I guess I should cancel my plans to deliver Thanksgiving dinner to the
needy
tomorrow. Since it's on behalf of my church.

I guess you better. After all, according to the atheists here, if your
motivation is religious, you must not be moral.

Jeez, I turn my attention away from this thread for a day or two, and look
what happens! Talk about bitter dissension!

I am thankful that there are those who deliver dinner to the needy --
whatever their motivation. If your religion commands you to help the
hungry, house the homeless, and generally help humanity, I certainly will
not argue with you. In fact, I thank you.

However, I believe some posters have been trying to state the obvious, which
is: Religion is a powerful force for both good and evil. Gullible people
can be misled easily with the whole "fear of eternal damnation" threat.

And it works the other way, too! Just look how many fools have been
recruited by the fundamentalist, radical "Islamo-Fascists" in the Middle
East! These dupes are lured into doing the ultimate evil, simply by having
"eternity in paradise" promised to them. How many more children and
innocents must be blown to smithereens so that this sick, parasitic version
of Islam can flourish?

Does anyone honestly think there would be suicide attacks WITHOUT religion
assuring them of "eternal life"? THAT is the evil side of religion, ladies
and gentlemen -- and it must be addressed in any serious discussion of
religion.

Anyhow, I only meant to comment on the rudeness of the religious zealots
Mary and I ran into, and on the interesting way in which they were
apparently able to self-justify their bizarre, unseemly behavior. I did not
mean for this thread to pick on any particular religion, as these guys could
just have easily have been Muslims, Hare Krishnas, or Believers in the
Force.

It's sad that this thread -- probably the longest I've ever seen -- ended up
the way it did. I guess pilots are no different than the rest of the world
in this regard...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"