Reply #6: Did you happen to see any of Christiane Amanpour's

[JerseygirlCT]

God's Warriors a couple of weeks ago?

Yes, they exist. And they're every bit as ugly and destructive as their analogs in any other religion. If there are fewer, it's probably due to the fewer number of Jews in the world. Proportionately, they're well-represented, I'm afraid.

We hear a great deal about the Christian nuts because we live in a country that is predominantly Christian. Likewise, we hear about the Islamic nuts a great deal because it's in the news. And because it serves the needs of the Bush administration to make the entire Muslim world look like nuts and terrorists. (Except of course the blessed Saudi regime, which is actually full to the brim with nuts, but we've decided apparently that they're "our" nuts).

Absolutism isn't limited to any one religion. I fear it's a human condition, and can be expressed through religion, but I don't think that's where it starts.