It's the evil media. You hit the nail on the head. "Good" Muslims aren't news worthy. Nothing good is news worthy. That's the biggest problem our home, aka: earth, has. Facts are facts, yes, but good facts don't seem to make it into the headlines. They blow us away with the bad facts. Oh my God! The sky is falling! That seems to be the only thing the media concentrates on. Doom and gloom.

I think maybe these people would feel like they are making themselves a target. I'm sure a militant Muslim would strike down a peaceful rational Muslim that believes people of all faiths can live in harmony real quick just to silence them. I would think that would be more of an offense than being an infidel. We need some Muslims to start blogging with us to answer some of these questions.

That a militant Muslim would strike down a moderate Muslim is a fact of life in Iraq everyday. Moderates that apply for much needed jobs in their police force, armed forces etc. are struck down by carbombs or other such devices.

No, infidels are to be converted or killed.

Here, in the US, any talk or deeds by Muslims to oppose another Muslim for their religious beliefs, or interpreting it differently, will be rewarded by being totally ostracized since killing for that reason is against the law in this country.

Shhhh... they can hear you

The target thing might be right. They would have to watch their backs from both directions. Even if a skinhead in prison sees the errors of his ways he would be foolish to disassociate himself from his group while in prison because if he was not part of any gang there both the other skinheads and many of the black gangs, latino gangs, etc would kick the sh** out of him.

Again, you hit the nail on the head...or the lack there of. The rads wouldn't hesitate for a minute to chop off any non-compliant muslim brother's head if they disagreed with them. Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Oooo, kinda sounds like the mark of the beast a little bit, doesn't it? You no play the game? You no work, eat, or LIVE...hmmm.

Maybe Christians have it all wrong about who the antichrist will really be. Even Nostradamus (for those that don't give a rip what the bible says) tells us that the antichrist will wear a blue TURBAN. Turban? I know there are Christians in the Middle East, but c'mon....One that has enough clout to make Christians in the West that he's Christ? I don't think so.

We are getting off topic, but I thought the Catholic church had started taking a much more relaxed position on birth control.

As for priests marrying, that is not something that he can just up and change without anyone batting an eyebrow. He might encounter much strife on that one.

Off topic, yes somewhat, but we were discussing Il Papa. Africa is the fastest Catholic growing continent in the world. Ancient local tribal beliefs are being replaced by Christianity and specifically Catholicism. AIDS is also more rampant in Africa then any other continent. The use of condoms to battle AIDS is widely known in the world as being very effective. The Catholic church forbids the use of condoms purportedly for birthcontrol. All Africa needs is more babies, often born with HIV.
As for priests (and nuns) marrying, it would pursue a natural lifestyle prescribed by the Bible. Nowhere in the Bible is there any mandate that certain people of the cloth should not marry. Many Christians believe that Jesus married (The Da Vinci Code). Besides, it would likely have helped stop the abuse of children by priests which I think has been going on for centuries, not since it was finally disclosed some years ago.

While you bring up good points, I do not see the Cahtolic Church changing on the marriage thing. It is very steeped in tradition. They did stop doing masses only in Latin though, so it does sometimes change. Again, I think they have lightened up on the birth control issue.

I think the marriage thing may also cut down on molestations if they are really occuring as often as people claim. Then again on that "Dateline: to catch a predator" They caught a married ministor trying to come meet an underage girl.

imdstuff: Not in my lifetime will we see Catholic clergy marrying but the only thing constant is change. Denying a healthy heterosexual relationship between adults only causes that to go underground and manifests itself in other, more deviant, ways. While I'm not suggesting that homosexuality is deviant, certainly the Vatican does not endorse it. Yet homosexuality among the Catholic clergy is rampant. That only recently we have heard of child abuse by priests is only the tip of the iceberg, it's been going on for centuries all over the western world. Child abuse by nuns, especially in schools for children without parents, is/was also prevalent. Corporal punishment meted out by these nuns was often sadistic. In a nutshell, when a godgiven basic instinct is forcefully denied by any entity, it will come out in some other form. That's man, that's nature, that's it.
If the next pope were to take a wife it would change all that immediately. In the early days of the papacy, they had wives, even concubines.

That or we could allow them volunteery castration. I imagine they would rather have the marriage route.

Thanks for the comment possibly absolving me from being an ultra liberal. I assure you I'm not. Furthermore, Carter, Clinton, Jackson and Gore need to be fitted for a muzzle and have their passports revoked. Also, most liberals are in a self induced coma and can not wake up.

trollison: here is an announcement in today's (9/22) A/C:

Muslims to gather for prayer at center
Augusta area Muslims will gather for prayer at 8:45 tonight, followed by extended prayer, called tarawih in Arabic, at 9 p.m. at the Islamic Center of Augusta, 3416 Middleton Drive.
The extended prayer ushers in Ramadan, a month of prayer and fasting.
Muslims will continue the extended prayer each night during the month. At the end of 30 days they will have read the Koran. Call (706) 868-7278 or see the Islamic Society of Augusta's Web site, isaugusta.com.

Why don't you go there and ask them?

Everyone should definitely read the book you suggested, but the basics of what's going on shouldn't have to be described in a book.

People need to only pay attention to what's going on all around them. It's so obvious. So unfortunately, I think you are preaching to the chior....because the ones that can't pick up the idea just from watching the news, are hopeless. Reading the book probably won't change anybody's mind about whether Islam is pro or con violence. Everyone sees what they want to see...whatever suits their agenda, even if it's not the obvious.

Where in his speech or a lecture, not a sermon, to a group of students, at a university, did he say he was speaking for God?

Do you think he would speak for God speak that way 24/7?

You write "God is infallible..." and I would agree with that statement but the Pope is human making him... human and prone to making mistakes like everyone else. He would be the first to tell you that.

One can not reason with unreasonable people. The sooner we understand that basic fact, the sooner we can fight back.... Reasonably, on our terms.