A couple of thoughts:
Ellis asks:
"why would assuming that they were god-inspired make any difference to the fact that they are the basis of our society."
By claiming god was involved they are given a foundation that makes it harder for mere mortals to challenge their irrationality. This practice can be seen in many medieval writings with names like 'The Gospel of ....' where the person named had nothing to do with the writing but whose name was used to confer authenticity and importance on the text.
Ellis wrote:
"the Christian Chrch has done some really evil things but I don't think they burn people now."
I would respectfully disagree. I will grant you they are no longer so immune to public relations that they pile up wood and gather a crowd to watch the spectacle. But I recall pictures of Buddhists in Vietnam treated with napalm. And I'm not willing to consider the dropping of cluster bombs on certain brown-skinned people to be anything other than a refinement of the practice.
