"I no longer want to live on this planet."

[Al B. Sure!]

Looks like the practice the Ascetic Virtues!

They're under the control of Chairman Yang!

I just watched the video for Ascetic Virtues... yeah the first picture is the the same group of dervishes at the same location as in the video from SMAC.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Osama Bin Laden was never a president!

Do I get a prize, or did someone get this before me?

you get a prize (free dinner), but you have to go to Croatia to collect

[Ben Kenobi]

One, this isn't going to happen.

Dearbornistan anyone? It is already happening.

Two, honestly, is anyone else seeing any reason why Ben wouldn't want to live in a country with Sharia? I mean aside from the different religion thing and maybe Ben is really into bacon, the moral rules are right up Ben's alley. I don't see why he wouldn't mind a system that does not allow abortions, gays, adultery, pre-marital sex, etc.

I'm not really into that whole 'decapitation of infidels.' I think people should be able to change their relgion without threat of execution. Religion isn't a matter of compulsion but of free will.

[Al B. Sure!]

I think people should be able to change their relgion without threat of execution. Religion isn't a matter of compulsion but of free will.

Did a Catholic really just say this?

[Ben Kenobi]

Indeed. I don't think anyone should become a Christian unless that is what they believe they ought to do.

[Al B. Sure!]

Indeed. I don't think anyone should become a Christian unless that is what they believe they ought to do.

The Church would have disagreed with you for centuries.

[Ben Kenobi]

Then you've quite misunderstood what she teaches.

[Asher]

Canadian loving Christians at work...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/residents-confront-church-group-shouting-outside-gay-couples-home/article1683855/

[Al B. Sure!]

Then you've quite misunderstood what she teaches.

The Crusades? Albigensian Crusade? Teutonic Knights? Reconquista? Inquisition? St. Batholomew's Day Massacre? The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on

[Ben Kenobi]

The Crusades?

Let's see. Muslims invade and conquer the Christians and the Christians fight back for centuries against the Muslims, and the Christians are to blame? I see how this works. Muslims 1.

Albigensian Crusade?

French King.

St. Batholomew's Day Massacre?

French King again.

Teutonic Knights?

Polish King, who requested the Knights to fight against the pagans who were raiding Poland.

Reconquista?

Muslims again. Re-conquest. Taking back what was yours.

Inquisition?

Spanish King.

Now, lets look at that list. The most recent of these ended in 1492. Do you really want me to dig up the list of Muslim atrocities in the last 500 years?

[Al B. Sure!]

When a crusader asked the Papal legate Arnaud Amalric how were the crusaders to distinguish between the heretics from the Catholics, the Papal legate responded, "Caedite eos! Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." ("Kill them all. For the Lord knoweth them that are His")

[Al B. Sure!]

Hey Ben, how come French, Polish, and Spanish kings get separated from the Catholic Church but Muslim sultans and emirs do not get separated from Islam?

[Boris Godunov]

Then you've quite misunderstood what she teaches.

Mmm-hmmm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_exstirpanda

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/***_nimis_absurdum

Spanish King.

Are you seriously suggesting that the Spanish Inquisition was the only Inquisition, or that any of the Inquisitions did not have at least tacit Papal approval?

There were Inquisitions all over Europe, and they all had Church backing, even if they weren't centralized in Rome. The Inquisitions relied on guidelines proscribed by the Holy See.

Or Rome did them directly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Inquisition

[Ben Kenobi]

"solus Deus numerum morientium vel pereuntium recognoscat"

[Ben Kenobi]

Hey Ben, how come French, Polish, and Spanish kings get separated from the Catholic Church but Muslim sultans and emirs do not get separated from Islam?

So you concede the point? I didn't know that the prophet was a simple sultan.