When religious people do bad things in the name of religion...

[Brettongarcia]

72. And the chief voice of anti-abortionism ... was Catholic conservative religion.

So we can see at least two religious motives at work in Dr. Tiller's killer:

1) Catholic anti-abortionism;
2) Hope of later eternal reward in heaven.

While 3) the killer probably voiced religious motives in his many statements.

I think therefore we'd have to say that Religion played a very, very large part in the killer's decision to kill someone. Enough to tip the balance of any other motives he might have had.

Next? Suppose we take the Crusaders, trying to free the "Holy Land" from evil pagan heretics. Or their counterparts, the Muslims who yelled "Die Infidels" when they killed nonbelievers. Would it be your contention that they would have done so, without this extra motivation? That it was mere coincidence that they expressed this religious idea, over and over and over again?

By the way? Didn't we have this same discussion on DU four or five months ago? Where we found strong religious language and motives in one case after an other? And then cited six or seven professional Psychiatric journals citing religion as the deciding motive in dozens of murders?

Then finally what would be your ultimate point?

That it's OK to pump people up with religious motives to kill, since they would probably kill people ANYWAY?

Incredibly, that does seem to be your point.

A very, very chilling display of rationalization, and excuse-manufacturing, indeed.

You have no problem in rationalizing murder.