Darkness falls ...

[Electric Sceptic]

What interests me is this; Separation of church and state is said to come from the second amendment. (American) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion Which has been interpeded to say that the State should make no mention of religeon, and act as though it never existed.

No, it hasn't. It's been interpreted to say that the state should make no ENDORSEMENT of any religion.

 

[TheListener]

Nothing wrong with ID, teach the kids a bit of moral values as well while you're at it.

What happens when God is pushed out of our society?

Drunkenness, drugs, teenage pregnancies, abortions, half of marriages ending in divorce, AIDS & misc diseases, homosexuality, pornography & prostitution, violence, legalised rape & pedophilia etc etc etc and a nation too bloody obsessed with sex, money, looks, footy, chicks in bikinis and too beered up to care about the long term consequences.

I say teach them about ID, why not. Teach the kids some morals while you're at it too.

 

[David Gould]

Nothing wrong with ID,

There is if you are teaching it in a science class.

teach the kids a bit of moral values as well while you're at it.

Not in a science class.

What happens when God is pushed out of our society?

Drunkenness, drugs, teenage pregnancies, abortions, half of marriages ending in divorce, AIDS & misc diseases, homosexuality, pornography & prostitution, violence, legalised rape & pedophilia etc etc etc and a nation too bloody obsessed with sex, money, looks, footy, chicks in bikinis and too beered up to care about the long term consequences.

You must live in a very sad place. In my world, people are living longer and healthier, violence is in decline, long-term consequences are being examined carefully all the time and no-one I know is obsessed with sex.

I say teach them about ID, why not. Teach the kids some morals while you're at it too.

I have no objection to the state teaching children morals. I wonder, though, if you would agree with the morals that I would want the state to teach them ...

 

[nvxplorer]

Nothing wrong with ID, teach the kids a bit of moral values as well while you're at it.

What happens when God is pushed out of our society?

Drunkenness, drugs, teenage pregnancies, abortions, half of marriages ending in divorce, AIDS & misc diseases, homosexuality, pornography & prostitution, violence, legalised rape & pedophilia etc etc etc and a nation too bloody obsessed with sex, money, looks, footy, chicks in bikinis and too beered up to care about the long term consequences.

I say teach them about ID, why not. Teach the kids some morals while you're at it too.

Is this a joke or do you live in a cave?

All these things have always existed, and will continue to exist - God or no God.

Legalized rape? Now I’ve heard everything.

What are the long term consequences of bikinis? Oh, I get it. Skin cancer, right?

 

[TheListener]

You must live in a very sad place. In my world, people are living longer and healthier, violence is in decline, long-term consequences are being examined carefully all the time and no-one I know is obsessed with sex.

Yes I do live in a sad place, its called Sydney.

Open your eyes and have a look at what is going on around you.

 

[TheListener]

Legalized rape? Now I’ve heard everything.

Go and have a chat with some survivors of rape and survivors of childhood abuse.

A vast majority go unreported.

Go and have a chat with some police officers.

Most offences are either unproved so the assailant walks or they get a slap on the wrist (Section 10 with a good behaviour bond in NSW).

If the victim is a child %99.9 chance the pedophile will get away with it.

You obviously haven't heard everything.

 

[nvxplorer]

Go and have a chat with some survivors of rape and survivors of childhood abuse.

A vast majority go unreported.

Go and have a chat with some police officers.

Most offences are either unproved so the assailant walks or they get a slap on the wrist (Section 10 with a good behaviour bond in NSW).

If the victim is a child %99.9 chance the pedophile will get away with it.

You obviously haven't heard everything.

And this equates to legalization just how exactly?

Since people occasionally get away with robbery, does that mean robbery is legal? I’ve had things stolen that have never been returned. Is theft now legal?

You sound paranoid and irrational, Listener. No offense intended, but I have difficulty taking your claims seriously. Life is good with me. Crime is low. The economy is growing. And the separation of church and state is working wonderfully.

 

[David Gould]

Yes I do live in a sad place, its called Sydney.

The conservative Christian capital of Australia. Maybe you should come to liberal leftie Canberra?

 

[TheListener]

The conservative Christian capital of Australia. Maybe you should come to liberal leftie Canberra?

LOL I was waiting for that...

 

[TheListener]

And this equates to legalization just how exactly?

Since people occasionally get away with robbery, does that mean robbery is legal? I’ve had things stolen that have never been returned. Is theft now legal?

You sound paranoid and irrational, Listener. No offense intended, but I have difficulty taking your claims seriously. Life is good with me. Crime is low. The economy is growing. And the separation of church and state is working wonderfully.

Heh heh where do you live?

And no, I'm not paranoid or irrational. But I don't have my head dug in a sandbox either.

 

[nvxplorer]

Heh heh where do you live?

And no, I'm not paranoid or irrational. But I don't have my head dug in a sandbox either.

You could have fooled me. Associating timeless aspects of culture with a lack of government mandated religious teaching, or heaven forbid, the teaching of creationism in the public schools, is so simplistic as to indicate someone who does indeed have his head in the sand. The US is the most religious of the industrialized nations, yet it is also the most violent and crime ridden. This would seem to disprove your claims outright. Totalitarianism is always an option - be it religious or political in nature - but I prefer freedom. Thank you.

I live in the heathen, sin filled city of Reno, Nevada. Legal prostitution in the neighboring counties. Twenty-four hour gambling, drinking and all sorts of whooping it up. Yet, the city has one of the lowest crime and unemployment rates in the country. The population is growing rapidly. People flock to the city for the family environment. What a great place to raise kids. Fresh mountain air. Clean water. Abundant outdoor activities. Again, this would seem to fly in the face of your claims.

 

[TheListener]

I live in the heathen, sin filled city of Reno, Nevada. Legal prostitution in the neighboring counties. Twenty-four hour gambling, drinking and all sorts of whooping it up. Yet, the city has one of the lowest crime and unemployment rates in the country. The population is growing rapidly. People flock to the city for the family environment. What a great place to raise kids. Fresh mountain air. Clean water. Abundant outdoor activities. Again, this would seem to fly in the face of your claims.

I've never been to Reno but every town has its own 'bumtown/wrong side of the tracks'. And the problem is the 'good folks' on the 'good side' tend to see the world as a rosy place.

Much like here in Australian supermarkets we'll have an entire aisle for confectionary & chips when there are people starving to death in other countries. Then we'll patourselves on the back for being such a 'down to earth' people and blame God for everything.

No mate I'm not irrational and paranoid, I'm realistic.

 

[nvxplorer]

I've never been to Reno but every town has its own 'bumtown/wrong side of the tracks'. And the problem is the 'good folks' on the 'good side' tend to see the world as a rosy place.

I’m not sure what you mean here, nor how it is relevant to my post. I am not seeing things through rose colored glasses. Everything I stated can be verified at the applicable government website or, as I became informed of them, by reading the Gazette-Journal or its website. Of course, living here my entire adult life is sufficient to support my claims. There isn’t a single area I cannot walk at 3:00 in the morning. Then again, I’m not fearful by nature. Crime is low. People are happy. Reno was picked (by a business magazine) as the #1 place to do business in the United States. No sir, my claims are factual, not tinted. Not bad for a sex, alcohol and gambling peddling town, eh?

Much like here in Australian supermarkets we'll have an entire aisle for confectionary & chips when there are people starving to death in other countries. Then we'll patourselves on the back for being such a 'down to earth' people and blame God for everything.

Again, I’m not clear on the point you are making. Who are these people who blame God for hunger? No one I know does this. The only people I’ve heard blaming God for a person’s lot in life are Christians. Which is it?

No mate I'm not irrational and paranoid, I'm realistic.

We obviously have different perceptions of reality.

 

[madarab]

TheListener, I know that we nominally speak the same language, but what the [expletive deleted] is "footy"?

 

[TeddyKGB]

TheListener, I know that we nominally speak the same language, but what the [expletive deleted] is "footy"?

Football (aka soccer).

 

[Loudmouth]

What happens when God is pushed out of our society?

Europe is much more secular than the US, and yet the US has higher crime rates. I would say that pushing God out of society may be a good thing, given it's track record.

 

[Electric Sceptic]

No mate I'm not irrational and paranoid, I'm realistic.

I live in Sydney, too. You are both irrational and paranoid.

 

[Ledifni]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/backing-for-intelligent-design/2005/10/27/1130400311078.html

This is the article that started my depression.

As to the constitution:

Do you know what annoys me? People like this Dr. Hawkes character, who pretend that somehow we're giving the kids a raw deal, not letting them hear about superstition in science class. No, we're not; we're giving him a raw deal (though it doesn't look so raw when you see what he's peddling), but if he can make it look like we're hurting kids, then what responsible parent won't support his cause?

In the words of Eric Cartman... Lame.

 

[Matthew777]

I am feeling very angry, sad and helpless at the moment.

Your avatar angers and saddens me. Should I have one of Adolf Hitler?

Peace.

 

[Ledifni]

I think this is a bit pessimistic. School curriculums here are not set by the public, but by educators. The public simply has no way of getting public (or Catholic) schools to teach ID, or getting the VCAA and equivalent to include it in exams.

While the Australian public might be apathetic about ID, I suspect they could be motivated to stop "religious nutters trying to gain the power to interfere in and ruin our school system".

School curriculums in the state are likewise set by educators. The problem is -- and it's a problem you've got as well, if you haven't noticed -- our educators have forgotten how to educate, and they're claiming they won't be doing their jobs properly if they don't teach our kids nonsense as well as knowledge.