text: "...divisions...deaths... the Thirty Years War?"
  
  Shakespeare reminds us, Rule and Raven: "There is some soul of goodness in things evil, would men observantly distil it out." As Christians, we have to distill it out, as it were. As Americans, too, especially in regard to our own violent history, we must do likewise.
  The Chinese Communists say that today (to get where they are now -- economically, socially, etc.), they had to do violence, kill millions, etc.; likewise, the Vietnamese Communists. Now ISIS says the same. When we were a nation of 30 million, we went through a terrible Civil War -- from 1861-65 -- with 640,000 deaths and millions wounded. Were we to fight that same war today -- in a country of 325 million -- the casualties would be in the tens of millions. Germany, of course, suffered greatly during the Thirty Years War, losing 30% of its population. But today Germany is at peace (with self identifying Catholics ironically the dominant group, according to Pew). You figure!