A current theory is that religion is the cause of war, murder, terrorism, and the general nastiness that afflicts us.

The truth is, humans have treated each other badly since the beginning of recorded history, with or without religion. In the past, greed and the desire for wealth and power did not have to be explained. People wanted other people’s land, riches, or other possessions and if they were powerful enough, they took them. If you had a god, this proved your god was more powerful than your neighbor’s.

In the beginning, the Hebrews weren’t that different from other tribes around them. However, a new song echoed from the prophets. It was the idea that God favored, not the rich and powerful, but the dispossessed, the marginalized, the widows and orphans. These were to be protected and given a chance, not exploited.

Then Christians further revolutionized this idea. God came as Jesus, they said, not only to show us the way, but to give us the power to live this new way. Finally we have hope that we can be transformed from the old nature that desires to dominate and take. Of course, as Jesus said, calling oneself a Christian is not enough. What one does is the proof that one has or has not accepted transformation..