Lee, I disagree with your thought on not discussing other spiritual viewpoints in high school. I always felt stagnated in high school by the lack of understanding of other religions. I also felt repressed by the Catholic Church and thier traditional beliefs for years. Deep down inside of me, I felt there had to be something more to God than going through the motions of sitting, standing, kneeling and the repetitiveness of the Mass. I felt there had to be more to worshipping God. I was also always very interested in the Bible...and until the charismatic movement began in the Catholic Church, the Bible was never really encouraged to be studied and learned. I longed to follow a religon that studied and applied the teachings of the Bible. I would have loved to be able to study other religious beliefs in high school.

Over the past 20+ years I have done my share of studying different religions and their beliefs. There is one fundamental concept I have found through all religons...they are just that. Religious doctrine which is developed by man who is "supposedly" inspired of God. One person who feels that they have had a "divine word" from God can influence millions of people. Ghandi was one. Buddha, Hitler and Jim Jones others. Hitler did not believe in God, but he did believe and use Kabbala which is a form of Jewish mysticism.

Actually the world today has turned into a loveless and hostile one. From the music to TV to films to the human race having become a "throw away" society. When it's broke...don't fix it...throw it away and get a new one.

What a sad world we have become. But there is hope. Through prayer, trust, and faith in God we can change the way the world has gone.

God is faithful. He does not punish, but He does judge. The extremenist viewpoints will be judged. In the end they will die out, come back and die out again. Those viewpoints don't carry the same balanced consistency of the Word of God. From my own personal expereice nothing is better than the Word of God.

I'm coming off my soapbox now...