"This guy filing this lawsuit wants a amendment to not allow it to be used ever, more proof to me that persecution of Christians is once again the "in" thing to do.

How long till the stakes and the lions come back I wonder? "

dont worry too much, mr bell. it might take a while to build from this action taken by 0.00000003% of the us population to actual persecution.

actually, i find this need of those in the overwhelming majority to claim persecution by tiny minorities fascinating. it has to fulfill some basic need. however, should you ever want to taste actual persecution, there are many countries to which you could choose to move.

meanwhile, since you are unlikely to have a stomach for actual oppression, you should read the excellent publication "freedom" which is put out by the 7th day adventists, and deals with the real issues of religion and government. you might be surprised to find out that real religious minorities are not worried about isolated nut-cases like mr warren, and actually would applaud his having the right to express his views, or even have his day in court. some of us would refer to that as "freedom". nope, what scares the bejeebers out of real religious minorities are people like you, for whom shoving your beliefs down other people's throats IS what you believe in.

all praise to almighty odin!

AMEN lazarus!

Another "tiny minority" comes to mind, Madalyn Murray O'Hair. She is an example of one person trying to speak for the masses. She started American Atheists, Inc and actually pulled her son from school because she felt that he was being "forced to pray". Her son is now president of the Religious Freedom Coalition and a devout Christian. He came to the conclusion to be a Christian on his own. This country was founded on the belief that EVERYONE should be allowed to have religious freedom. If someone is trying to stop another group from freely practicing then they are forcing their view on everyone. Much like Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas. If I say Merry Christmas to you being polite and you don't like it, either say nothing or Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever based on your beliefs. However, don't force me into not being allowed to say Merry Christmas because you don't like it or you think it might offend someone neither of us even know. People in this country need to quit thinking about what is politically correct and start thinking about what is morally correct. Understand that everyone has an opinion and they are entitled to it just like you are entitled to yours. The one side of freedom of speech that is often forgotten is the opposing view also has a right to speak their mind. Any time someone tries to force their views on another, regardless of whether it is a person, a group, a government or a country, we need to worry.

personally, i question the atheism of those who object to religious references. if one does not believe in a god, then what difference would it make whether or not prayer was forced on them? it would seem to me that atheists would be indifferent to religion.

while they get far less play, the real issues arise between different brands of christianity. there is a desire from various groups to label those whose practices differ as "not really chriatians." even the FCA will not accept members from some denominations which they do not accept as christian. i do not ascribe to the belief that some people "think they are christians, but they are not." as far as i am concerned, if someone believes their religion is christianity, then it is.

Yes Lazarus, I agree, if the different"brands" could put the 5% aside of doctrine that keeps them apart, the Kingdom of God here on earth would be stronger.

But sadly, if there was divisions in Paul's day , why should we expect unity in ours?

We will only have that when our Lord and Master returns.