The Nihilists -- Religious and Political

Some time in the future I want to do a detailed study of the religious traditions out of which emerge periodically the blood thirsty distortions of Western religions and those shaped by them. There is brutal stuff in the 'scriptures' of our major Western religions and such is called forth to justify murder and wars by religious nihilists bent on destroying things and people. The story of Joshua -- probably a vast exaggeration -- is the model for ethnic cleansing. The Christians were split between the life supporters -- Jesus and those who appealed to the sense of justice embodied in the Hebrew prophetic literature versus the death worshipers -- see the Book of Revelation and much of St. Paul which wallowed in an apocalyptic hope for the imminent destruction of the world -- and all who had not converted in time to their version of Christianity:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation

These two visions are incompatible and the latter has done irreparable harm to humans over the millennia. Most of our political destroyers, if not explicitly appealing to their religions, have been shaped by them. I am not knowledgeable about Islam and so offer no citations there. Ed Kent]
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"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
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Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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