My problem is that Thump (and his agree-ers) gets to state all that he said above, and if I, or Sunny, give OUR opinion of why we think he's wrong, or what we think about it, we're villified as not being tolerant and for not just 'letting folks alone'. My belief is not valid, and his is.

More, I promised him I would never again get into a direct discussion with him about religion.......as it upset him so much for me to give my opinion of things as I saw them. He assumed I was calling him names. At the end, I tried to 'turn the other cheek' finally, and let him have the last word and not reply. I sense that since then there's an unnecessary tension, and I attribute it mostly to all that. I could be wrong.

But of course it isn't kosher these days to be tolerant of those who believe there is a standard of right and wrong. Len asked "why can't we leave him alone". Well, we ARE! NO one is calling him up and suggesting he change. I AM 'letting him live'. We're simply discussing our views of life, as it applies to this. I believe, and many others do also, that there is black and white standard that states that this kind of behavior is wrong. I didn't make those rules. If I had, I'd have made them differently! Jim thinks he can ask a ton of questions that HE can't answer, and that doing so proves that there are NO answers. That's incorrect, but we don't get to discuss it in depth with him........and truthfully not anyone else like him. Our views are dismissed. THAT is the issue I have........not that anyone has a differing view..........but that their view is relevant and mine is worthless.

And that's all I have to say on this matter.