A Word about War part 1

Disclaimer: I have been wanting to write this blog for awhile now but feared for the responses of my friends and family. I apologize up front for anyone that is offended by this blog. I hope everyone knows that my heart hurts for the things I write about and I am continuing to learn and grow, always seeking wisdom and council. No doubt, I will probably look back at these blogs years from now and want to change some of them. I hope you will join me in the journey and pray for me as I seek to find the path that most lines up with the Way.

I have always thought of America as a "Christian nation" and thought that I was patriotic. I often said that I would go to war at the drop of a hat if my country needed me and in fact, when September 11^th happened I very seriously considered joining the military. I thought that since Bush was in office that he would lead us in the right path, knowing that he was a Christian brother and that he followed God.

War was further idealized in my mind as I heard old stories of WWII and was exposed to war through the media. In my mind, it was the pot smoking hippies that opposed war and I never much cared for dreadlocks and tie-dye. I hated all the right people, from liberal democrats to abortion doctors to Arabs.

With the ushering in of the Bush administration and the fact that the Republican Party was in the majority, I remember thinking that God was going to bless this nation once again. Shawn Hanity assured me that this was the case. When we went to war, I was firmly for it. It made sense. If they attack us, we attack them with shock and awe just like we did in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I don't know what happened specifically and I don't think that it was all of a sudden. When I started to hunger for hope and change in my life, I think that was when I started to want the same for the nation and more importantly the world. The only hope for change is through love. This love for others was best demonstrated in the words and actions of Christ who taught us to love both our enemies and our neighbors. Love Osama and love Bush; love the Republican and love the Democrat; love the rich and love the poor. Is it by loving our enemies that causes us to bomb another nation or put a man to death?