Christian readers have, for the simple reason that familiarity with the text has, as it were, anaesthetized them to what it is actually saying. For Madalyn Murray O’Hair this reaction to the Bible contributed not only to her atheism but also to her forceful critique of Christianity. Alternatively, however, the critique may be launched in a more veiled manner. For example, the influential seventeenth century philosopher, Spinoza, pointed to the negative implications of warfare for religion in the