I apologize for thread necromancy, but...

What a bunch of hogwash. This entire thread involves nothing but strawman bashing as Christian evangelicals--myself being one of them--are falsely portrayed as abusive fundamentalists who want nothing more than to control the way other people live their lives.

Quite frankly, it is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that Christian conservatives are controlling the government. Rather, we are moving toward an age where secular humanism reigns and evangelical Christianity--not other religions, mind you--is scorned and ridiculed.

I'd like to ask you this:

There is a fellow from my graduating class who absolutely hates Christians. He despises us. He's ripped up and spit on Bibles; he mocks us. Now, would you like it if I equated all atheists to this guy? Would you like it if I described all atheists as arrogant, hate-filled bigots who wanted to do nothing more than destroy Christianity?

I'm betting not.

I have absolutely no desire to force my religion on anyone. Do I think that Christ is the one way to heaven, that there is one true God (Yahweh Elohim), that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God? Absolutely. Do I base my beliefs off of the Bible? Absolutely. Would it make me happy if everyone became a Christian and was thus ensured a place in heaven? Absolutely. Will I condemn, spurn, or disdain anyone because he or she is not a Christian?

Absolutely not. The Christian message--the true one--is love. Yes, the Judeo-Christian God is just, and He is a God of discipline, but He also sacrificed His Son to save every man and woman that was and is and is to come.

I see that someone mentioned Asperger's syndrome earlier in the thread. I happen to have this, and I find empathy extremely difficult. However, that does not prevent me from doing what I believe is right. I find that, to compensate for my ability to empathize, it is my job to sit quietly and listen rather than talk. Good works can be done without empathy, just as evil works can be done with empathy.

As an aside, anyone condoning the beating of a man's wife by the standards of the Bible is purposely misinterpreting the Scriptures and perverting them for his own sick desires, and he will have to answer God for his sins.