OK lets forget about so called Christian Countries.
Is there one Muslim Country anybody want to move to, raise a family in, hit a sports bar etc.?
Is there?

(01-05-2010 07:26 PM)I45owl Wrote:  There are no modern Christian Theocracies (outside of the Vatican). Rebel's litmus test is maybe a bit over the top - there is still 1990s Serbia and most of South America in the late 1900s (Argentina, Chile, etc, which definitely would be oppressive). It is disingenuous to claim that the Christianity of a nation precludes it from being oppressive - I suspect there is only one poster here that would make that argument.

Not once did "Rebel" mention anything about a Christian Theocracy. "Rebel" mentioned "majority Christian countries".

BTW, I, for one, would not WANT to live in a Christian theocracy because it probably wouldn't be "my" style of Christianity. I'm not all into religion. I am, however, a Christian.

Maybe I read through that part of the thread too quickly, in which case I was wrong.

I initially, and mistakingly, thought the focus was on countries where the majority population's religion had a strong, direct influence on the fundamental rule of its government. There is a strong correlation between Islamist dogma and Ahmadinejihad's rise to power. There is no correlation between Chavez and the country's Christianity, who instead rode to power on class warfare and 'blame-America'.

Obviously we have Christian-influenced governments in the West --- Christmas is a federal holiday, in some areas you can't sell liquor on Sundays, our coins say In God We Trust, Presidents make reference to God in speeches, etc. But, with the exception of the Vatican as someone said, there are few (if any) countries outside of several Muslim ones where there is literally no barrier between religion and state.

(01-05-2010 07:40 PM)Rebel Wrote:  

(01-05-2010 07:26 PM)I45owl Wrote:  There are no modern Christian Theocracies (outside of the Vatican). Rebel's litmus test is maybe a bit over the top - there is still 1990s Serbia and most of South America in the late 1900s (Argentina, Chile, etc, which definitely would be oppressive). It is disingenuous to claim that the Christianity of a nation precludes it from being oppressive - I suspect there is only one poster here that would make that argument.

Not once did "Rebel" mention anything about a Christian Theocracy. "Rebel" mentioned "majority Christian countries".

There's a reason that I responded to the poster that did mention Christian Theocracies and not to you. And, for the record, you're not the poster that I alluded to. Bronco went down that road on his own.

We may be hard pressed to name majority Christian countries that are currently oppressive, but it is partly an accident of history and partly growing humanist influence over those countries that has reduced their number. "Over the top" may be overstating my point a bit myself, but what I meant is that it's a bit much to say that Christian nations cannot be oppressive just because they are Christian. History doesn't support that. What it does support is your larger point that Islam does reign supreme among religions that have been trending toward increasing intolerance and violence in modern times.

(01-05-2010 07:34 PM)jh Wrote:  Not once did I say that any of the nations on my list were Christian theocracies (as far as I know there aren't any Christian theocracies left, except maybe the Vatican City). Rebel asked for majority Christian nations with oppressive governments. That's about the population, not the government, My list was a small sample of the available nations where the majority of the population is Christian and the government is considered oppressive.

So you changed the definition in order to make your point.

Not really surprising.

(01-05-2010 08:20 PM)I45owl Wrote:  We may be hard pressed to name majority Christian countries that are currently oppressive, but it is partly an accident of history and partly growing humanist influence over those countries that has reduced their number.

Your understanding of history is lacking.

(01-05-2010 07:40 PM)Rebel Wrote:  Not once did "Rebel" mention anything about a Christian Theocracy. "Rebel" mentioned "majority Christian countries".

That being the case, Cuba immediately comes to my mind as the most oppressive country today where the majority of the population would identify themselves as Christian.

(01-05-2010 09:17 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(01-05-2010 07:34 PM)jh Wrote:  Not once did I say that any of the nations on my list were Christian theocracies (as far as I know there aren't any Christian theocracies left, except maybe the Vatican City). Rebel asked for majority Christian nations with oppressive governments. That's about the population, not the government, My list was a small sample of the available nations where the majority of the population is Christian and the government is considered oppressive.

So you changed the definition in order to make your point.

Not really surprising.

You make me laugh. I'd ask what the hell you are talking about but really, I just don't care.

(01-05-2010 03:11 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  Are there any Muslim countries that anybody would prefer to live in, raise a family in vs. so called Christian nations? FWIW Christians have been run out of virtually every nation where the Muslim population reaches over 50%. Christians used to live in Muslim middle east countries. Sharia Law dominates these countries. Diversity does not exist.

I belive in general your statement holds a lot of truth. But my personal experience has proven an exception, which is always the danger when you make blanket statements on a message board (not snark.)

Indonesia is an exception to your notes. And it is the world's largest Muslim country.

Maybe I can't answer your question specifically because how can you measure what people prefer when raising a family? Maybe your Christianity is simply a prayer at night and reading the Bible? If so, you can live anywhere on earth and raise a family. If you are looking to raise your family as missionaries and proselytize your good book across the Saudi desert, you are in for trouble.

I've lived as an expat in a Muslim country, and lived very well with no concern as it applies to Muslims vs. West. I would rather live in predominately Indonesia again than live in predominately Christian Mexico. I'd rather live in Muslim Brunei than live in Christian Armenia. But then again, I'd rather live in the Christian USA than in Muslim Nigeria. Different strokes for differnt folks.....

You can live a nice Christian life in predominantly Muslim Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and Brunei. You can probably live a nice but lower key Christian life in any African Muslim nation, and even a very low key, inside your house on the compound protected by armed guards Christian life in some Middle Eastern countries.

Yes there are examples of anti-Christian / religious minority repression and violence in these countries (maybe not Brunei) but all in all, you are free to worship and raise your family as you like. There are no bands of roving Islamic mullah Vice and Virtue squads in most Islamic countries keeping you from Church on Sunday followed by watching a soccer match at a local watering hole, probably with a cold local beer.

Crime, fraud etc is another topic, but certainly applies across all countries - the worst time I was every scammed was by an Italian taxi driver in Rome within sight of St. Peter's Square, and I certainly don't H8T XTIANS.

To be clear, I certainly don't equate living as an expat the same as trying to live as a regular Joe religious minority in a Muslim country.

^ Very good post, but just a minor quibble: Albania is majority Muslim.

(01-06-2010 12:58 PM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  ^ Very good post, but just a minor quibble: Albania is majority Muslim.

Thanks - Armenia, not Albania. FIX ED.

And the results are, (How about those Muslim Countries?)
The Quality of Life Index, published by International Living magazine for the 30th year, says the French live life to the full, while Britons are over-worked. Even former communist countries where unemployment is still rife are considered better places to settle down in than Britain, with Lithuania and the Czech Republic coming in at 22nd and 24th place respectively.

The magazine says the French enjoy everything from Riviera beaches and Alpine ski resorts to what it describes as 'the best health service in the world'. Variety is also seen as a major factor in France's appeal, with the survey noting: 'Romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don't fall away in Alsace's wine villages, in wild and lovely Corsica, in lavender-scented Provence. Or in the Languedoc of the troubadors, bathed in Mediterranean sunlight.'

Britain does not top a single category in the survey, which is compiled using official government statistics, data from the World Health Organisation and the views of the magazine's editors around the globe.

The U.S. fell from third to seventh place because of the economic crisis last year. A magazine spokesman said: 'Sustaining the American Dream has escalated out of the reach of many.'

Germany is widely praised for its efficiency and leisure facilities, with the magazine noting that 'the Harz Mountains now has a specialist hiking trail for nudists. Germany is arguably the world's most naturist-friendly country'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew...z0btRlL7PI

Andorra? Isn't that where Ewoks come from?