General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ben Affleck vs. Bill Maher on Islam: Bill's right. [View all]Ampersand Unicode
(503 posts)It simply means that a religion does not deserve its own country. A religion is nothing more than a set of philosophies and rituals with a supernatural element added to them. It is a personal belief system that needs to remain personal, private, and out of public view as well as public policy.
Some people once feared that the guy in my avatar would allow his religion to interfere with his policy-making, and "subvert America to Vatican control." He didn't, and neither did any of his brothers. Heck, if Bobby was AG during the pedo-priest scandal, I wouldn't doubt that he'd go after those bastards with a vengeance. The law is the law and you don't allow a corrupt organization to "police itself internally." That's like asking the mob to play nice and be on the honor system. Pedophiles are incurable and the ones who covered them up should have gone to prison. I have no doubt that the Kennedys would have punished Bernard Law for being so damn lawless. If that isn't a rebuke of papism I don't know what is.
Point blank, Israel should not be recognized as a country if it calls itself a "Jewish state." Likewise, the Vatican should not be a recognized international entity because it is the HQ of the Catholic church. The so-called caliphate should not be recognized as a country if it calls itself an "Islamic state." Because it's a church and not a state. Separation of church and state means that these are two distinct entities. The law can't tell you that you can't do this and that in your rituals as long as they don't violate state laws. It also means that if you're going to call yourself a church or a religious entity, you should not be allowed to accept taxpayer dollars from a secular society. Support for Israel on our dime is just as unconstitutional as giving legal protections to pedophile priests.*
*NB: It should also be considered unconstitutional to allow the orthodox rabbis to continue the barbaric practice of sucking circumcised infants' penises because that's part of the "ritual." The practice should be abolished by law and its practitioners prosecuted as common sex offenders. Period.