God judges us according to what we know. I'm sure my understanding of Christianity is better than if I had lived in the Amazon, but that does not absolve them of responsibility.

Would you still defend the rights of those who believe infidels/those who dare to believe in another religion/god should be rightfully decapitated with a blunt knife or be blown apart indiscriminately by bombs ?

Or is there a point where you would draw a line ?

Am I advocating harm against others?

Fully agreed, and whilst we are at it if the KKK and Stormfront hold views that black people are inferior to whites and should be denied the same basic rights as white people then we should respect those views and these organisations for what they beleive.

On a serious note no one on this or the sin bin thread have said he cannot hold those views but people have rightly criticized those views and demonstrated their opposition to those views. Freedom of speech allows you to express opinions it does not however allow you to express opinions without criticism.

If someone wants to express their homophobia in an open society then they are fully entitled to do so, however other people are allowed to criticize those views, which has been the case here.

no even those have point and is it despair they reached a point when they feel violence is the only way to be heard.

as i said i dont agree with them but they have a right to have the veiws

How do you know ? You just do right ?

Nothing I say is going to change your opinion....I realise that.

Being an ex indoctrinated catholic many things have always puzzled me....perhaps you can enlighten me on just a few ?

When people die they're judged and sent to heaven or hell......right ? However, the rapture tells us that people will be judged from their graves.....thought they were already in heaven or hell ? I'm obviously missing something.
When babies die, do they stay as babies in heaven ? Or do they grow up ?
Are hindus, muslims, mormons, jehovah's witnesses etc etc (who were more often than not born into their religions/beliefs purely by an accident of birth) allowed into heaven too ?

Freedom of speech is a two way street - if someone expresses a certain view on an open forum then they should expect to have that view challenged.

Not [iphysically[/i maybe.

You do not believe in physical harm against others because you obviously [idon't[/i want to believe that....what if you're wrong however and your god does actually want you to commit harm to others (as other do believe) ?

Incidentally, do you believe god kills sinners indiscriminately with tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes etc ?? Is it beyond him to be more clinically selective with his superior being [isuperior[/i version of a 'smart' bomb ?

Good question.

1 Thessalonians tells us that we shall be reunited with those who are dead in Christ in the air. However, we should also remember that Jesus told the thief on the cross that they would be reunited in paradise "today".

I believe that Christians who die are in Heaven straight away -[i When we take our last breath on earth, we will take our first breath in heaven[/i 2 Corinthians 5

The scriptural account of the Rapture doesn't exclude this.

Quote: nantwichexile "When babies die, do they stay as babies in heaven ? Or do they grow up ? '"

This is much less of an important question. When we go to Heaven we are in God's company. We do not have a physical body.

Quote: nantwichexile "Are hindus, muslims, mormons, jehovah's witnesses etc etc (who were more often than not born into their religions/beliefs purely by an accident of birth) allowed into heaven too ?'"

Absolutely not.

[iJesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life John 14

He's not much of a forgiver this fellow is he?

So they get eternal damnation for being born in the wrong place at the wrong time? Even if, say, they died aged one or two years old and had never had chance to form fixed religious viewpoints of their own? Paying for the sins of their fathers I suppose

Can i ask how you came that conclusion? What was your thought process?

How did you get from 'i dont understand this part of the universe' to believing there is an omnipotent, omniscient being overseeing the universe with a strange obsession with who puts which penis where?

What I find sad is that your blinkered view of the world discriminates against people who were born homosexual much in the same way that you were born heterosexual, ie not as a matter of choice. To suggest that for them to 'avoid sin' they shouldnt engage in relationships as everyone else can, is frankly disgusting. Why choose to believe this 'law of the bible' and probably not others, I'm guessing that you don't follow the rest word for word carrying out the appropriate actions as youd probably be locked up and/or sectioned for doing so.

The way I see religion is that the positive messages of being a good person treating others well and the community spirit particularly that Methodists have, Is a good think to support those who need it. However the theory of greater beings etc is just a tool to deliver that communities focus much in the same way that I find other focuses when I feel a bit lost. Not altogether bad except when it gets to the stage of preaching and discrimination.

Why also do religious people not speak in the same way the last quotation in that post is written?....what's that?..it's outdated?...oh, I see.