I said money is power.
I did not say that money is the ONLY form of power.
There is no doubt, by the way, that rich and powerful humans have fostered religious beliefs and have influenced religious leaders, all as a way to keep the lower classes compliant to the wishes of the upper classes.
This need not conflict with an individual's belief in his religion.
I'd be hard pressed to think of a religion that has not admitted to some degree having once gone astray from the influence of powerful interests.
Think of Henry VIII's making himself head of the church in England.
Think of the whole protestant movement as a rebellion against the influence of wealth on the Catholic leaders in Rome.
History is replete with examples.
Think of Hammurabi recieving the tablets of laws from the Sun God--an example of convincing people that these are the laws they must follow; that there must be no debate, because the Sun God made these laws (not the rich and powerful), and that is that.
A useful device for governing.
I respectfully disagree.
Money is the fruit of successful labor. Those who have a gift for using it are rewarded by obtaining more. This is good economics because a system that tends to put resources in the hands of those with a proven track record is far superior to putting it in the hands of those who don't.
As long as Gates continues to use his money to create wealth he will be rewarded with more and its a very good investment because of his track record. When he fails (and histroy shows he or his compnany will) the funds will flow to another Gates who has a track record.
Government on the other hand can only redistribute Gates money and based on its track record as well as its purposes will not use it as wisely to create wealth for all of us.
In summary, where you see money as an end that is defined as power I see money as a responsibility that goes to those who have proven to be most responsible.
Here is something an older friend once told me when I expressed similar statements as you regarding who deserved what in this world. He told me that if all the money were redistrubuted tomorrow so that we all had an equal share in the assets of the nation that within one year those who were wealthy would be so and those who were poor would be so.