Len,

>snip<


>Which God are we talking about, the Old Testament God of vengeance or the New Testament God of forgiveness. I've heard too many church leaders sermonising that we should learn to forgive our enemies, only to sermonise about how God supports us in a "just war", when it suits them. Moral beliefs are something you should hold to, even (or especially) in the face of great adversity.

Well, the one you (and I) will face and give an answer to for your life - either before you pass on or after. Merciful, longsuffering, gracious, loving, just holy and righteous. The One who forgives sins for those who turn from them.

BTW, those two are one and the same. Apparently you are unfamiliar with the scriptures to the point of making uneducated remarks about their contents. I'd recommend a remedial course right away... <g>

>
>It takes a bigger, stronger man to walk away from a fight. If the situation is handled correctly, it will not be seen as a sign of weakness that you haven't taken revenge, but seen as a sign of strength & maturity. Blindly attacking & killing more defenseless people to show your strength is just a sign of cowardice.

It takes a "bigger stonger man" to also accept his responsibilities in this world. This very situation IMO has arisen precisely because we as a nation have taken the road of appeasement for far too long. No more.

Please do not make the presumption that the reaction you will see shortly will be 'blind'. However, I will once again remind you that those who attacked us took no thought for collateral damage. Go talk to them and see if you can get them to adopt your position why don't you? With all due respect I suspect you will fail.

Maybe you just don't "get it"... These people don't care about what damage they do - to you or anyone else. I think your very proper desire (which I agree with BTW) to create in and live in a world filled with peace is simply clouding what is really happening out there. Your good intentions are clouding your judgement IMO.

>
>Once you set off down the path of "taking out a few rabid dogs" where do you stop. Who gets to decide on what constitutes a "rabid dog" ? Do they have a right to appeal ? As I said earlier, would you consider Nelson Mandela a rabid dog ?

We stop when they are a) all dead or b) so convinced of our resolve that they decide to go attack some country that has no spine and who wants to appease more than resist.

I have to admit that I am quite surprised to see a Brit who has so soon forgotten the lessons of the last 50 years. Is your attitude common in Britain these days? Where's the great Churchillian Spirit I saw as I grew up?