Christianity is all about free will to choose between good and evil. What it is not is inquisitions and burning heretics. Where the religion of Christianity went off track is when that religion merged with the government of empire. At that point the individual's free will became the state's compulsion and pure Christianity started to become corrupt. Separation of church and state is necessary to preserve the integrity of both church and state.

Jefferson's is a quite sensible approach. Corruption is not desirable wherever it appears and ought to be rejected in government, religion, or anything else. Paul agreed. He said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." That would seem to imply that you should not follow him if he did not. I'd better stop now. Wouldn't want to get all preachy.

You left out religion, warren. Much of what we call religion is nothing more than opportunistic power lust, but fortunately real and honest religion, science, and art still exist in this world.

Religious liberty, or the liberty of conscience and thought, is certainly the cornerstone of all liberty. It seems sometimes that parts of the building have been built crookedly, however, without regard to the cornerstone.

Science is not the ultimate voice of truth. There are some intangible things in which people must believe if we are to avoid a chaotic society. Science cannot show us a molecule of duty or an atom of justice. There are no freedom, hope, or love particles. God is the embodiment of all of these intangible ideas and religion is man's attempt to decipher the mind of God so that we can come to a common definition of what justice, duty, freedom, hope, and love are. Art is the outward projection of an individual's feelings and perceptions that are very much dependent on these intangible ideas and whether they are operating as they should.

Honesty is often not elegant. Sometimes it is just an ugly, inconvenient truth and even more often lacks simplicity.

Obedience with your eyes wide open is much preferable to blind obedience.

Certainly there is nothing quite like first hand experience to make one wise. However, first hand experience can also give you scars to go along with it. A wiser man will accept instruction from those who have gone before him and not have to experience the cuts, bruises, and burns.

Universities are our great fall, They teach only propaganda, that's all: Gramsci rules, no doubt, Marx! Lenin! they shout; Until America is left in a pall............~ Paul C. Vitz, Ph.D. (Lecture notes delivered at Columbia University on the psychology of atheism)

It is irrelevant what an aboriginal IQ test would look like, measure, or score. An IQ test is simply an indicator of how well someone can function in the society/civilization as it actually exists here and now. An aboriginal IQ test would measure how well someone might perform in some fantasy society if Western civilization did not exist. If one wants to do well in our society, learn how to speak English properly, learn how to perform basic mathematical operations, and learn how to reach a logical conclusion.

It is not only Germany where home schooled children and their parents are persecuted. California for one is almost as bad. In the socialistic society, people are not individuals. They are chattel that belongs to the state, to be herded, prodded, taken to market, and eventually slaughtered.

The public education system was modeled on the Prussian system of the mid nineteenth century. Their goal was to educate the common folk well enough to be good, productive workers in an industrial setting, but not educated enough to question authority. Of course, the modern public education system has gone beyond the Prussian model: our students are not even educated enough to be good, productive workers. In fact they are only educated enough to find out where the Welfare office is.

Socialists say the same thing any number of ways, but it's still lipstick on a pig, and government is the pig.

Move that plaque from the Naval War College to the halls of Congress. I cringe whenever Congress does anything and I can only hope for gridlock. The less they do "for" you, the less they'll do "to" you.

It's not a matter of knowing how to be free. It's all about choosing to be free.

Everyone is assuming politicians run the world. Politicians come and go, but bureaucrats are forever. You'll never know the names of those who rule you.

I am a victim of a public school education, and I am continually trying to overcome that handicap. I applaud all the rest of you who are as well by taking the initiative and teaching yourselves. It seems that some have a little more learning to do than others, however............"A professor is a mediocrity that is an expert on the works of great men."---Ellis Washington.

Apparently there's enough Fascism to go around........"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society."---Hillary Clinton. The problem is that nearly every politician these days has turned into either a national socialist or an international socialist. So, what will you have: Coke or Pepsi?

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Everyone has the "truth" or so they think. Civilizations that have their truths have come and gone when they are crushed by another. Memes can be so completely destroyed by an invader that it will never realistically come back. How many people take the Olympian gods seriously today? How many people worship Thor and Odin? People should be careful what "truth" they crush because there is no guarantee that a beneficial "truth" will rise again.

A wonderful example of pure democracy (may we never become one). Tyranny of the mob is usually more cruel than the absolute rule of a single tyrant. As an aside, I seem to recall that Socrates chose to drink the poison rather than accept exile.

The question is, who is it better for? Karl Marx thought. Stalin thought. Mao thought. Hitler thought. Would it have been better if they had not thought at all, and for whom? Should I respect their opinions?

Miller was what he was: a pornographer. People who want to buy pornography are free to do so at their will and imagine anything they want. I refuse to call it beautiful, however. I won't call child abuse beautiful or joyful. I won't call any number of things a source of strength. I think you might be reading more into Millers quote than he intended. I do believe, however, that you must acknowledge with open eyes the ugly nature of human beings along with the good if you are ever going to deal with it. But at least, describe it accurately. Otherwise, you are just perpetuating a self-destructive lie.

Tell that to the man having a lit cigarette stuck in his eyeball.

This must be what all of those people in padded cells tell themselves.