Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site stolaf.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!ihnp4!stolaf!gulley From: gulley@stolaf.UUCP (William T. Gulley) Newsgroups: net.flame,net.religion Subject: Re: lkk's response to anti-religious flame Message-ID: <1560@stolaf.UUCP> Date: Thu, 15-Mar-84 11:26:49 EST Article-I.D.: stolaf.1560 Posted: Thu Mar 15 11:26:49 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 16-Mar-84 02:09:31 EST Organization: St. Olaf College, Northfield MN Lines: 61 >When have christians been harassed in the last 1000 years? It seems >that since the roman empire they have done most of the harassing. > >Larry Kolodney ->>(The Devil's Advocate)<<- Gee, thanks. words like that coming from someone with credentials such as yours leads me to believe that we're not doing so bad after all. :-)) ((-: But, to answer your question, (which, whether it was meant so or not, I took very seriously) Christians have been harassed and harassing con- stantly for the last 1000 years. Beyond the examples which are readily available in any history book, Christians are being persecuted on a less obvious, more subtly personal level every day- in the form of subtle snubs, little cut-downs, etc.. In fact, it seems like anyone these days with a fixed and unswerving (others would call it naiive- when it's actually the farthest thing from it) faith in something, whether they're Christian, Islamic, or Republican, tend to get a tough time from a lot of other people. I guess it's just more "in vogue" to still be seeking blindly, than to admit you've actually found what you've been looking for. Christians, however, are particularly fair game because of their basic tenet, "Love your neighbor as yourself". To love your neighbor means taking chances, and opening up. And whenever you do that in this world, more often than not you open yourself up to the millions and millions of social opportunists out there that survive (in regards to their self-image) on cutting down these naiive, trusting souls that survive, on their part, on counting themselves worthy enough to love someone else in this honest, unassuming way. (And when they fail, because of their humanity, to acheive this, they're usually harassed even more by these "opportunists" for trying and failing. Sometimes these "failures" take this seriously and give up trying, and become "opportunists" themselves. When this happens, whether Christianity itself has any merit at all or not, the world grows even a little more colder.) (Christianity has at least THAT much merit, doesn't it. Has anyone else done a better job of "trying"?) If this "argument" is doomed to get out of hand, I suggest it be moved to net.religion immediately. (i.e., meet you by the swings, kid. .) FLAME ON THE WORLD!!!!! ____ UM YA YAAA!! Man, that felt great. . William Gulley - St. Olaf College - Northfield, Minnesota . .!inhp4!stolaf!gulley