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My friend Robert Wright, who applies a Marxist/materialist view of religion in his new book, thinks Palestinians, and the Muslim world generally, will behave better when they no longer feel "humiliated and dispossessed" and "not in control of their own destiny." Presumably he'd say the same thing about Israeli Jews who believe "God wants the people of Israel to populate all of the promised land." ... I share his basic viewpoint--but it has a big Marxist/Condescension problem, not unlike Obama's famous "cling" problem with guns and God in Pennsylvania. 'That's a nice little religious faith you have there. But I know that your beliefs will change if your circumstances change.' At some point the people you are dealing with sense that you think you know better than they do (which you probably do and definitely think you do). ... When I last wrote about this problem, I didn't have a very satisfying solution, though it looks better to me now than it did then. .... One response I didn't discuss is to hang a lantern on the problem and drily condescend to God too: "The Abrahamic God has shown the capacity for great moral growth," writes Wright. See you next week at the usual time, God. ... Not sure that helps! ... 1:53 A.M.
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