Well of course I'm poking beehives to a point. It's why I started this in Flame but I'm also serious about being perplexed at the complete difference in interpretation of the Bible I see in you and in my friend I play racquetball with. Rob is heavily involved in his church and absolutely at peace with the world. He's a bright man and understands the concept of self-defense but you can just tell his goals are more in line with what I consider to be those of Jesus, that of compassion towards others and service to those that are oppressed and downtrodden. He doesn't foist his beliefs on others and isn't judgmental about other's beliefs and choices. Rob's a lifetime Republican but is outraged at the current administration and the war.

Now I also should tell you, as I've probably mentioned in religious-themed threads before, that I'm not even certain that a man Jesus even existed. That is really immaterial to me though because if he didn't, the underlying philosophy laid out in his stories certainly developed and most of its concepts make a great deal of sense for, if nothing else, simple human survival skills.

So bottom line is, what are the characteristics of an American Christian? We seem to have these diametrically opposed factions that both claim the same label and use the same reference book much as the Sunnis, Shiites, and radical Wahabiists all go under the Muslim label. How can people embrace a core faith that can be interpreted so loosely? Believe me Tom, I've read discussions from Christians of all sects and all degrees of faith and, to tell you the truth, from a purely logical state and removing wishful thinking, it makes very little sense other than a study in basic human nature.

Art