Religion + Nukes = ?

On the one hand:

--Many literalist Christians believe that watching their enemies burn in a lake of fire is one of the key attractions on Christianity's glorious path to the Kingdom of Heaven.

--Literalist Christians are gaining increasing amounts of political power in the U.S.

--The U.S. has a massive nuclear arsenal.

On the other hand:

--Many literalist Muslims believe that watching their enemies burn in a lake of fire is one of the key attractions on Islam's glorious path to the Kingdom of Heaven.

--Literalist Muslims are gaining increasing amounts of political power.

--The nuclear arsenal controlled by Muslims is growing.

It's a wonder we've stayed alive this long.

A passage in an L.A. Times story about a key creator of Pakistan's nuclear capability, Abdul Qadeer Khan, brought this to mind:

Benazir Bhutto said Khan seemed to have adopted a religious side when she encountered him after she was returned to office in 1993.

"My first impression of him was that he was a nationalist," Bhutto said in an interview. "By the time I returned to office, I felt that he was an Islamist. Something made him change."

That change is how the capability to create nukes may have spread to Iran. Thanks, Islam!

As Sam Harris has pointed out, the only thing that kept us alive during the Cold War was that both the United States and the Soviet Union feared death. It was actually considered a bad thing.

But what's going to happen when one nuclear-armed side of a global conflict doesn't fear death? And what if both sides don't fear death? What if a giant conflagration is considered the ideal solution by both parties?

Beyond Belief Media is forming a mission statement right now. So far, this is what we've got: "To provoke conversation about the dangers of religious belief."

What do you think?