Yes, there are a lot of good works carried out by Christians. there are alo good works carried out by other religions. Conversely there has been and, still to some extent is, harm engendered by adherence to a religious belief that the holders believe should be foisted onto everyone else. Think about the harm done by the Inquisition and by the early Muslims who spread across North Africa, killing non-believers. That seems to be continuing in the Darfur region today.

There are fundamentalists of most religions who give their own brand of faith a bad name. IMHO the religious rules for any religion are man-made, done to keep the flock in order. The basic tenets of a good life do not have to have a religious base.

As a teenager I belonged to a church but left when I was told off by one of the Sunday School, at the age of 15, for not wanting to take part in the Church sports day. It was made quite clear that I had let them down. As an adult I found myself at odds with what was coming down from the pulpit during the sermon, but with no way to question the content. At a Pentecostalist meeting the pastor told us that anybody who was not of that particular faith would not go to Heaven - "not the Pope, or the Queen" - because they had not been saved. Those are the things that made me move away from organised religion and led me to work out my own system of belief.

I worked with a guy who, on Ash Wednesday, made it a point to come round in the afternoon to every area in the office. Now this wasn't his usual behaviour, but the ash smear on his forehead was very obvious and that is what he wanted everyone to see. We basically ignored it.

I have no problem with anyone who has a religious belief - I just don't want to be told that I should share it or made to feel less because I don't. Don't push your belief on me and I'll not push mine on you, even if mine has a more rational base. :0)