thou shalt not kill ... maybe

Writing to a friend yesterday, I asserted a summation whose particulars I haven't got the energy to detail but still think is pretty much on target and worth feeding into the spiritual mix anyone might be inclined to create:

 ... overtly and covertly, religion is beholden to government; government makes war; religion follows and offers supportive applause to its master.

This hip-pocket summation does not strike me as either outlandish or surprising. It strikes me as factual and generally unworthy of either agreement or debate. Military chaplains can provide a simple, concrete example, but lord knows they have a hundred accomplices. The only usefulness of such a summation may lie in the potential to rein in the unduly enthusiastic assertions of goodness and virtue sometimes appended to spiritual life.

Sure, there is compassion and profound wisdom and purity that can defy all comparisons. But without acknowledging and embracing the realm in which such matters are rooted, how spiritually fulfilling could such possibilities actually be?