Using violence to promote or defend your radical religious ideology is reprehensible and beyond hypocritical, as it winds up utilizing metaphysical doctrine as a grab for personal and/or oligarchical power. Many religions have tried this concept over the centuries. ISIS is the current candidate for most nefarious power-mad faux-prophets, however there are other, less violent attempts occuring here and there.
I hope for the day the when all religion is kept solely personal, and completely out of the civic and political spheres. The American concept of freedom of religion is based on the ability for me to be able to practice my spiritual life free from the social or legal obligations of yours and vice-versa, no matter who is in the majority. The founding fathers attempted to give us this freedom.
Any legally binding imposition of your tenets upon myself wounds me. All civic laws should be based on principals of human morality and carefully weighed evidence, not on religious dogma, or ancient scripture taken at face value. There is occasional crossover, and the most important example which illustrates this is known as the golden rule, "Do to others what you would have them do to you," or maybe better put: "Do not do to me, what you do not wish me to do to you." Note: No religion can claim total copyright of this concept. It was probably Buddhist before it was Christian, which means that if society accepts this bit, we don't have to accept the rest of a particular canon.
Concurrently, there should be no breaking of civic laws under the guise of religious freedom. We are blessed (pun intended) to live in this country with these ingrained ideals. We all must be vigilant that they are never lost as they are constantly under attack from without and within. God help us and bless us.
I hope for the day the when all religion is kept solely personal, and completely out of the civic and political spheres. The American concept of freedom of religion is based on the ability for me to be able to practice my spiritual life free from the social or legal obligations of yours and vice-versa, no matter who is in the majority. The founding fathers attempted to give us this freedom.
Any legally binding imposition of your tenets upon myself wounds me. All civic laws should be based on principals of human morality and carefully weighed evidence, not on religious dogma, or ancient scripture taken at face value. There is occasional crossover, and the most important example which illustrates this is known as the golden rule, "Do to others what you would have them do to you," or maybe better put: "Do not do to me, what you do not wish me to do to you." Note: No religion can claim total copyright of this concept. It was probably Buddhist before it was Christian, which means that if society accepts this bit, we don't have to accept the rest of a particular canon.
Concurrently, there should be no breaking of civic laws under the guise of religious freedom. We are blessed (pun intended) to live in this country with these ingrained ideals. We all must be vigilant that they are never lost as they are constantly under attack from without and within. God help us and bless us.