Don, I agree with you. I don't accept a god but I agree with just about everything else you said. Of course, I don't believe in spiritual matters.

You are so right about Israel. It is kind of a theocracy although many Israelis would deny that. Any country based on a religious persuasion is a theocracy. Theocracies create wars.

True of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, et. al.

I agree with your definition of politics.

I agree with your assessment of the intrusion of religion into secular matters historically.

Jefferson and Madison both wanted to protect religious beliefs by keeping them out of
government. That was a wise choice.



Even John Adams in the famous Treaty of Tripoli made it clear that the US was
a Christian nation.

Thomas Paine had a lot to say about this in "The Age of Reason". (Of course, he was a Deist and dissed atheism, but his book is still well worth the read).

I think that your view of religion is a lot healthier than stuff I've been reading on Mudcat about it. Your views keep religion personal and private as it should be in the US.

Stringsinger