> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Charlie Bell > Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 2:14 AM > To: Killer Bs Discussion > Subject: Re: Great Sam Harris Interview > > > Socioeconomics or straight politics create the conditions in which > extremism can flourish, but the tools of that extremism, the suicide > bombers themselves, *are* religiously motivated. They are convinced > that they are doing god's work, and they are told by those who have > another agenda that killing Israelis or Americans or Brits or Sunnis > or each other is doing god's work.
God wants it has long been used as a means of promoting what is wrong, there is no doubt of that. I'd generalize this to include other causes/reasons greater than oneself. In particular "the economic rights of the workers" is also a strong motivation, being the excuse for the killing of tens of millions in both the Soviet Union and China. China, in particular, is a good example because there was a good deal of spontaneous self-righteousness involved with both the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. As a religious person, it is particularly galling when sacred text is twisted far from its original meaning in order to support evil. That is real blasphemy, not saying [EMAIL PROTECTED]&. I've seen the argument, not from you, that humans would be better off if there were no greater causes than one's own enlightened self interest. But, that would have stopped much of the good, as well as evil, that has been done by people. > There is plenty of terrorism in Zimbabwe, and for much the same > reasons. It's just that it's all internal (as it mostly is in the > Basque region or was in Britain and Ireland). I don't doubt that. There is horrible war in much of Africa...I know a former child soldier who goes to our church. The Sudan and Rwanda examples also come to mind. My point was that the rest of the world hasn't had to worry about this violence. There is minimal risk of the violence spreading to the US, UK, China, Russia, India, etc. because the lack of funding limited the scope of the terrorists, private armies, etc. That doesn't make the deaths any less horrific....but it makes them distant. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
