tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post113269885204195804..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: I Like the Way This Guy ThinksHunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132763411136697302005-11-23T11:30:00.000-05:002005-11-23T11:30:00.000-05:00Hunter, TVD, thanks for the kind words - the encou...Hunter, TVD, thanks for the kind words - the encouragement is appreciated.<BR/><BR/>Tlaloc, I think we all can understand some of your frustrations with Christians. To the extent that attendance/devoutness is not what it could be, all believers need to look in the mirror - because what we have to offer is attractive, and has the neat secondary benefit of being true.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, we're not so good at keeping the truth in it's place. You have a very keen understanding of the effects of power on men, and can no doubt see how the lure of the 'truth' could distract and corrupt even the most well-intentioned. <BR/><BR/>Should HB, TVD and the rest of us spend all of our time 'thumping' (as TVD might say) those who get out of line? I don't know...I think I'll leave that to Hank Hanegraaff - I'd hate to put him out of business.<BR/><BR/>But it would be a shame if you let some of our antics distract you from examining where your current worldview really takes you in this life and beyond.Matt Huismanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09972662349345412127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132727912386316552005-11-23T01:38:00.000-05:002005-11-23T01:38:00.000-05:00Robertson is already a dinosaur, and a discredited...Robertson is already a dinosaur, and a discredited one at that. The Moral Majority made its ill-fated run at true political social/political power awhile ago, but has, as Mr. Huisman acknowledges (a fine essay, Matt), been consigned to working to preserve its place at the very populated table of our polity, and that's as it should be.<BR/><BR/>If religion's voice is to be heard over the din of everybody fighting over the pork chops, it will be with arguments that, as Mr. Homnick intimates, feed the soul of man. We religionists just happen to believe, and seek to prove, that the nourishment offered by God's plan is what our souls truly hunger for.<BR/><BR/>That's our purpose around here, I think, and if anyone should resort to the banality of dogmatism, they should be thumped over the head with their Bible.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132721916304511502005-11-22T23:58:00.000-05:002005-11-22T23:58:00.000-05:00And is church attendance the best yardstick by whi...And is church attendance the best yardstick by which to measure devoutness? I think not.<BR/><BR/>Although I have no statistics, it is my definite intuition that belief in God and the effort to improve life in accordance with His plan is very much on the rise in this country and has been since at least 1980.Jay D. Homnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714671338316275833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132719580267841222005-11-22T23:19:00.000-05:002005-11-22T23:19:00.000-05:00Hanging Phelps around the neck of Christians is li...Hanging Phelps around the neck of Christians is like hanging Stalin around the neck of atheists and Hitler around the neck of Germans. It's beneath the level of respectful discourse and a risible form of the fallacy of guilt by association.<BR/><BR/>I'll take some deserved heat for Robertson, Falwell, and, to a much lesser extent, Dobson. They're not perfect, neither am I. But Phelps? C'mon . . .John H. Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02057669588188393564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132718453058903932005-11-22T23:00:00.000-05:002005-11-22T23:00:00.000-05:00If I were with the Human Rights Campaign or any ot...If I were with the Human Rights Campaign or any other gay advocacy organization, I'd be throwing money at Fred Phelps with two fists.<BR/><BR/>That's why I send Howard Dean as much as I can spare out of every pay check.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132716962959101772005-11-22T22:36:00.000-05:002005-11-22T22:36:00.000-05:00Church attendance is going down in mainline Protes...Church attendance is going down in mainline Protestant denominations, but up in evangelical and more charismatic denominations and non-denominational churches. Oddly enough, it's the more liberal churches in both theology and political leanings that are losing members.<BR/><BR/>Some questions about Christians and political involvement, Tlaloc. Do you oppose Christians involved in politics qua politics, i.e. any positions, or only Christians taking positions you disagree with? Was the Roman Catholic Church wrong to excommunicate state officials in Louisiana for supporting segregation, or was MLK Jr. wrong to bring his religion into the public square? Or do Christians have a free pass to support policies you believe to be just?<BR/><BR/>And is it only Christians, or should all citizens informed by religious beliefs abstain from exercising their right to engage in political debate?John H. Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02057669588188393564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-1132705905024067742005-11-22T19:31:00.000-05:002005-11-22T19:31:00.000-05:00Phelps is not in the club at all, AT ALL.Phelps is not in the club at all, AT ALL.Hunter Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.com