[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Dreamer128: quote: Originally posted by Chewbacca: On another note I think this topic might be in violation of the religious discussion ban so I will refrain from further comment until this is determined.

Well, the topic certainly wasn't meant as a religious debate. If this is a violation of the ban, though, I apoligize [img]smile.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]As mentioned in a thread in G.D., the biggest concern over religious discussions is that they often break down into an "us vs them" argument rather than remaining an intellectual debate.

This is an interesting topic. It may be pushing the edge of the moratorium, but it is also an opportunity for the members here to show the Mods that they are mature enough to discuss a subject with religious content without feeling the need to attack or ridicule those with an opposing view.

It won't get the moratorium lifted by any means, but it might go a long way towards showing that issues like this can be discussed on an intellectual basis instead of an emotional one.

As for my own opinion regarding Gov. Jeb Bush's initiative in establishing a "faith based prison" - I think the concept is interesting, but I'm not sure if it will truly produce the results he is hoping for.....less repeat offenders. Still, he seems to have gone about it in a very fair and even-handed method - allowing the prisoners to practice their personally chosen religions openly rather than trying to establish Christianity as the accepted religion. I also thought it was wise to allow any prisoners who objected to the faith-based concept to transfer out of the facility before the change took place.

As for his comment at the end about prisoners reflecting on the love of Jesus Christ - I would expect him to say something along those lines, since his chosen religion is Christianity. But it does give reason for the federal gov't to "monitor" the program and make sure that ALL religions are allowed equally, rather than one religion being "promoted" over the others.

In regards to the A.C.L.U. waiting to decide if they will file a lawsuit or not - that highlights one of the biggest flaws in thier organization. All of the prisoners at Lawtey chose to stay there, so there rights are not being violated. They were given the opportunity to transfer if they wanted to. Those that are there now obviously wanted to stay at that facility, so I don't see that the A.C.L.U. has any reason to come in and file a lawsuit on their behalf. But in doing stuff like this - going in and filing lawsuits they claim are based on discrimination, the A.C.L.U. actually ends up creating more racial tensions than resolving them. Don't get me wrong, there are times when a person's rights have been violated and the A.C.L.U. is a staunch ally for them, but there are also plenty of times when the action(s) taken have nothing to do with race or any other discriminatory factor, but the A.C.L.U. comes in and files a frivolous lawsuit anyway. By doing this, they just increase (or at least perpetuate) any racial or discriminatory tensions that already existed.