"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
G.R. Patterson III wrote:


Jay Honeck wrote:

Murder is not generally considered a religious trait.


That's only because religious people don't regard it as murder if they
kill
someone who doesn't belong to their faith. More people have been killed
over
religion than anything else.

Where is your data? I think far more have been killed over greed than
religion. Unfortunately, my data is about as good as yours. :-)


Matt

I think you have a point there, Matt. Religion, to quote Stendhal, is
founded on the fears of the many and the cleverness of the few. The greedy
few have slyly used religion to mobilize the masses to do their bidding over
the centuries. Kings, prelates, despots, corporate executives, charismatic
ministers, governors, even elected presidents have found religion useful in
their hunger for wealth and power.

The Bible's justification of slavery -- e. g., the story of Ham in the Old
Testament and Paul's and Timothy's letters in the New --- was quite helpful
for the Conquistadors, the Pilgrims, Tidewater Aristocrats, and the Southern
Planters when they settled the New World.