well, onthemoon, we don't have to reach too far into the past, so let me present some delightful insights of today:

Many believe (declare it as a matter of fact) that:

- the earth is 6,000 years old

- dinosaurs have lived with men (or haven't existed at all)

- evolution is false, while men are supposed to be made of mud and females of male ribs

- men are superior to women

- men can't control themselves when they see an uncovered woman

- flying planes into buildings or blowing oneself up is a great idea

- that there's a few invisible men... living in the sky, who can see it all, while you sleep, dream, think, crap, jerk off, bang your gf/bf...

- and if you reject one of those invisible men, you'll burn forever, after you died (and decomposed... now it starts to get totally illogical)

and the list would go on forever. Since we finally made some technological progress in science and medicine, which was (and still is) suppressed by religion, certain things (and more to come) can be explained based on evidence. However, I don't totally reject the idea of an imaginary friend, it does have some psychological benefit in some cases. Yet one has to draw the line between fantasy and reality. So if someone likes to keep an imaginary friend, fine. But keep it to yourself and don't try to force others to think or act the same way, and even more so, do not intervene in science or education or anything regarding public life and society. The only reason, why one is tied to one particular version of their sky daddy, is determined by the place they were born. In each place, everyone thinks they worship the only true deity. Yeah, right.

P. S. while we're at it, some religious insights on gay issues:

- being gay is abnormal/sin

- gays should be put to death (stoning, burning, etc...)

- lesbians should be brought back to "normal" by rape

- people become gay due to the exposure to "homosexual propaganda" (whatever the f*** that is)

- gays are responsible for all kinds of disasters (Pat Robertson anyone?)

- when gay marriage passes, the world will end (finally?! )

P. P. S. ... and before any come up arguing that "moderates" are not that bad, consider this:

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Secular-Philosophies/The-Problem-With-Religious-Moderates.aspx

Sorry for the late reply, I'm not online every day. You have already received many replies to this post, most of which I agree with.

Your first set of arguments targets Christian beliefs, with the exception of "flying planes into buildings" - which has nothing to do with Islam or with any gay issues, but only with misled extremism. We are not talking about extremism here, and I am not aware that Al Quaeda did this as part of the fight to eradicate homosexuality.

Your second set of arguments are also mostly Christian issues. With the exception of the "homosexual propaganda", which is a Russian political issue, nothing to do with religion.

I might agree with you about anti-gay sentiments in the Christian Bible, but there are even Christian gay ministries and groups around, such as the Metroplitain Community Church or famously the Anglicans. Apart from that, a prominent member of this gay forum is a Catholic. I myself am a Buddhist. I don't know whether Quakers are Christians, but they are certainly in favour of same-sex marriages.

Yes, many religious people have probems with accepting gays. So do many non-religious people. I don't think banning religions will solve this problem.

Edited August 14, 201312 yr by onthemoon

I don't know whether Quakers are Christians, but they are certainly in favour of same-sex marriages.

Some are, some aren't - most would say they are, just as most believe in evolution rather than creation.

Its actually got a lot of appeal for gay Christians in a lot of ways, but many "mainstream" Christians dismiss it - in my view mainly due to not knowing enough about it.

Here's a religious voice on gay issues ...