Religion's Immunity

"If God were real, wouldn't you fear him? Wouldn't you fight for him? Wouldn't you do everything to uphold the values past onto you by an almighty, infinte being who holds your destiny of eternity in his hands? If you answered yes, then I have already won this debate." *clears throat, begins* If crime were real, wouldn't you fear the no government? Wouldn't you fight for government? Wouldn't you do everything to uphold the values past onto you by the founding fathers who shaped a constitution after rebelling against a tyrant to free a nation? The same laws and constitution that shapes your current life and restrictions, the future of your children, and the safety of everyone? If you answered yes, then you value your safety as a civilized human being. "The point is that to theists, God IS real. He is ever knowing and all powerful. They believe that he gave us rules. They believe that he gave us tools, like the bible and the evangelists, to help spread his message of peace and love (even if that comes in the form of war and torture, apparently). Many politicians, powerful political figures and rulers believe in this God. Many citizens believe in this God. And because of Gods power and God-like qualities, he is above politics, he is above man, meaning he is above man's logic and reasoning. " ehm... This does not, in any way, mean that theists are above the law if they are Incorporated in the law. We have Christian ideals in our government (ex: no same-sex marriage), and the law is upheld. Therefore, if Muslims commit horrendous crimes, why should the government apologise when the rest of the sane folk follow the law in order to maintain some sort of worldly order? Yes, punishment in the next life may be very real for a theist, BUT punishment in this life is also very real. America could easily bomb Mecca, it could have bombed Kyoto, but it doesn't and it didn't. Reasons? Because we tolerate religious beliefs. Now, the problem is when this tolerance breaches our laws. Just because religion is offended doesn't mean it can go and commit atrocities. === Let me try this in a new direction.==== There are Neo-Nazi's that live in the united states. They are allowed to vote, to own property, to carry out their rights. BUT when these Neo-Nazi's breach the law, the government goes and punishes them. I do not believe that we should be afraid to criticize religion. I don't believe they should be immune from this as the Neo-Nazi's are not immune from political critics. After the Danish Cartoons, there was a muslim woman photographed with a burka hold a sign "God Bless Hitler." They had fits of rage, killed, were ignorant, and made up their own facts (they even created 2 of the cartoons themselves). Now, why should the government grant them immunity from critics and say "Oh i'm sorry!" It shouldn't. The nations of the world didn't tell the Nazi's they were sorry about the horrendous behavior. They crumbled them into a heap. Just because something has to do with the after life, doesn't mean it's as legitimate as the here and now. Nazi's truly believed that their race was supreme, they died for their race, they killed for their race. And they were defeated. I do not believe all religious people are like this. I just know that those who are need to be put in their place before the judges of reason, logic and mostly earthly *law*. If not, they should be forced in that place to protect those of us who do not believe in their ideals and value life. So, why, KarlMarKard, should we not fix the problems the radicals create, but sit back and give them immunity from critics? Why should we let the radicals violate laws that harm people, teach people anti-medicine, preach intolerance? The question is, KarlMarKard, why should we sit back and grant them the immunity to do as they please when groups that believe heavily in what they preach (Like cults, KarlMarKard, and radical political groups like the Nazi's) are being punished all of the time by the government?