I've really tried to stay out of this one BUT I have to ask.

 

If you believe that the fear tactics and other methods used by the extreme Christian right are dangerous to this country then surely you believe that the same holds true for the extreme left when they push their agenda with hyperbole and fear tactics. Lets talk about the whole "war on women" that the left has pounced on. To read some of the tripe they are putting out you would believe that people who oppose their agenda of "reproductive freedom" (what a ludicrous term) want all women to be nothing more then brood mares.

I've really tried to stay out of this one BUT I have to ask.

 

If you believe that the fear tactics and other methods used by the extreme Christian right are dangerous to this country then surely you believe that the same holds true for the extreme left when they push their agenda with hyperbole and fear tactics. Lets talk about the whole "war on women" that the left has pounced on. To read some of the tripe they are putting out you would believe that people who oppose their agenda of "reproductive freedom" (what a ludicrous term) want all women to be nothing more then brood mares.

 

I do agree.

The extreme ends of both sides are well-versed in fear-mongering.

The extreme ends of both sides are well-versed in fear-mongering.

The extreme end of the Islam political spectrum is both massive and extreme. When is the last report of a Christian demanding that a Muslim reject her faith and become a Christian, and then beheading said Muslim when she refused to comply?

 

Violent Muslims represent a minority of the followers of Islam, but it is a very sizable minority. Anybody who claims that conservative Christians pose an equal threat to this country as radical Islam does is turning a blind eye toward reality.

 

Politicians on both sides of the American political spectrum engage in fear mongering to win elections, but there is a big difference in political fear mongering and terrorizing.

The extreme end of the Islam political spectrum is both massive and extreme. When is the last report of a Christian demanding that a Muslim reject her faith and become a Christian, and then beheading said Muslim when she refused to comply?

 

Violent Muslims represent a minority of the followers of Islam, but it is a very sizable minority. Anybody who claims that conservative Christians pose an equal threat to this country as radical Islam does is turning a blind eye toward reality.

 

Politicians on both sides of the American political spectrum engage in fear mongering to win elections, but there is a big difference in political fear mongering and terrorizing.

 

I'm not disagreeing, but I was responding to a post which basically said "your guys do it too" (page 1 of any political operative's playbook). I was referring to political fear mongering only; as you noted in your final sentence.

The extreme end of the Islam political spectrum is both massive and extreme. When is the last report of a Christian demanding that a Muslim reject her faith and become a Christian, and then beheading said Muslim when she refused to comply?

 

Violent Muslims represent a minority of the followers of Islam, but it is a very sizable minority. Anybody who claims that conservative Christians pose an equal threat to this country as radical Islam does is turning a blind eye toward reality.

 

Politicians on both sides of the American political spectrum engage in fear mongering to win elections, but there is a big difference in political fear mongering and terrorizing.

 

I think that the bolded is the important part and confuses me in this entire thread. Are we talking about extremism within our own country influencing our laws and principles? It seems like most are referring to examples that occur outside of the US.

I think that the bolded is the important part and confuses me in this entire thread. Are we talking about extremism within our own country influencing our laws and principles? It seems like most are referring to examples that occur outside of the US.

Well, we could have cited the examples of the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing as examples of the threat posed by radical Islamists on American soil. Do you really doubt that the terrorists of ISIS and other Islamic terror groups would not welcome the opportunity to behead hundreds of infidels on American soil?

 

ISIS Leader: ‘See You in New York’

 

When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi walked away from a U.S. detention camp in 2009, the future leader of ISIS issued some chilling final words to reservists from Long Island.

 

The Islamist extremist some are now calling the most dangerous man in the world had a few parting words to his captors as he was released from the biggest U.S. detention camp in Iraq in 2009.

 

“He said, ‘I’ll see you guys in New York,’” recalls Army Col. Kenneth King, then the commanding officer of Camp Bucca.

Think about all of the freedom that we have already lost in this country through the Patriot Act and its spin-offs such as the NSA surveillance of Americans on American soil. The very creation of the Department of Homeland Security was the result of the very real threat of Islamic terrorism.

 

Despite what the Obama administration wants us to believe, the Christian right is not the biggest threat to our way of life. As "religions of peace" go, Islam is nowhere near the top of the list.

Well, we could have cited the examples of the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing as examples of the threat posed by radical Islamists on American soil. Do you really doubt that the terrorists of ISIS and other Islamic terror groups would not welcome the opportunity to behead hundreds of infidels on American soil?

 

Think about all of the freedom that we have already lost in this country through the Patriot Act and its spin-offs such as the NSA surveillance of Americans on American soil. The very creation of the Department of Homeland Security was the result of the very real threat of Islamic terrorism.

 

Despite what the Obama administration wants us to believe, the Christian right is not the biggest threat to our way of life. As "religions of peace" go, Islam is nowhere near the top of the list.

 

I still feel as though there are two different interpretations of the issue. Yes, many aspects of our freedom have changed as a result of 9/11 and, to a lesser degree, the Boston Marathon bombings. However, we are not incorporating Islamic principles into our laws as a result.

 

Also, let's not forget that prior to 9/11, the deadliest attack on American soil had been committed by an American military veteran, with a Catholic upbringing, who participated in religious sacraments before his execution. Lest anyone feel that that makes me fear/hate those that share those characteristics with McVeigh, the living person most dear to my heart is my father, a Vietnam War Army veteran, with a Catholic upbringing.

I still feel as though there are two different interpretations of the issue. Yes, many aspects of our freedom have changed as a result of 9/11 and, to a lesser degree, the Boston Marathon bombings. However, we are not incorporating Islamic principles into our laws as a result.

 

Also, let's not forget that prior to 9/11, the deadliest attack on American soil had been committed by an American military veteran, with a Catholic upbringing, who participated in religious sacraments before his execution. Lest anyone feel that that makes me fear/hate those that share those characteristics with McVeigh, the living person most dear to my heart is my father, a Vietnam War Army veteran, with a Catholic upbringing.

The OP attempts to make the case that Christian conservatives are a greater threat to this nation than Islamic extremists because the Islamic threat is "mostly from afar," and that is simply not true. We have radical Islamist imams active in mosques on American soil today and they are financed, in part, by wealthy Saudi citizens. CAIR claims that 70 percent of Americna Muslims want Wahhabism taught in their mosques. Look around the world. It is Muslims who run the theocracies around the globe - not Christians.

 

Timothy McVeigh had been raised as a Christian but I don't recall him making any claim that he acted on God's behalf. He was an anti-government extremist but there was no Christian fundamentalist terror organization behind him.

 

Like it or not, our Declaration and Constitution was inspired by Christian principles and many of those same basic principles are shared by other religions. The groups of immigrants who founded colonies in this country were not Muslims fleeing religious persecution, they were Christians fleeing religious persecution. The founders of this nation tried to protect American citizens from the kind of religious persecution that drove many of them to our shores but they were not anti-Christians as many liberals would like to believe.

 

This country has survived more than 200 years with a large Christian population. I think that we are pretty safe in assuming that Christians are not an existential threat to our way of life but the same can not be said of radical Islam.

The OP attempts to make the case that Christian conservatives are a greater threat to this nation than Islamic extremists because the Islamic threat is "mostly from afar," and that is simply not true. We have radical Islamist imams active in mosques on American soil today and they are financed, in part, by wealthy Saudi citizens. CAIR claims that 70 percent of Americna Muslims want Wahhabism taught in their mosques. Look around the world. It is Muslims who run the theocracies around the globe - not Christians.

 

Timothy McVeigh had been raised as a Christian but I don't recall him making any claim that he acted on God's behalf. He was an anti-government extremist but there was no Christian fundamentalist terror organization behind him.

 

Like it or not, our Declaration and Constitution was inspired by Christian principles and many of those same basic principles are shared by other religions. The groups of immigrants who founded colonies in this country were not Muslims fleeing religious persecution, they were Christians fleeing religious persecution. The founders of this nation tried to protect American citizens from the kind of religious persecution that drove many of them to our shores but they were not anti-Christians as many liberals would like to believe.

 

This country has survived more than 200 years with a large Christian population. I think that we are pretty safe in assuming that Christians are not an existential threat to our way of life but the same can not be said of radical Islam.

 

Good points on McVeigh not acting (or professing to act) on any call from God, but my point was that he was not an Islamic terrorist. He was a homegrown, Christian terrorist.

 

The founders or our country are not without fault. Look no further than the wiping out of Native American religions (and Native American populations, for that matter) as to a lack of religious tolerance. We (a Christian populace) committed innumerable atrocities, which go against my definition of "Christian."

Good points on McVeigh not acting (or professing to act) on any call from God, but my point was that he was not an Islamic terrorist. He was a homegrown, Christian terrorist.

 

The founders or our country are not without fault. Look no further than the wiping out of Native American religions (and Native American populations, for that matter) as to a lack of religious tolerance. We (a Christian populace) committed innumerable atrocities, which go against my definition of "Christian."

McVeigh was a terrorist who was raised as a Christian. That does not make him a Christian terrorist in the same way that large organizations of men who routinely rape, pillage, and butcher infidels in the name of Allah makes those men Islamic terrorists.

 

Even if McVeigh had bombed Oklahoma City because of a warped understanding of Christianity - he had no large organization of like-minded individuals behind him that posed an additional threat. Nuts like McVeigh and the Uni-bomber may kill dozens or hundreds of people now and then, but they will not change our way of life. ISIS has a war chest currently estimated at $2 billion and that is enough money to finance several large terrorist attacks against this country.

 

As for Native Americans, their mistreatment by European settlers really has no bearing on current and future threats to our way of life, does it? All of us had ancestors who suffered great injustices at some time in the past but they are long gone and we survived. The sins of our ancestors in no way justify the actions of those who actively seek to destroy our way of life today.

I must not have been paying attention to the crusade that is obviously happening as I live and breathe in total delusion.

The OP attempts to make the case that Christian conservatives are a greater threat to this nation than Islamic extremists because the Islamic threat is "mostly from afar," and that is simply not true. We have radical Islamist imams active in mosques on American soil today and they are financed, in part, by wealthy Saudi citizens. CAIR claims that 70 percent of Americna Muslims want Wahhabism taught in their mosques. Look around the world. It is Muslims who run the theocracies around the globe - not Christians.

 

Timothy McVeigh had been raised as a Christian but I don't recall him making any claim that he acted on God's behalf. He was an anti-government extremist but there was no Christian fundamentalist terror organization behind him.

 

Like it or not, our Declaration and Constitution was inspired by Christian principles and many of those same basic principles are shared by other religions. The groups of immigrants who founded colonies in this country were not Muslims fleeing religious persecution, they were Christians fleeing religious persecution. The founders of this nation tried to protect American citizens from the kind of religious persecution that drove many of them to our shores but they were not anti-Christians as many liberals would like to believe.

 

This country has survived more than 200 years with a large Christian population. I think that we are pretty safe in assuming that Christians are not an existential threat to our way of life but the same can not be said of radical Islam.

 

This is when you drop the mic

I've yet to see specific examples that make the Christian faith a threat to our country. I've seen hyperbole and fear mongering but as I stated earlier I'm disappointed in RM's take. I don't agree with her all the time but I've never seen her take such an extreme position . That is exactly what the position the article posted in this thread was an extreme liberal view. A view without any validity or fact behind it .

I think that the bolded is the important part and confuses me in this entire thread. Are we talking about extremism within our own country influencing our laws and principles? It seems like most are referring to examples that occur outside of the US.

 

Please refer to post #19. It makes references in which our legal system is being subjected to Sharia Law. Sharia is what the extremists are pushing for as the guiding principles in Islamic countries. And if you will take the time to look them up, there are other examples that pop up.