What's Going On?
Probably the most inane thing a church member ever said in my presence was this: "God invented war so that humans could settle our disputes." This statement must win some award for utter blind denial of human sinfulness.

I admit I do not understand everything about God (and be very suspicious of anyone who claims to fully know the mind of God), but based on my perceptions from scripture, God would not "invent" something that features rape, pestilence, destruction, torture, maiming, and death. That sounds more like something we humans would do.

It all began with that first shove. Then someone determined they could throw a rock at another person and not be in arm's reach for a return blow. Then came spears. "Hey, a catapult would launch an object even further than we can throw it!" "There must be some way we can use fire to hurt those people we hate so much."

Then, some genius figured out a formula for explosives and gunpowder. "Let's experiment with the energy compressed in atoms." You get the picture.

God wasn't smiling during any of this, or giving pointers on how to make it all more effective.

If it weren't enough that we could kill each other and destroy homes, infrastructures, and businesses, and disrupt societies so effectively, now we're realizing that the effects of war linger.

Reuters news service reported this: "Male U.S. veterans are twice as likely to die by suicide than people with no military service, and are more likely to kill themselves with a gun than others who commit suicide, researchers said on Monday...(B)ecause of improvements in medicine since earlier wars, some troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have survived wounds that may have been fatal in previous conflicts, but have serious physical and mental disabilities that may put them at higher suicide risk."

The sin of humanity is so far gone, we will not stop the madness of war. Our sin is so far gone, we sometimes no longer recognize that we even are at fault.

But that collides with the truth about life that God infuses throughout Creation, even in our own souls.

The effects of that collision are devastating.