Eros and agape

Lorenzo Albacete on the encyclical:

Benedict's conversations with nonbelievers have convinced him that their major concern about Christianity is not its "other-worldiness" but the very opposite. For them, what makes Christianity potentially dangerous as a source of conflict and intolerance in a pluralistic society is its insistence that faith is reasonable — that is, that it is the source of knowledge about this world and that, therefore, its teaching should apply to all, believers and nonbelievers alike.

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I can see that point, actually, despite being a Christian. One of the most dismaying aspects of many Christians from my point of view is their authoritarian social inclinations. Of course, even discussing such a thing today is laughable with Islam in its current state.

Hucbald-Name a Christian in the public sphere with"authoritarian social inclinations." Details, please.

Pretty much all of them. If you take the purist's view of liberty, as the founding fathers did, what your neighbor does is none of your business if it "neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg" in the words of Jefferson. The ridiculous micro-management of people's lives by government today is ridiculous: Seatbelt laws, helmet laws, blood alcohol level laws, controlled substance laws. None of those things have any place in a society of free individuals who are responsible for their own actions. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin - to name but three - all distilled their own strong spirits and grew their own marijuana - and not just for the hemp to make rope, because the properties of the hemp plant were wel known to all of them - so todays laws make all of the founding fathers criminals. How idiotic is that? (Full Disclosure: I drink beer and beer only probably two or three times per year and do not smoke pot). I live in a dry county in Texas that is run by Baptists. Trust me on this.

HA! My word verification code is "freedom78." I rest my case.

You didn't answer my question.

Full disclosure-Even though I'm a musician much of what's on Huchbald's site is over my head. I do frequent it to enjoy his boundless supply of red-heads.

Red-heads will always break your heart though. My first crush was a reddie named Collen Carroll and I still haven't gotten over her.