Sorry, I am not going to address what I take to be the main point of this article, which I could care less about (Mel Gibson's career).

The problem of war does not originate with Jews. Or Catholics. Or Muslims. It originates with all religion. Wars are principally started over territory or religion.

Think of how much better life on Earth would be without religion. No, really. Don't dismiss it. Think about it for a second.

All religions, in fact, all "belief systems" that don't have a basis in science (by which I mean controlled experiments) are worthless. They are also usually debunked by a child's logic. This means you, Mel Gibson. You too, psychics and astrologers. And Wiccans. And Christians. And Muslims. And Buddhists. And, yes, Jews.

Anyone who wants to prove that their religion is the "right" one, feel free to email me. I'd love to be convinced and hear your "evidence".

Anyone who wants to prove that their religion is the "right" one, feel free to email me. I'd love to be convinced and hear your "evidence".

Boy, Charlie, you got too much time on your hands!

The only problem I have with Mel is he said he's sorry. Sorry for what? That you got caught saying stupid shit? That people found out your an anti-semite? That your a drunk?

Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you hate Jews, say so and be proud. If you hate blacks, say so and be proud. If you hate white people, say so and be proud. Don't say your sorry after you get caught with your hand in the jar and backpedal. Be proud to be fuckin nuts and move on with your life.

If Bill Clinton had only said, "Yeah, I screwed Monica and had a great time, so what?" he'd have looked a lot more like a man to me now instead of the weak pussy I see him as.

Tell the truth.

From reading his columns I get the impression Cary has said and done some mighty offensive things when he was drinking.

I would like to read something from him regarding to what extent we should take seriously the kinds of things people say after they've been drinking hard liquor straight from the bottle.

Sometimes I think the real reason why alcohol is legal and freely available while sick people have to get down on their knees and beg for marijuana is because alcohol makes people so belligerant and difficult to control.

Alcohol prohibition was a nightmare to enforce. The potheads go quietly. Maybe that's where they're going wrong.

Maybe if pot made people urinate on jail cell walls and call policewomen "sugar tits" then it, too, would become legal.

A lot of what Neal Gabler writes is correct. It's what he does with it that is questionable. He says that "While it's true that some evangelical leaders have become vocal supporters of Israel, it's because the return of Jews to a Jewish homeland fulfills the prophecies of the Book of Revelation," which is true enough, but then he goes on to quietly drop the adjective "evangelical" and refer to "Christians" and "Christianity," vilifying all with the same taint. There are literally thousands of Christian sects (euphemistically called "denominations") and the more important of them--Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, etc.--do NOT believe or teach this doctrine. But if you knew nothing about theology, like Neal, you would assume that all Christians think such weird things. That is NOT true.

You think evangelical beliefs are wacky, how about Neal's crazed pop-psychology analysis that Mel is a Messianic figure in all his movies? Or that only the Right foments hatred in this country; don't his Leftie friends send him those childish emails with GWB pictured as the tail of a donkey?

I deplore Mel Gibson's drunken remarks and I think they very likely reveal feelings that he harbors just under the surface. But paradox is common among creative types. Maybe he has not previously sorted out the conflicts between his intellectual beliefs and his reptile brain. I can't read his mind, but I'm delighted that he has at last had, shall we say, the fear of God knocked into him. He sees that anti-Semitism is not good for him. Whatever his motive, I'm glad he is apologizing so vigorously, and Neal should be too, instead of using this incident to make hay against the Right again. Maybe Mel's apology is self-serving, but in time he may learn something and wise up. For that we should be grateful.

Now you people have worked my last nerve. How, pray tell, is a progressive Christian supposed to get the evangelicals of the world to shut up? Write letters to whom? How would I get my progressive self on television to debate what is or is not Christian?

What forum, other than our churches and websites do we have?

All that the average person can do is denounce the haters and fundies as an individual to anyone who is interested. However, most people are not really that interested in discussing theology, so we just keep our religious views to ourselves, (besides we wouldn't want you to mistake our intentions and think we're proselytizing!)

Believe it or not (and evidently many posters haven't spent much time in a church) in progressive pulpits, our pastors ARE denouncing the fundies, they ARE speaking out against anti-Semitism, racism, social unjustice. They have apologized for the past sins of the church, and in many churches, there are prayers of confession to address these wrongs.

They are also the ones you see getting arrested at antiwar marches, or immigrant rights; setting up interfaith prayer gatherings between Christians, Muslims and Jews to discuss the Middle East and find peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.

The Bible is just a book. For those of you who haven't read the New Testament, Christ tells us "hateful" things like: Love our enemies and feed the poor. He shows us the way to be a good person.

If we as Christians get nothing else from the New Testament, we should get this...a quote from the book of Matthew:

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love he Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

AND THAT'S IT...!

ALL THE REST IS B.S. and manipulated by human motivations.

Go ahead... have at it. The last word will be yours.