[agrace]

Well, the actions are never irrelevant in the sense that their consequences do not matter. What I meant was, they are possibly irrelevant when measured against the text.

If a Christian, for example, murders in the name of Christ, his actions mean nothing in the light of Christian teaching because the text does not advocate murder, no matter what he professes. The KKK often invoked God, but just because they liked to ignore that Jesus was a Jew and that the Bible in no way advocates racist violence, doesn't mean God ever honored their actions or the text ever sanctioned them.

[stuartcr]

It's all in the interpretation. It's rare that you find terrorists, etc, that stand up and say...'I did that because I am a scumbag sob that wanted to murder'...they usually need something to justify, at least to themselves, why they did it. Religious texts are good for justifying, who can argue with God? It also helps in the recruiting process of other scumbag sobs, to have God on your side.