Religious Wars

[Lightning Rod]

As is my habit, I was watching the Sunday morning news shows. Both ABC and NBC featured sections where panelists discussed religion and politics. Each show featured a four stuffed shirt panel of borderline theorcrats. There was of course Jerry Falwell, the god, if you will, of mixing politics and religion. And there was James Dobson, and the self-righteous little creep was wearing too much makeup. Both panels had their token black minister. This gave them the chance to invoke Martin Luther King. My favorite was Al Sharpton, whose politics are entertaining, plus he does a mean James Brown imitation.

But it struck me that the two major weekly news programs, you know these guys who are supposed to have their fingers on the pulse of America, would both see fit to assemble a bunch of self-important blowhards to talk about 'Moral Values.' It was a veritable carnival of piety.

The Ukraine is about to erupt in civil war. And when those folks over there get it on, they really get it on. In the Middle Ages there was a war in that region in which tens of thousands were killed. The war was fought over the dispute of whether it was proper to cross yourself in prayer with two or three fingers. It was a battle between Christian sects, the Greek and the Russian Orthodox. That was the featured reason for the killing, but it was also about whether that rich and transitional region was to be dominated by the Russians or the Europeans.

But religious wars are ever so much more fun than mere wars for politics or territory. They excite sanguinary passion and fervor. People are much more willing to die for religion than for money or power. Witness Jonestown and 9/11.

Europe went through centuries of religious war, not counting the Crusades. Religious wars are brilliantly bloody and usually delightfully pointless. It's what makes them so much fun. Just like the Sunday show today.

[knip]

This goes to what was said in Cecil's Sunday Stream that people just want to kill. If one looks at the countless wars that were not caused by religious factors, one can see there are many more reasons to go to war.

I took a Cause of War class a few years ago - the numbers of causes the academics preach are impressive, indeed. Not only that, they say there is rarely one sole cause for a war to start; wars normally start as a result of a combination of many factors. This either means they haven't nailed the true cause down yet, or that people will go to war quite willingly and for many reasons. I think the latter is likely true.

Religion ain't got no monopoly on the beast, you know.

[izeveryboyin]

I caught that show, actually. Sharpton was being morally cut down, fuck me. His "liberal views" (those damned pro-choice advocaters again) were being bitten at by hotshots in stuffed up shirts and too much make-down *wink* and by his own source of guidance.. The bible. Human enrage as home entertainment, man, I fuckin love it. I also inherited the CNN news blues from my grandpap, who watches every news channel there is religiously *winks twice* and so when I saw that little number on a gruesome Sunday, dude, I just couldn't resist. Heil heil religious introduction into the government of America.
**right hand to Gawd** I pledge allegiance to the fags of the United States of America and to the Republicans of whom we serve. One nation, indispensable, with taxation and poverty for all.

[mnaz]

Wars may be ostensibly started for "many reasons", but the root cause is generally some form of greed-based aggression; a thinly-veiled push to wrest control of resources and territory from others.

Religion may not often be the single cause of war, but it is very often exploited to provide a "righteous mission" for such destructive aggression, as are the various totalitarian philosophies of the day asserting forceful global reformation for "justice" or "stability" or "progress".

[jimboloco]

Well, our soldiers went off to war with a compulsion. Don't believe that they will question it now with too much invested in it, save for the minority of antiwar transformed who return walloped and mutated.
Most folk go off to war quite willingly, that is right Knip.
Of course the underlying reason is that the warmakers believe that there is more to be gained through war than there is by finding an alternative to it.
Here is one dude what got transmorgrafried, http://www.zaltho.org/founder/bio.htmla gunner on choppers, he wrote me that he was "sullied, violated"....Can you feel his pain?