The GOP Has Been HIJACKED!

[Kinser79]

(05-23-2016, 07:33 AM)radind Wrote: I agree that the US is not a Christian nation.

Indeed, the US is a secular nation, has always been a secular nation. Being secular has nothing to do with attacking any religion, rather it means that the state does not use a religion as its basis of justification and legal code.

Quote: My take is the the secular camp is attacking Christian values in the same way as if the secular camp were a religion. 

There is no "secular camp". What you're describing is the Regressive Left, and yes they are attacking Christians and Christian values. As for them being a religion, I would say that they are an ideological group with cult-like tendencies. So I think we're probably agreeing while quibbling over semantics.

That being said, there is no secular camp. I'm secular and have no interest in attacking Christianity or Christians. Seriously my BF goes to mass most Sundays. Likewise I have no interest in attacking Paganism (in its various forms) or Pagans. My son is a pagan...but don't ever call him that. He prefers to call himself a heathen.

Quote:Being offended is not  the issue. Limiting freedom of religion is the issue.

I completely agree. I oppose any attempt to legislate what people should believe. Of course that is because I'm a cultural libertarian.

Quote:I understand that no one in the secular camp will understand or feel the pressure.

Maybe the problem is that you're looking at the wrong thing. As I pointed out above there isn't a "secular camp". If you get 10 secular people into a room you're going to get 10 different opinions on all sort of manner of issues. Rather what you are describing is a particular ideology that is authoritarian in nature and that I call the Regressive Left.

Quote: Their values and dogma are being pushed.

Secularism does not have a core set of values except that religion and the state should be separated--IE Freedom of Religion. Therefore any values which are contrary to that value is not being pushed by secular people. Values contrary to freedom of religion can only come from the religious (doesn't matter what the religion is) or those with an opposing ideology. In the case of the US right now, the attacks on secularism is coming from the Regressive Left as they are seeking to implement their ideology not only on you Christians but also on anyone else who opposes their ideology on different grounds: Conservatives (many of whom are also Christians), Classical Liberals/Cultural Libertarians, Libertarians more generally and even other leftists who do not subscribe to their pure ideology.

Case in point Odin calling me reactionary scum while I was still a Marxist-Leninist (you know because I didn't share his Regressive Left ideology and was therefore the spawn of whatever they use as devil figure).

Quote:I would be happy  to see 'Christmas' abolished since it was based on a pagan holiday anyway.

It is interesting that I said the same thing when I was still a Christian. The BF who is a Christian isn't interested in it either. My mother and kid celebrate the Winter Solstice instead which kinda makes sense from an agricultural perspective.