Thread: Death Penalty for Rebellious Children

Originally Posted by Jessica80

I do not think that if there were a non Christian majority forming the US or currently that our laws would be different.

I disagree. People vote based on their values. If abortion is important to you, you will vote for people who support that and make laws in support of it. If gay rights are important to you, then you will vote for people who support that legislation. At the same time if a traditional family is important to you, most likely you will vote for people who will support that. In the same way if Shari Law was important to the vast majority of Americans, our laws would be Very different because those people would vote for people who would support their cause. Those people who were then elected would appoint people to the court who supported their cause and thus change the laws. I am very thankful that right now this is not the case in the US.

Originally Posted by Jessica80

I do not think that if there were a non Christian majority forming the US or currently that our laws would be different. I was raised as a Catholic and I disagree with many of their "moral" values because I don't feel that it meets my moral values. So my religious beliefs do not always influence my moral/ethical decisions because I think through my own feelings on a subject. I have many personal feelings towards things that I would not think should be law either.

Yes, I don't really have a problem with most of our current laws, because most of them (not all certainly) seem to be more informed by practicality and a respect for the rights/property of individuals rather than based off of any specific religion. As I have said before, you do not need to be Christian to believe that people have a right to not be killed, not have their stuff stolen, not be sold into slavery, et cetera. Christianity could be a vehicle that you use to come to that conclusion, but it's not the only road to get there. Plenty of non-Christian people in this country embrace those values as well. So we're cool. It's only when laws are made (or attempted) that ONLY serve a religious purpose where we disagree. If the law serves no secular practical purpose and is based solely on a religious concept, that is where I think it's a bad law. I really don't care if we are a majority Christian country; being in the majority still doesn't make it okay to enforce your religion on other people. Christians would do well to remember that, in case they ever lose the majority. I'm sure that if they were in the minority, they would prefer to live their religion in accordance to their own conscience, rather than having to follow someone else's (purely religious) laws. But apparently being in the majority allows people the luxury of not having to put themselves in anyone else's shoes....

Originally Posted by AlyssaEimers

I disagree. People vote based on their values. If abortion is important to you, you will vote for people who support that and make laws in support of it. If gay rights are important to you, then you will vote for people who support that legislation. At the same time if a traditional family is important to you, most likely you will vote for people who will support that. In the same way if Shari Law was important to the vast majority of Americans, our laws would be Very different because those people would vote for people who would support their cause. Those people who were then elected would appoint people to the court who supported their cause and thus change the laws. I am very thankful that right now this is not the case in the US.

What I was trying to convey is that my values are not always reflective of any religious affiliation I may have. I'm pro-gay and pro-choice rights and that is not what the Catholic church preaches. I also know many people who are pro life but do not feel that rights should be stripped away because their moral values in this case are not shared by all.

I definitely think it's a dangerous area to get into saying we want/should base laws on a religious text.

Originally Posted by GloriaInTX

And my point is that is going to happen no matter what because moral values affect law. The definition of what is right or wrong is almost always shaped by religious views. There are always going to be some religious beliefs that conflicts with current law. Laws are made based on what the majority of the current populace think are good for society. You can bet that if this country had a Muslim majority the laws would be different. That is just a fact. That is why I am very thankful that our country was formed based on Christian values.
Religion and the Congress of the Confederation - Religion and the Founding of the American Republic | Exhibitions - Library of Congress

The interesting thing is that there are again a whole lot of Christians who follow the OT. You might not. You have discounted this from your view point when in fact it should be cinsidered as part of the Christianity we are in disussin about. It is confusing to me how one could pick and choose parts of the Bible,mbut still while younchoose the NT there are others who could come into power and say, wait, we should follow all of christianity. And boy would we all be in trouble. No one would survive. I mean if you are a preachers daughter and you become a "*****" as it says exactly, then you will be burned to death. The starred is the wh re word. It would be doomsday for eceryone because the bible is the ugliest written holy book ever. Its language is everything but inspiring. But the are nonetheless lots of people who follow - christianity.

And i looked and honor killings are against Islam, despite whatever village idiot does. I will keep trying to balance the viewpoints. Somehow other religions do no have much to do with the topic.

I think the best bet ia to be secular and neutral. We do not need burnings of women, sharing of wices with brother in laws, murdering kids, and the like. We are much better than this holy stuff.

Originally Posted by AlyssaEimers

I disagree. People vote based on their values. If abortion is important to you, you will vote for people who support that and make laws in support of it. If gay rights are important to you, then you will vote for people who support that legislation. At the same time if a traditional family is important to you, most likely you will vote for people who will support that. In the same way if Shari Law was important to the vast majority of Americans, our laws would be Very different because those people would vote for people who would support their cause. Those people who were then elected would appoint people to the court who supported their cause and thus change the laws. I am very thankful that right now this is not the case in the US.

My feelings have always been that if we are good and fair to others when we are in a position of power, then we have nothing to fear if the other side comes into power.

i can imagine that if you said 100 years ago a black man would be the potus, people would have feared up like anything because of fear of retribution.

Originally Posted by AlyssaEimers

I doubt that you will find a sane person that thinks you should execute children. (Abortion debate aside)

In regards to your question. I can not speak for all religions, but what I am familiar with is that when Christ came, the old law (Old Testament) was made void, and the New Testament was written. Homosexuality is spoken about in both the Old and the New Testament. There are some religions that follow the old testament. I am a Baptist, and we follow the New Testament.

Yes, I think Jews would have a hard time swallowing that. I, for one, am grateful that Judaism is so widely accepting of other faiths. Yay for Judaism and religious tolerance.