Nations under objectification

The Pope has released a new book about how violence should never be carried out in God's name, "Violence Never in God's Name."

How do you feel about this? Not the book, not the Pope, but the topic presented. Honestly, I've never put a lot of thought into this topic. I've heard it briefly discussed.

Practically speaking, we see examples of violence dictated by God through out the scriptures such as the killing of Laban by Nephi, the near sacrificing of Abraham's son, and the destruction of those that blasphemed against the Prophets and God.

But what about people who hijack planes and crash them into world trade centers, killing thousands of innocent people? They claim their actions are in the name of God; are they?

Do we, as members of the church, condone war? Do we believe its ok for us to kill others --even innocent civilians-- because we are protecting our country? Then again, when has President Thomas S. Monson ever openly condoned war?

What are we fighting for? It seems we fight for and over money, greed, power and corrupt leaders.

And how do we justify fighting for these things, how do we become so numb that we can take a gun, point it at a man and shoot him? I know how; we turn our "enemies" into objects by labeling them as "those Germans, those Chinese, those Koreans, those Libyans . . . those whites, those men, those Mormons, those Americans?"

We take the actions of a few corrupt leaders; a few corrupt dictators and we use that as ammo to destroy nations. Do we feel justified in killing and fighting because God has deemed it necessary or because we don't feel guilty killing people who are "not like us"?

Are we just watching out for our neighbor or are we butting in where we don't belong? Are we truly "just protecting our country" or are we the reason for these attacks. And are we not initiating attacks of our own?

I'm asking a lot of questions, using a lot of "quote marks" because I feel that we (I'm not just talking about Americans, I'm talking about our world and Nation) believe objectifying those who are "different" from us makes these brutal acts acceptable, its not because we feel zeal for God, feel an inspiration from God, or is it? You tell me.

We are taught to love one another. We aren't taught to just love Americans. And while we pick up guns and shoot someone in the name of liberty and freedom do we think about their liberty and freedom?

If only we could follow Christ and love all around us, but we've all become so twisted in the web of lies, deceit and greed that surround us that we can't grasp that all the people in this world are sons and daughters of God, just a we are

You ask me what my opinion is and I can't say that I really have one. I don't pretend to understand; maybe I don't want to understand. I simply read my scriptures, pray, try to follow the promptings of the Spirit, which lead me to men who truly have the Spirit, men who have a genuine love of all those around them.