[MB.]

I was discussing possible solutions to the Palestain/Isreal crisis with a rather right winged and miss informed friend of mine. Oddly enough, this was his 'difinitive' solution:

They should all become Christian.

Now I was thinking: are you insane, or just stupid?

I mean really- who could possibly think that something like that woudl work in practice?

[Efrem Da King]

Ann coulter for one. I wouldn't touch those people with a 50 foot stick!

[GandalfTheGrey]

Absurdity indeed Mr Bill. Its not really a long way off the neo-cons ideology about the middle east, namely that the middle east would be in eternal peace if they embraced American style democracy. Well thats what they say on the outside anyway. In reality, they would prefer to have dictatorships that ensure that the oil industry remains in private hands.

I guess from your friend's perspective, christianity is the only path, and so any alternative routes are fundamentally flawed.

[Steven_K]

Thus is the danger of fundamentalism. It does not allow for any discussion of the needs of the other people, and it assumes that everyone else is inherintly inferior to you just because of one stupid little belief.

[Milorg]

And just to make it clear.. Christian fundamentalism is no better than Muslim or Jewish fundamentalism. Christians have killed in the name of religion a lot more than muslims or jews or any other religion for that matter ever have. Just take a look at the crusades and basically the whole imperial era.

Just makes it more scary that the american administration, if not fundamentalists, is strictly christian, and involves religion in anything. Can't remember his name, but there was this bonkers general on the telly the other day, claiming the he fough in Jesus' army..

Thats wha escalates a conflict.

[The American Lion]

When did we ever say we must convert them into christians? God we believe in the same god. I believe your talking about the Southern Christians in the US.

[Enigmatic]

Welll, if they all become Christian they'll live together in peace and harmony, like those in Northern Ireland...

[jaakko]

I mean really- who could possibly think that something like that woudl work in practice?

The thing is, it's a national conflict not religious (like there were any purely religious conflicts). There are Christians and atheists on both sides. Opposing sides of any conflict need somekind of banner or idea, it can be religion or something else. But this shouldn't be confused as being the core reason of conflicts, like in the naive thinking "if there weren't religion there wouldn't be wars". Wars have objective reasons, and there we must look if we seriously want to liquidate the objective base for wars (instead of being a pacifist for the sake of feeling good). I'd rather leave the conclusions for some other thread...