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“Religious people often prefer to be right rather than compassionate,” wrote Karen Armstrong. “Often, they don’t want to give up their egotism. They want their religion to endorse their ego, their identity.” Her words reveal how easily the sacred fire of conscience can be co-opted by institutions.

What begins as moral clarity can harden into moral pride. The impulse to defend Truth turns into the desire to be seen as its defender.

Neuropsychologist Mario Martinez offers a biological parallel to this spiritual insight. He notes that righteous anger — the kind born from compassion and dignity — strengthens the immune system and enlivens the body. It activates the nervous system briefly and cleanly, as though sharpening the moral blade without rusting the psyche.

Self-righteous anger, however, corrodes from within. Fueled by insecurity and judgment, it floods the body with stress hormones and inflammation. One fire illuminates; the other consumes.