Asymmetric Religion and Philosophy

I don't want to say things that you'll hear a million times so I'll be brief:

1. Besides Amanpour's constant, mild shock at anybody taking religion seriously enough to disrupt their fun and her persistent war-metaphors (their "home base" instead of "office" when referring to Christian-motivated political volun...sorry, I mean Christian political warriors), she did an OK job.

Follow up:

2. If Israel hadn't been attacked twice before and hadn't preemptively stopped a third, they wouldn't be occupying anything.

3. Anybody who hears somebody else talk about a religion different from theirs or the same one, but more enthusiastically, will find that person odd or weird. If I go to the teachers' lounge tomorrow and say, "I believe in a God and a Devil, that sex before marriage is a sin (I know-it's an example), and that I might go to a place called "Heaven" when I die," most of the people in the room would consider me a weirdo. They might believe the same thing, but it just sounds bizarre actually hearing it articulated in a non-religious setting.

4. A fanatic is anybody more religious than they are just like a "well off" person is somebody who earns one dollar more a year.

5. Conservative Christianity- to the extent it mixes politics- is a defensive movement. The only reason Christians get involved in politics is to preserve traditional standards in the country. Does anybody think Christians were bored one day and said, "let's make marriage a political issue?" No, people wanted change it- radically, by the way- and they didn't. Or would you like for them to just shut up?

6. If we didn't use Christianity as a moral guide, we'd use some other construct (non-divine) It so happens that secular Westerners, having grown up in a Christian society, believe similar things as Christians- except for the sex stuff. Coincidence? I don't think so. If they'd have grown up in Sparta, they'd think it OK to kill newborns. If in the Yucatan with the Mayans, they'd be digging into live human chests. If with cannibals, they'd have a quarter pound of human thigh with fries. Remember, any behavior standard is based on somebody's morality and every behavior can be rationalized. Do you think Nazis were just stupid? No, they reasoned from different premises and pursued different goals.

7. Ideally, nobody would fight over anything, but if people didn't fight over religion, they'd fight over something else- money, land, economic systems (all tried before). People just fight. Only religion, ambivalence, or self-concern moderates that desire.

8. People aren't usually fair to people with whom they have a fundamental disagreement. So, why would you expect Amanpour to make religious people look good? Fear? Well, that works too. But who's afraid of Christians and Orthodox Jews going to their house and killing them?