Oh great. Another hierarchy. /sarcasm

Yes, because we all know that the more religious you are, the less likely you are to justify violence against non-cult members.

The ability to rationalize and make excuses is a prerequisite to membership. Such denial is like accommodating an unexpected guest at a large family's Thanksgiving dinner. What's one more plate?

I think there will always be unscrupulous lying control freaks and people to follow them. Robert Heinlein said, "The world can be separated into two kinds of people, those who wish to be led, and those with no such desire". Matt Stone and Trey Parker said, "One out of every four people are retarded". (South Park, Mystery of the Urinal Deuce). Experience and half-assed statistical calculations seem to bear out both claims. The history of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and Scientology suggest that any internally consistent invention will attract followers. The inconsistent behavior of otherwise intelligent and scrupulous people suggest that there is a real understanding, but also a real fear that any alternative to organized religious indoctrination would be worse. Their behavior is motivated by the belief in conformity, and not more than an agnostic "belief" in the supernatural.

I'm of the opinion that the human race has been selectively bred by the historic succession of assholes-in-charge to fall into this herd behavior mind trap.

Some things never change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFvtoJrK1Zg

Frank Zappa, 1981. Relevant quote about 3 min in.

http://www.whydoesgodhateamputees.com/superstitio...

I repeat, if prayer had any efficacy, if there was One True Religion, such facts would create a statistical anomaly that would show up in actuarial tables. They don't.

Yes Viginaia, there is a god because any other answer is unacceptable to lots of frightened humans who will tear you to pieces, literally or figuratively, rather than accept the alternative.

If I want a nostalgia trip, I'm going to have to wait for someone to reinvent WorPerfect 5.1. Then I'll have to remember what Alt-F5 and Ctrl-F7 does. ;-)

It's a thorny problem. One can maintain the wrongness of the behavior but make no discernable progress against the tradional nature of its proliferation. When viewed from the perspective of "Sunday School", every traditional religion meets the criteria to be defined as a cult. Unfortunately, this is not perceived as being as wrong or dangerous as the institution of slavery or wife-beating. Sadly, many prefer to live in the fantasy land of religious belief to the uncertainty and less ornate (embellished) tapestry of physical and organic reality. For all of these reasons and more, those who suffer from this delusion and those who profit from this form of social control will fight for the "right" to bullshit their children in any way they see fit. It always and forever devolves into the false but convenient concept of ownership.

Did he steal that from Andy Schlafly's conservative Bible project?

Oh noes! Evil thetans blockin yr chi!

As Slim Pickens said in Blazing Saddles, "What will those assholes think of next?"

They are doing harm. They are eating, drinking, and breathing air that could be better distributed among the casualties and real rescue workers. While on the subject, I avoid the word, "victim(s)" because it implies two things: a sentient force to act as victimizer, and an object of pity. They are neighbors who need help, not poster children for every fund-raising organization with sticky fingers.