Moses' ARTICLES OF WAR

Lev. 26:13-39
Num. 33:50-56
Deut. 6:10-15
Deut. 7:1-5
Deut. 20
Deut. 28:1-6
Deut. 28:15-68
The Roots Of War

Hitler's Mein Kampf

Hitler's crimes have been broadcast ad nauseam by the holocaust industry; there is no need to introduce him. Early in his career, in 1924, as a result of an uprising he instigated, Hitler went to jail for thirteen months. It was then when he wrote his prophetic book entitled, "Mein Kampf," meaning my struggle. Some of his insights are worth comparing.

According to conventional wisdom, Hitler was responsible for the death of 6 million Jews and 15 million non-Jews. That logic is entirely wrong. The responsibility belongs to the fools who believed him. By himself, he may not have killed anybody. What he had going for him was hard earned experience at influencing crowds.

What caught my attention in Hitler's book, "Mein Kampf," is where he explains the power of the spoken word over the written word. His remarks apply equally as well to any mass movement. He explains why so few read the Bible. And why the overwhelming mass of followers get their beliefs from the pulpit and the podium. In his own words he shows contempt for those who believed in him.

The masses love a commander more than a petitioner and feel inwardly more satisfied by a doctrine, tolerating no other beside itself, than by the granting of liberalistic freedom with which, as a rule, they can do little and are prone to feel that they have been abandoned. They are equally unaware of their shameless spiritual terrorization and the hideous abuse of their human freedom, for they absolutely fail to suspect the inner insanity of the whole doctrine. (p. 42)

All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Consequently, the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be. (p. 180)

The art of propaganda lies in understanding the emotional ideas of the great masses and finding, through a psychologically correct form, the way to the attention and thence to the heart of the broad masses. (p. 180)

All great world shaking events have been brought about, not by written matter, but by the spoken word. (p. 469)

There is the fact that the mass of people as such is lazy; that they remain inertly in the spirit of their old habits and, left to themselves, will take up a piece of written matter only reluctantly if it is not in agreement with what they themselves believe and does not bring them what they had hoped for.
(p. 471)

It's not as much as the leadership that causes so much trouble, it's the willingness of so many individuals to be persuaded for immoral reasons. It's what is known as faith in any form of authority.

Hitler was not an atheist Hitler's religious background trained him to hate Jews;

Moses' Articles Of War

Despots do not concern themselves with being loved; they want to be believed and feared. Hitler had his Gestapo; Moses had his God. We can be sure that when bad things happened, Moses would blame his people. When events were going well, it was because they were obedient. With perfect hindsight, there was no way he could be wrong.

When there were minor rebellions, he had loyal followers to act as God's executioners. In modern times we should ponder the motivation of soldiers who marched into certain death. It takes unusual powers of persuasion to get a man to give up his life. Moses and Hitler, to name two, had that talent.

Moses had another talent for intimidation. As a prophet, he could make outrageous threats of future events. Who would dare risk punishment from God's executioner? The Israelites had more fear from Moses then they had from his adversaries.

What is most bizarre about this form of capital punishment, which carries through the Old Testament. Whenever the Jews were defeated by a stronger force, the Prophets blamed their lack of obedience. Looking at from the opposite side, it also means that God would reward their enemies. It comes out that their enemies got the better of the deal. It didn't pay to believe in God. He couldn't be satisfied.

Leviticus 26:13-39

In Leviticus 26 there is some of the most terrorizing language you could ever imagine. It even speaks of parents forced to eat their children. All these threats are credited to Moses for his role as the voice of God.

They owe him because he freed them from slavery in Egypt. But as we have seen, they were better off in Egypt.

¹³I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

But if they spurn his statues, abhor his ordinances, disobey his commandments and break his covenant.

¹⁴"But if you will not hearken to me, and will not do all these commandments,
¹⁵if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant,

He will terrorize them with consumption and fever that will waste their eyes and cause their life to slip away. They shall sow their seeds in vain, for their enemies shall eat it.

¹⁶I will do this to you: I will appoint over you sudden terror, consumption and fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it;

God will set his face against them, and they shall be beaten in front of their enemies. Those who hate them shall be their rulers, and they shall flee in fear when no one is pursuing them.

¹⁷I will set my face against you, and you shall be smitten before your enemies; those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you.

And if this punishment does change their minds, he will punish them seven times over for their sins.

¹⁸And if in spite of this you will not hearken to me, then I will chastise you again sevenfold for your sins,

He will break the pride of their power, and make their heavens like iron and their earth like brass. Their strength shall be spent in vain, for their land shall not produce crops, and their trees shall not yield their fruit.

¹⁹and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like brass;
²⁰and your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

If they still don't obey him, he will bring more plagues on them, sevenfold for each sin.

²¹"Then if you walk contrary to me, and will not hearken to me, I will bring more plagues upon you, sevenfold as many as your sins.

He will let loose wild beasts against them, who shall rob them of their children, and destroy their cattle. The beasts shall make them few in number, and their ways shall become desolate.

²²And I will let loose the wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number, so that your ways shall become desolate.

After this, if they still do not return to them, but remain contrary. He will walk contrary to them and attack them sevenfold for their sins.

²³"And if by this discipline you are not turned to me, but walk contrary to me,
²⁴then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will smite you sevenfold for your sins.

He will bring a sword upon them that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. If they go into their cities he will send pestilence among them, and they shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

²⁵And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant; and if you gather within your cities I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

When he breaks their dependency on bread, they can eat as much as they like, but they will never be satisfied.

²⁶When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and shall deliver your bread again by weight; and you shall eat, and not be satisfied.

But if they do not return to him and remain contrary. In fury, he will beat them himself sevenfold for their sins.

²⁷"And if in spite of this you will not hearken to me, but walk contrary to me,
²⁸then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and chastise you myself sevenfold for your sins.

He will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters.

²⁹You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.

He will destroy the temples where they worship other gods, and cast their dead bodies upon the dead bodies of their idols.

³⁰And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you.

He will lay their cities to waste, and will make their sanctuaries desolate with unpleasant odors.

³¹And I will lay your cities waste, and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors.

He will devastate their land so badly, that their enemies who settle in it shall be astonished at it.

³²And I will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be astonished at it.

He will scatter them among the nations, and will unsheathe the sword after them. Their land shall made to rest in desolation and their cities shall be a waste.

³³And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

Their land shall rest when it is desolate, while they are in their enemies land.

³⁴"Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its sabbaths.
³⁵As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest which it had not in your sabbaths when you dwelt upon it.

As for those who are left, he will send faintness into their hearts when they are in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a fallen leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues.

³⁶And as for those of you that are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues.

They shall stumble over one another as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. They shall have no power to stand before their enemies.

³⁷They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

And they shall perish among the nations, and the land of their enemies shall eat them up.

³⁸And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

And whoever is left shall pine away in their enemies' lands because of their iniquity; and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall pine away like them.

³⁹And those of you that are left shall pine away in your enemies' lands because of their iniquity; and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall pine away like them.

Numbers 33:50-56

There is more of this hateful harangue in Numbers 33:50-56: Drive out all the inhabitants of the land from being attacked. Destroy all their figured stones. Destroy all their molten images. Demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for God has given the land to Jews to possess.

But if they do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before them, then the survivors shall be as pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides, and they shall cause trouble wherever the Jews dwell. God will do to the Jews as he told them to do to their enemies.

⁵⁰And the LORD said to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho,
⁵¹"Say to the people of Israel, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
⁵²then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places;
⁵³and you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.
⁵⁴You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.
⁵⁵But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
⁵⁶And I will do to you as I thought to do to them." (Num. 33:50-56)

When one nation commits war against another, it has three objectives: plunder, destruction and murder. A charismatic leader has to justify those means to his followers. To do that he has to excite their basest passions.

There was envy: The Canaanites were the haves; the Hebrews were the have-nots.

There was greed: God promised them an inheritance that belonged to them, not the Canaanites.

He taught hate: The pagans, by worshipping other gods, were committing sins against Yahweh-Hitler taught that Jews were the cause of German poverty.

There was pride: Like Hitler taught Aryans they were a superior race; Moses taught that Jews were God's chosen.

The Hebrews learned to hate Canaanites the way Germans learned to hate Jews.

Deuteronomy 6:10-15

In Deuteronomy 6:10-15, Moses told the people that God is giving them a land with fine large cities, houses filled with all sorts of goods, fine pottery, and vineyards and olive groves. It is there for the taking. And when they have eaten their fill, do not forget what God did for them. At the same time, he taught fear if they do not cooperate.

¹⁰"And when the LORD your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, with great and goodly cities, which you did not build,
¹¹and houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out, which you did not hew, and vineyards and olive trees, which you did not plant, and when you eat and are full,
¹²then take heed lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
¹³You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve him, and swear by his name.
¹⁴You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are round about you;
¹⁵for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. (Deut. 6:10-12)

Deuteronomy 7:1-5

The Israelites would not risk their lives if they did not feel God was on their side. So Moses told his followers that though they would be up against stronger nations, God would be on their side to assure them victory.

Utterly destroy them, he said. Make no covenant, show them no mercy and do not intermarry. Leave no chance that they can turn you away from God. Break down their altars, dash their pillars into pieces, cut down their Asherim [wooden idols], and burn their graven images with fire.

But if they turn away, God's anger will be kindled against them, and he will destroy them quickly.

¹"When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than yourselves,
²and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them; then you must utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them, and show no mercy to them.
³You shall not make marriages with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons.
⁴For they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.
⁵But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. (Deut 7:1-5)

Deuteronomy 20

There is more of this fiery language in Deuteronomy 20. I'll summarize it.

Moses sternly told his followers: For cities not part of your inheritance, if they surrender without battle, the dwellers shall be conscripted into slavery. But if they defend themselves, all males shall be put to the sword. Women, children, cattle and possessions, may be taken as booty.

But if a city is part of your inheritance, you shall leave nothing alive that breathes. You shall utterly destroy the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. This way they cannot teach you their abominable practices which they have done in the service of their gods, and so to sin against the LORD your God.

¹"When you go forth to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
²And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people,
³and shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, you draw near this day to battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; do not fear, or tremble, or be in dread of them;
⁴for the LORD your God is he that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.'
⁵Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, 'What man is there that has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.
⁶And what man is there that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit.
⁷And what man is there that has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.'
⁸And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, 'What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest the heart of his fellows melt as his heart.'
⁹And when the officers have make an end of speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.
¹⁰"When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it.

¹¹And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.
¹²But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it;
¹³and when the LORD your God gives it into your hand you shall put all its males to the sword,
¹⁴but the women and the little ones, the cattle, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourselves; and you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God has given you.
¹⁵Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here.
¹⁶But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes,
¹⁷but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded;
¹⁸that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices which they have done in the service of their gods, and so to sin against the LORD your God.
¹⁹"When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field men that they should be besieged by you?
²⁰Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

Deuteronomy 28:1-6

Over and over, Moses told the people that God will bless them if they followed his lead. This was how he justified the violence.

¹"And if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
²And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
³Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
⁴Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.
⁵Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
⁶Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. (Deut. 28:1-6)

Deuteronomy 28:15-68

If you think you've seen the worst of it, you haven't. Deuteronomy 28:15-68, contains the most blood curdling diatribe in the Bible. Those who have the stomach can read it for themselves.

¹⁵"But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
¹⁶Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.
¹⁷Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
¹⁸Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.
¹⁹Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

²⁰"The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and frustration, in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your doings, because you have forsaken me.
²¹The LORD will make the pestilence cleave to you until he has consumed you off the land which you are entering to take possession of it.
²²The LORD will smite you with consumption, and with fever, inflammation, and fiery heat, and with drought, and with blasting, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
²³And the heavens over your head shall be brass, and the earth under you shall be iron.
²⁴The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.

²⁵"The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; and you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
²⁶And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth; and there shall be no one to frighten them away.
²⁷The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt, and with the ulcers and the scurvy and the itch, of which you cannot be healed.
²⁸The LORD will smite you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind;
²⁹and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways; and you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.
³⁰You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, and you shall not use the fruit of it.
³¹Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it; your ass shall be violently taken away before your face, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and there shall be no one to help you.
³²Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all the day; and it shall not be in the power of your hand to prevent it.
³³A nation which you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually;
³⁴so that you shall be driven mad by the sight which your eyes shall see.
³⁵The LORD will smite you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

³⁶"The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known; and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone.
³⁷And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.
³⁸You shall carry much seed into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
³⁹You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.
⁴⁰You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
⁴¹You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.
⁴²All your trees and the fruit of your ground the locust shall possess.
⁴³The sojourner who is among you shall mount above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower.
⁴⁴He shall lend to you, and you shall now lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
⁴⁵All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you, till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you.
⁴⁶They shall be upon you as a sign and a wonder, and upon your descendants for ever.

⁴⁷"Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things,
⁴⁸therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and in want of all things; and he will put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.
⁴⁹The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you do not understand,
⁵⁰a nation of stern countenance, who shall not regard the person of the old or show favor to the young,
⁵¹and shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; who also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your cattle or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.
⁵²They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you.

⁵³And you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.
⁵⁴The man who is the most tender and delicately bred among you will grudge food to his brother, to the wife of his bosom, and to the last of the children who remain to him;
⁵⁵so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns.
⁵⁶The most tender and delicately bred woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will grudge to the husband of her bosom, to her son and to her daughter,
⁵⁷her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because she will eat them secretly, for want of all things, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.

⁵⁸"If you are not careful to do all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awful name, the LORD your God,
⁵⁹then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.
⁶⁰And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cleave to you.
⁶¹Every sickness also, and every affliction which is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.
⁶²Whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, you shall be left few in number; because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
⁶³And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you; and you shall be plucked off the land which you are entering to take possession of it.
⁶⁴And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
⁶⁵And among these nations you shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot; but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart, and failing eyes, and a languishing soul;
⁶⁶your life shall hang in doubt before you; night and day you shall be in dread, and have no assurance of your life.
⁶⁷In the morning you shall say, 'Would it were evening!' and at evening you shall say, 'Would it were morning!' because of the dread which your heart shall fear, and the sights which your eyes shall see.
⁶⁸And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey which I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no man will buy you."

The Roots Of War

To find peace, we first have to know what causes war. For what Moses and Hitler have in common, they have a lot to teach us. These characteristics listed below, apply to politics as well as to religion.

Leadership
1. Charisma: They had the ability to incite the passions of large masses to a common cause.
2. Authority: They had the recognition and admiration from large masses.
3. Power: They had at their command a large contingent of armed personnel willing to follow.

Justification
1. Racism: Both leaders instilled the belief that theirs was a superior race.
2. Nationalism: Their mutual goal was to create a ruling nation.
3. Religion: Both believed God was on their side.
4. Enemy: Mass movements need an enemy to galvanize against. When people feel they are safe, they are difficult to motivate.

Methodology
1. Warfare: Violence and genocide against outsiders.
2. Subjugation: Includes enforced slavery and monetary taxation. It feeds off of what it takes.
3. Law: The pretense is social order, but the reality is political domination.
4. Fear and intimidation: Anybody who is not with them is against them. Whoever is against them will be harshly punished.

Faith
1. To close our eyes to all of the above.
2. When we allow ourselves to be bamboozled by the rhetoric of religious and political leaders, we give them license to carry out their agenda.
3. To accept the moral violations of political and religious leaders because we are convinced they are necessary and just.
4. To accept power and authority as something that exists in its own right, when in reality it could not thrive on false grounds if we do not willingly give it those powers.

In recanting Moses' bloody deeds and his bigoted language, some might think that I am not being fair in judging Moses by today's standards of morality. But that is precisely my point: the biblical accounts of death and destruction are more despicable than any decent person should tolerate.

Since Moses marched from Egypt to the Jordan, there has been more blood spilt over religious causes than for any other reason. Just think, the three major theistic religions have been fighting among themselves for over 2,000 years for the right to claim God is on their side. It doesn't occur to them to question if they are fighting over nothing.

The infectious influence of religion cannot be cured through faith. It can only be cured by purging ourselves of the harmful tenets which faith brings upon us. We bring more risk upon ourselves if we continue to support this madness, then if we quietly stop supporting it.