I have a born-again Christian (liberal) brother that I can usually have intelligent conversations with. I am an atheist. I once asked him "How can evangelicals ignore the teachings of Christ, especially when it comes to social issues? Aren't Christians, by definition, followers of the teachings of Christ?" He said "No, that's not what we're about. We accept Christ as our personal savior". I asked what that meant, and he said that meant he has accepted that his life is in Jesus' hands, and therefore he (my brother) will go to heaven when he dies.
He doesn't see Jesus as a prophet whose words he should study (the Bible serves that purpose), but as a savior for his eternal soul.

Posted at February 17, 2008 3:30 PM in response to Do Religious Conservatives Deserve the Soft Bigotry of Our Low Expectations?

Oh, one more thing. When Bush says that 'history will vindicate' him? Can you envision this scenario: The oil is running low, prices are sky-high, some countries have severe oil shortages. But not the US. Since we control the oil in the mid-east, the US has plenty. Our prices are very much higher than they are now, but we have plenty of oil. Can you hear people saying "Thank God Bush invaded Iraq back in 2003. If he hadn't, we wouldn't have enough oil now."?

Do you think people in the future are going to care how many Americans/Iraqis died so they can have that oil? Or will they be more concerned with the latest Hummer, the latest American Idol, the latest I-Pod?

Posted at May 31, 2007 6:56 PM in response to TPMtv Guide: Thursday, May 31

May I add that its not just about controlling the oil-producing countries, but also controlling those countries that buy that oil. with a strong military presence in Iraq, we can pretty much control the distribution of mid-east oil. ANY potential type of action that is viewed as unfavorable to the US can be responded to with the threat of an oil embargo by the US.

That's why Venezuela and Russia are viewed as such threats - they are suppliers of oil that we can't control. Its not the money. Its the power. Always has been. Control the oil, you control the world.

Posted at May 31, 2007 6:39 PM in response to TPMtv Guide: Thursday, May 31