[mburbank]

To me it's not a question of if they are worth my time or not. I'm interested in the theology of religous extremism, and I think there's ample evidence it's one of the most powerful forces on earth today.

For me, the cornerstone of faith is doubt. Once you become certain you are a true vessel for God's will, you are capable of complete amorality. If you have no capacity no matter how small to doubt your knowledge of God or wonder if your God is real, true, actual, and the Gods other people worship are mental fabrication there is absolutely nothing to keep you from any atrocity. That's the sort of faith that allows people to fly fully loaded airplanes into skyscapers, and when highly placed peope in my own government tend in that direction and seek to downplay it by organizing cells, I think it's worth thinking about.