“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” I think of this statement whenever I hear of suicide bombers targeting another group of innocent civilians. I think, and I shudder, because I too am a religious person who values personal commitment and self sacrifice for a religious cause. I also value and valorize those who like Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Jacob of Mainz became religious martyrs in our Jewish tradition.

Was Pascal, the 17th century French philosopher who I just quoted, thinking of people like me? Or was he thinking of people who, in their political extremism or narrow-minded religious piety, ignore or trivialize the commandment, “Do not take the Lord your God’s name in vain.” .

This Mitsvah (Jewish religious duty) doesn’t refer to the important issue of perjury, or to the trivial issue of profanity. Perjury is prohibited in the ninth Commandment and profanity by itself isn’t serious enough to be placed in the Ten Commandments.

This commandment refers to the great harm done to religion, and to God’s reputation (name), when religious people do despicable deeds in God’s name. The burning of witches, the Inquisition, the Crusades and Jihad suicide bombers are examples of the religious misuse of God’s name.

This commandment warns religious people in general, and religious leaders in particular that, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

All religions condemn hypocrisy. But condemnation of our own religious fanatics and extremists as hypocrites, is much less frequent, because slackness is usually much more prevalent than excessive zeal. There are many people whose mind tends toward black and white thinking. For some it is ‘us verses them’ and any compromise is a betrayal of........

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