to know how much I enjoyed this discussion!

Thought provoking on both sides!

Bravo! :) --rhonda

We both agree that the pastor should have not burn...

2011-04-10T11:12:02.683-04:00

We both agree that the pastor should have not burned the Q'uran.. it was a foolish act at best and a provocation to evil at worst.

Even so, my thinking is that there is a difference between an event like that actually inciting murder and murderous deranged terrorists using such an event as an excuse to heinously murder innocent people.

People will always find excuses to

Bob, I appreciate your POV. Thanks for sharing i...

2011-04-10T07:50:10.793-04:00

Bob,

I appreciate your POV. Thanks for sharing it. You've given me something to think about. Why I view the preacher's actions as different than Salman Rushdie's is something I guess I need to reflect on.

I want to be clear, I absolutely defend his right to free speech, as stupid as it may be. But, my right of free speech gives me the freedom to criticize

Your point of inciting violence is a good one Bria...

2011-04-08T17:51:16.812-04:00

Your point of inciting violence is a good one Brian. Where do you draw the line though in the case of murderous terrorists who are so easily offended and incited? Should people be held hostage by extremists and not write books, draw cartoons and exercise free speech? In doing these things do we not capitulate to terrorism? When such freedoms are curtailed do we not lose a bit of our freedoms?

Bob, I understand your point. I would say Salman ...

2011-04-08T17:14:23.084-04:00

Bob, I understand your point. I would say Salman Rushdie's book was different in that it wasn't (as I understand it) a deliberate attempt to inflame passions. The Danish cartoonist? Well maybe the intention there was to inflame passions. Maybe I should condemn them, too.

I do hold people who claim to be acting in the name of God and especially Christianity to a higher

"Mr. Jones bears some responsibility for t...

2011-04-08T15:07:37.113-04:00
"Mr. Jones bears some responsibility for the murders."

Statements like that are why I am not a fan of relative morality Brian.

Many murderers blame their abusive parents for their actions. Some criminals blame society for their heinous acts. We as a civilized people have gotten past such faulty logic - we hold murderers accountable for what they do (unless

Bob, I'm sorry if you got the impression that ...

2011-04-08T14:32:40.286-04:00
Bob, I'm sorry if you got the impression that me holding Pastor Jones accountable for his actions in any way diminishes the responsibility of those who committed the murders. I think there's more than enough blame to go around.

The title of my post is A Plague on Both Your Houses. Yes, I think the capacity of the Afghans who committed the crime may be slightly

Do you also partially blame Salman Rushdie or the ...

2011-04-08T14:26:38.223-04:00
Do you also partially blame Salman Rushdie or the Danish cartoonist or just the kook? Certainly they too must bear the responsibility for their words and actions.

My thinking is that we must always stand against murderers and not allow them to deflect the blame for their murders. We must stand with the victims of their crimes and not give them excuses.

These people murder

Well, Bob, I wouldn't give him the death penal...

2011-04-08T14:13:21.676-04:00
Well, Bob, I wouldn't give him the death penalty for his actions. Nor do I think he was even *mostly* responsible. But, we all bear responsibility for our words and actions and how those might contribute to what others do (IMO).

I think it was irresponsible of him and hateful to burn a Quran, especially knowing his actions could lead to endangering people on "our side".

I disagree with you Brian. One could make an argum...

2011-04-08T14:04:38.166-04:00
I disagree with you Brian. One could make an argument that the media, in a sense, is just as responsible as the guy in Florida.. yet no one thinks that the media is responsible for the murder of innocent lives the way that people are blaming the kook in Florida for them.

Murderers are responsible for their own actions.. not Salman Rushdie, a Danish cartoonist or a kook in Florida. IMO,

Bob, you're right. In some ways, the two thin...

2011-04-08T13:50:48.539-04:00
Bob, you're right. In some ways, the two things are very different. But, they do have something in common- religious intolerance in the name of God. Pastor Jones knew the possible consequences of his actions and while burning a Quran certainly does not justify the murder of innocents, he knew it was a possible (likely?) outcome.

I think they do need to be uttered in the same

Burning paper vs killing humans? Apples and orange...

2011-04-08T13:31:20.885-04:00
Burning paper vs killing humans? Apples and oranges.

Being murdered because of a cartoon? Savage.

Having to live a life in fear for your life because you wrote a book (Satanic verses). Sad and shameful.

I believe the fundamentalist pastor did something very stupid. Even so, no

Check out this link for the flip side of the coin ...

2011-04-07T15:11:23.231-04:00
Check out this link for the flip side of the coin once more. Nate Phelps, Fred's son, left that church and for obvious reasons, is now blogging his opinions about it. Here's the link to a post in which he relates a conversation with a lady who agrees with Fred and his church. She might as well be illiterate, because she lets others do her interpretation of the Bible's message:
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Comments on The Beautiful Heresy- Christian Universalism: A Plague on Both Your Houses

Just want you brothers to know how much I enjoyed ...

We both agree that the pastor should have not burn...

Bob, I appreciate your POV. Thanks for sharing i...

Your point of inciting violence is a good one Bria...

Bob, I understand your point. I would say Salman ...

"Mr. Jones bears some responsibility for t...

Bob, I'm sorry if you got the impression that ...

Do you also partially blame Salman Rushdie or the ...

Well, Bob, I wouldn't give him the death penal...

I disagree with you Brian. One could make an argum...

Bob, you're right. In some ways, the two thin...

Burning paper vs killing humans? Apples and orange...

Check out this link for the flip side of the coin ...