re: ISIS has beheaded American journalist James Foley

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Are so-called Christians saying that in this thread?
That's sad.

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What should they say?

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I have yet to hear a straight answer on this type of question. It has been posed multiple times in this thread without one reasonable answer.

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It's a very controversial topic, I agree. Most Catholics and Protestants would look at John 14:6, where Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one goes to the Father except through him (Jesus).

Now, most people would look at this and say those of other religions across the world cannot be saved unless they convert to Christianity. That could very well be the case, but there are other things to consider. First, the atheists could be right that there is no God. Second, you have to consider that the Catholic Church revised/edited many translations in order to achieve a particular goal, even excluding written works in their entirety. Of course, the humanists like Erasmus did come along and stayed truer to the translations. Even though this happened, they didn't have access to works that were allegedly destroyed. Regardless, the point is that men had a strong influence on the Bible we read today. So, it's possible that living like Jesus as opposed to affirmatively accepting him as your Savior can be the way to salvation. However, if you believe that, then you would have to reconcile it with Baptism. These are tough questions to ask. Also, it's even tougher to make the same reconciliation since the New Testament is predicated on spreading the Good Word. Does that truly require conversion? If someone didn't receive the Good Word, how can they reject it? Rejecting the Good Word and not knowing the Good Word are two distinct things. These are questions philosophers and theologians struggled with for centuries. It's tough to think that a person in India like Gandhi who dedicated their life to peace, brotherhood, and love can be rejected by a loving God. These are things the atheists are concerned about, and they are certainly valid concerns. The Christians also have the right to stand by their faith and say, for want of a better phrase, "that's the wager we all take" (damn you, Blaise Pascal).

Still, I think the bigger problem is that both sides (and I'm not saying this about people in this thread, just the general status quo of the debate) tend to think that coexistence is becoming harder and harder. And, my answer to that would be adhering to Natural Law may help us. It applies to all persons of all times and of all faiths. It's taking principles and applying them to reason. The ability to reason is something we all possess, and it is something we can employ for better communal living. The Christians can say you shouldn't murder because it's in the 10 Commandments. The atheists can say you shouldn't murder because, if it were allowed, we'd all be dead by Thursday.

Now, the problem is that there are people who believe principles are constructions of human desire to be used as a tool for their own endeavors. This line of thought was started by Machiavelli, and it was later expounded upon by men like Nietzsche and Foucault. In my opinion, it's a very dangerous way to think. We look at the things that do not work and assume the fault is in the structure and not the architect. So, we reject principles like love, justice, peace because the people that employed them did it for the purposes of greed, murder, and thievery.

In my opinion, we need to return to the classical way of thinking. Principles and ideas will always exist. If you believe this, then men cannot destroy them. Sure, they may still rob, murder, and rape, but at least we can still hold them accountable to the ideal. Asking "What is love?" is a question that you can always ask no matter where you are on the spectrum of human existence (I feel like I should be ducking here). The circumstances may change the answer, but the answer isn't always what is most important. In short, we need to reject relativism.

My bad. I'll delete it.

If you haven't realized by now that the entire Muslim world is united against infadels (including you AND your momma) then you may need to catch up.

This IS a religious topic

Religion of peace

Image of the Virgin Mary on his toast.

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Image of the Virgin Mary on his toast.

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Damn you. I laughed.

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It's the same tired argument every person who does not believe in the Lord makes.

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I don't understand why people can't believe AND question some of the teachings in the bible...unlike some of you I don't think it makes someone a bad christian for doing so.

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Why does he punish these people, why are these people not exempt.

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A christian should question these things.

Damn. I was wrong.