<anecdotalEvidence> The father of a friend of mine was a chemical engineer who had been an evangelical preacher for a while. He accepted evolutionary biology and did not think it was un- or anti-Christian, although he guarded about the subject. In principle he was quite anti-homosexual and could say some pretty horrible things; but through his kids knew more than a few out gays and lesbians, and accepted and liked them. As far as I know, he never witnessed to them, or tried to give them a talk about changing their ways...but he probably prayed for them. </anecdotalEvidence>
There are likely many people like him. What matters here is this: how do such people act politically? I'm fairly certain my friend's father was (he passed away a few years ago) a "knuckle-dragger" in the election booth and gave $$ to reactionary and retrograde Xtian groups.
FWIW, Curtiss
> Isn't this a comfy stereotype for lefties? Apart from the
> brimstone crowd -- always delirious -- I've noticed in my
> travels extended tolerance toward Muslims, Buddhists,
> What-Have-You-ists from Christians and Jews (and most
> Buddhists I've known were/are Jewish). The country is a
> bit more fluid and complicated than is sometimes represented
> here, where, if you took some posters' words seriously, you'd
> think we were under a Christian Nazi boot with barely enough
> room to breathe much less speak. For every knuckle-dragger,
> I'm willing to wager that there are 10 sensible people of faith.