Kurt_Lochner wrote:

You keep your religion out my government, and keeping the
government out of your religion will follow along nicely..

--Otherwise, you can expect the usual pogroms of the Dark Ages..
You might be surprised to learn that I am in full agreement,
although for different reasons.

So? Why do you not elaborate on that, instead of avoiding
the matter of the damnable influence of religion on our
national politics?

Oh, that's because the "moral majority" isn't either..

Without fail, every time the Church has gotten in bed with
the government, it has proven to be a spiritual disaster
for the Church.

Not to mention that such a government has failed to keep
the consent of the governed.. Whole nations have risen from
that alone, David..

It would be a different topic of discussion, but the concept of
government with the consent of the governed is a relatively new one, and
not as widespread as perhaps it should be. During the Middle ages, such
a concept was likely unknown.

That's something a real "libertarian" would know from the start..

No where in the New Testament do we see any sign that the church
was politically active.

That era of Mankind's history was also known as the "Dark Ages" too..

Are you referring to the middle ages, where the Pope was seen as
superior to the temporal government, or are you referring to the period
of Paul's ministry covered in the New Testament?

These two reasons alone are enough for me to want the church
to have nothing to do with the government.

Yet, you quibble the details of present religious leaders
attempting to hijack our national government. Why is that?

You will notice as our exchange went on, I put Dobson in a
different category from Robertson and Falwell.

You will also notice that I'm not accepting that excuse any longer..

Not my problem.

Dobson's group, on the other hand, seems to be designed as a political
group who's members happen to be Christians, and who's purpose is to
advance the moral values of the church. Even though I might not always
agree 100% with Dobson, I see his group as essentially a good thing.
Should they cross the line from advancing a moral code based upon the
Scriptures, to advancing the idea that Christianity should become the
national faith, then I will oppose them.

You shouldn't wait that long, David. They've already become the
leaders of what has manifested itself as a theocratic fascism..

Yet our nation still has a throughly secular government, freely elected
by the people. Robertson and company have had little success.