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%CONSTANTINE'S SWORD CHRISTIANS JEWS CONTRASTS SINS+021211
   %DEVILS ALIENATION ESTRANGEMENT MISUNDERSTANDING+021211
 %PERCEIVED MEANINGS ENEMIES SCAPE GOAT CLIMB ABUSE+021211
 %INDIVIDUALS RELATIONSHIPS COALITIONS TOGETHER GOD+021211
 %BELIEF MYTHOLOGY COSMOLOGY FORCE COERCION HISTORY+021211
   %VULNERABLE ADVANTAGE SECURITY BLAME SHAME GUILT 021211
                                                          
     Often there are individuals and groups that          
      define who they are and what their meaning is ---   
       in terms of whom:                                  
        they perceive to be their enemies;                
         they chose to scapegoat;                         
          they climb over to reach their goal;            
           they sacrifice to appease their gods.          
                                                          
     Such individuals and groups often form               
      coalitions which are brought together because       
       they have found it advantageous to cooperate       
        in the above kinds of behaviors directed          
         toward some minority that is vulnerable;         
          rather than toward each other or some           
           powerful and/or majority group.  Who           
            suffers and who gains is often as much        
             an accident of history, as it is the         
              result of a deliberate choice.              
                                                          
     The above can be found in the book "Constantine's    
      Sword" which traces some of the aspects of the      
       history of the evolution of the Jewish and         
        Christian communities down through history;       
         with Constantine having played a dramatic        
          role in that history.   To the extent that      
           we do not understand that history we are       
            likely to repeat some of its tragic           
             features over and over in small and          
              large settings.                             
                                                          
                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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