In the meantime, some Christians demonstrate their peaceful minds

Hence the use of the word 'some' Eloethan.

The point I am trying to make here, is that generalisations about Christians are as unfair and pointless as generalities about Muslims- which I have heard by the bucketload recently.

I agree granjura.

granjura thank you for taking the time to re-read my post and posting that you understood the point I was making.

I had already made the same point, but obviously not in a way that was understandable.

Are we just being too subtle Ana?

Although my post about fundamentalist atheist was a bit tongue in cheek, I've met many atheists and they're mostly tolerant and respectful to believers.
Can't say that about RD, and I've come across some of his supporters on other forums who are also very offensive.

You can say that about RD, actually. He respects people. He doesn't respect certain types of belief. People are not beliefs. Beliefs are not people.

Sophistry!

I don't think bags is deliberately trying to deceive you petallus and where is the falsity in what she has posted?

Has everyone googled sophistry yet?

It's a word you don't hear very often. Sounds biblical.

Only the illiterate ones jingl.

Oh dear it appears I'm illiterate

Yeah well. There's illiterate. And then there's illiterate.

I think that could be sophistry. In an un-sophisticated way.

Yes, how very rude of you absent. I googled it too - not a word I use in everyday conversation, but I'll certainly bear it in mind for future use on here...

I didn't know what sophistry meant either and had to look it up.

Not so rude as accusing another poster of sophistry, though, Ana.

I beg to differ, absent.

I'm not sure you can separate the person from the person's beliefs. What are we if we are not that which we believe in?

'A method of argument that is seemingly plausible though actually invalid and misleading', which is the definition I read (although there are of course others!) doesn't imply deliberate deception or falsity.

Of course you beg to differ, Ana.

Well, if we're going to bandy dictionaries again, the first definition in the Shorter OED is: "Specious but fallacious reasoning; employment of arguments which are intentionally deceptive".

What a strange thing to say Absent - or did you truly not realise how rude you sounded?

Ah ha! So you did look it up too Absent

Only to try and prove her point. Not like us illiterati...