Wow, you know when an article starts with the words “Religion is the root of much evil” you’re in for an interesting ride. Among the many points that are made, I particularly liked this one :

We have a praying president convinced that he is plugged in to the will of God, and his conviction is leading the United States to holy war, first in Iraq and later . . . wherever his prayers might take us. The Muslim world is right: George W. Bush is on a Crusade. He believes that God is on his side, just as Osama bin Laden believes that God is on his side, and the PLO thinks God is on their side, and the Irish Republican Army is certain God is on their side. The list of those who have made war in the name of their god is too long even to start here.

Today is a good day to say it because Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is convinced, as he said last week, that the United States is a country with God?s special blessing, and Attorney General John Ashcroft thinks his views on abortion and the Bill of Rights come straight from the mind of his right-wing Christian god.

Our leaders say they want to make the world safe for secular democracy. I wish they meant it. But I?m afraid that what they really mean is that they want to make a world receptive to their Western god.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with most religious people, but there does seem to be a certain level of religious fanatacism that results in powerful people believing they’re ordained by God. That’s always a dangerous thing. When someone believes God is on their side, they’re are they ever willing to comprimise? For fanatics from Bush to Bin Laden, comprimising with people you disagree with means undermining the will of God.