Um. Well, speaking as a non-Christian and non-Muslim, I get a little put out by being expected to keep track of what constitutes "real" Christianity or Islam. Not my religions, not my job.
When a Christian insists his religion mandated that he spray my gynecologist's office with automatic weapons fire -- this is not a hypothetical -- murdering several people, and his claim to Christianity is basically credible, that does indeed get averaged into my understanding of Christianity. If there is one instance of it, it's washed out as anomalies are. If there's lots of instances of it, it suggests there's something going on there attached to the commonality between them.
The Bush administration does, in fact, represent one sort of Christianity; one that is reasonably (and unfortunately IMHO) common. I'd really rather your personal take on Christianity be considered authorative, but they haven't voted you pope yet. :) So, from my point of view -- which is a decidedly non-theological one -- neither you nor Al is credible to claim "No, no, no, what they're doing and saying isn't real Christianity, what I'm doing is Christianity".
(no subject)
When a Christian insists his religion mandated that he spray my gynecologist's office with automatic weapons fire -- this is not a hypothetical -- murdering several people, and his claim to Christianity is basically credible, that does indeed get averaged into my understanding of Christianity. If there is one instance of it, it's washed out as anomalies are. If there's lots of instances of it, it suggests there's something going on there attached to the commonality between them.
The Bush administration does, in fact, represent one sort of Christianity; one that is reasonably (and unfortunately IMHO) common. I'd really rather your personal take on Christianity be considered authorative, but they haven't voted you pope yet. :) So, from my point of view -- which is a decidedly non-theological one -- neither you nor Al is credible to claim "No, no, no, what they're doing and saying isn't real Christianity, what I'm doing is Christianity".