[Vision2020] Christ Church and freedom of religion

[Paul Rumelhart]

Many thanks to those who have posted in response to my questions.  I'm 
still trying to soak it all up.

I'd like to make a couple of points.  I have two fears that are vying 
for my attention and are conflicting with each other right now.  For 
one, I fear that Christ Church as a group will attempt to force members 
of the community to conform to their beliefs through changes in the law, 
undue influence in certain areas, or well-organized political tactics.  
Opposing that, I also fear that past conflict between members of the 
church and non-members is getting out of control and creating a 
situation where this group is being unduly ostracized based on their 
beliefs.

I fear the first because I am not a member and my beliefs are so 
different from theirs that such a society as the one they would want to 
put in place would be a hardship for me.

I fear the second because I treasure the concept of freedom of religion 
and can't stand to see any one group singled out amongst all the others 
if it's only theology or personal conflict that is causing the strife.

Some of the points made about the perfect world that this church would 
like to create frighten me.  Because my theology differs on some really 
major points with theirs, I would expect to be treated unkindly in this 
new society.  On the other hand, the members of the church appear to 
hold the idea of Free Will in high regard and are reasonably horrified 
at the idea of a forced conversion to their faith.  Which calms my fears 
somewhat.

Is this church actively trying to change law or procedure here in Moscow 
in an effort to bring this about?  I don't know enough about our zoning 
procedures, for example, to know if the church was given undue favor 
when NSA was allowed downtown.  If this church is being favored over 
others, then I would have reason to object.  Likewise if members of the 
community were trying to use the same kinds of methods to stifle this 
one church over other religious organizations, I would also object to that.

Anyway, thanks again.  I'm learning more as we go along.

Paul