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Path: utzoo!linus!wivax!dyer
From: dyer@wivax.UUCP (Stephen Dyer)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Discussion moved from net.singles
Message-ID: <19552@wivax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 28-May-84 21:39:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: wivax.19552
Posted: Mon May 28 21:39:33 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 30-May-84 00:17:41 EDT
References: <73@stat-l>
Organization: Wang Institute, Tyngsboro, Ma.  01879
Lines: 29

It IS appropriate for this discussion to be moved out of net.singles.
But I simply cannot understand the fanaticism that "Ask the Wombat"
manifests whenever Jeff Sargent (the most frequent "offender") brings up
the role of Christianity in his life.  These vituperative attacks against
public expressions of personal belief outside of net.religion seem as
wrong-headed to me as the behavior of the Inquisitors in the Middle Ages.

Listen: Jeff Sargent seems to be a very religious person.  As we've seen,
his faith is more than the ordinary person's convenient Sunday-morning
country-club--it permeates all of his postings, and at the very least,
we can say that Jeff's news items are unique and give us a pretty good
idea of what he's like.  I find it refreshing to read someone so guileless,
so willing to say what he feels, even as he recognizes that his opinions
are outside the mainstream.

One might take issue with some of the things he says, one might
not believe what he believes, but it is absurd to simply say to him or
anyone: "keep your religion private."  It would make as much sense to say to
Wombat that he should keep his obviously atheistic opinions to himself.
One's belief system is intimately woven into one's presentation of self,
and it would be a pretty boring world if that were otherwise.
So, Wombat, if you don't like what Jeff says, you can always type 'n',
or you can take issue with particular articles that he posts, either
publically or privately.  But don't ask someone to suppress his expression
of opinions just because you don't agree with them.
-- 
/Steve Dyer
decvax!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca