1.Witness above, Black posting "Does this mean that only Christians can be saved?" which goes to the heart of the threat.
2. We have the leader of a congregation here who, in the name of his saviour Jesus Christ has decided to introduce a law to deprive some people of their lawfully granted civil rights. Read all about it:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/222495_hutcherson02.html
Dan,
Point 1. The answer, clearly, amongst the majority of Christendom is that not everyone who rejects Christianity has in fact rejected God.
Not exactly 'Control and Command' here, and again is part of the mythical view of Christianity whereby its failures define its entirety. Which leads to your second point...
Point 2. There are 500,000 priests, minister, pastors in the USA. Amongst that lot will be some nuts, some people trying to escape their own personal failings (etc. Paedophiles), and even those who are simply in it for their own needs - personal recognition, use it as a career and so on. There are also many faithful people who are trying their hardest to live a good life and to do good in their community and further a field.
It comes as no surprise then that some of these half a million leaders will fall from grace because of their own personal issues or even fall prey to the temptations of power.
You are arguing from the specific to the general and it just doesn't wash with someone who is actually much closer to the church than you are, and has a much better view of what goes on 'on the ground'.
Your sample group is statistically unsound and in your normal scientific endeavours you would never dream of drawing conclusions based upon such flimsy evidence.
But this is something I see all the time. Rational scientists throwing out scientific discipline when they want to support their irrational dislike of religion. Sam Harris does it - Richard Dawkins does it - and here it is again.
Blacknad.
