The following is from a conversation with changitopelludo:

I've always found it interesting how, motivated to act in the name of a god of love and justice (obviously not yhvh, but its much more understanding son/spirit/self), people so often fall into actions more accurately categorized as that of the denizen which represents the opposite of those intentions. Is it only when one forgets to measure their actions against their intentions that they begin paving the legendary road to hell, or does it begin as a lie? Is the guise of 'goodness' only a tool to gather enough popular support necessary to fuel an effort that requires the hands and minds of more than just a few people? Unlike most of the people I know, I prefer to think that we get caught up in our actions and do not understand how far from the mark we are falling when our intentions turn sour. However, I know very well that sometimes, we are just nasty bastards who set out with the intention to lie, cheat and deceive. I do it, you do it, everyone does it.
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I think it is important to specify that I am only using the x-tian faith here as an example of what we all do, whether we subscribe to the teachings of a faith or not. The conversation stemmed from a comment about religious persecution in early american history, and it got me thinking about how we loose our way when were just trying to do the right thing.