Exactly so, as George would say, so Nobody said it for him. Thank you, Nobody. Thank you, too, John.

Judge the people who do the harm - don't make a general condemnation of the group.

I'd like to say one more thing, and then I'll give up. Religious faith isn't about power and coercion, but there are many who wield power in the name of religion. Faith is the fundamental system of belief that individuals or groups of people develop deep within themselves and their traditions - it is not something that can be forced upon others, but it can be shared. Truly faithful people are those who contemplate the beauty and goodness of life and see it as a gift given by a power beyond them - and they respond by contributing to the beauty and goodness of life. And in that contemplation, they share with faithful people of all creeds, and with faithful people who adhere to no creed at all.

My grandmother, Julia McQuaid, was a truly faithful person. She used to drive me crazy with her rosaries and novenas and prayers to St. Jude and St. Anthony - I thought all that stuff was superstitious, and I still do. It wasn't those external practices that were the essence of her faith, although those practices were very important to her. Wherever she went, there was joy and goodness. By the time she died, she was the only white person left living in her Detroit neighborhood. The neighbors thought she was kind of crazy, but they loved her. They weren't Catholic, but they drove her to church on Sundays. Many came to her funeral and prayed with us in celebration of her life, and they told me how much she and her faith meant to them. And no, she didn't try to convert the neighbors - she just loved them, especially their children.

-Joe Offer-