Barnaby – I plead guilty to joining with JG in taking this thread off on a tangent, but you should give credit where credit is due. CTLMDJB initiated this by slighting American Christians and talking politics. Follow-on posters also felt compelled to continue the discussion.
I’m with you though and feel pretty compelled to end it now:) If you agree to read that book, that is. I will send you a free copy if you’d like. Just kidding. Actually, I must admit that these books did provide me with the hard facts and analysis that I often found lacking in religious based study. EG: What archeological evidence exists for Christianity, what proof is there that the major players even existed etc. There is actually a chance that an agnostic or atheist reading them will become more convinced of their own beliefs, but at least they will have gained some knowledge that they likely wont find elsewhere. A few years ago I did a whole bunch of research into allowing gays into the military and ended up changing my own views on the matter and now think it is perfectly fine.
Not assuming anything from your remark about living in Hillcrest:) But since you gave me a kiss and told me to watch out…well, I wanted to share a happy story with you to offset all the serious talk!