Torture has troubled my mind and soul for as long as I can remember.  What the Hell is it, anyway?!?

A particularly heinous manifestation of it that has been exposed to the light of reason, and which boggles the reasonable mind, is the Nazi reign of terror.

This reign of terror could not have happened without the active participation of countless people that in less cataclysmic times would be considered to be normal.  Nay, they would be leaders in a civilized society. 

In fact the SS recruited and was manned by doctors, lawyers, business people and professionals that deluded themselves with the conviction that they were chosen by heredity to be unbound by the rules of ordinary Men.  In ordinary times these were ordinary men and women, neighbors and associate of those that during the Nazi reign they would brutalize.

“The SS on the other hand had a higher calling and destiny.  It was sworn to worshipful duty and loyalty to the supreme leader, der Fuehrer.  Its members were “selected” for their Super Racial Characteristics.  The idea that they were superior, supermen and women, was inculcated into them continuously and relentlessly.  It instilled in them an expectant arrogance.  They were above the law and rules that members of the SA and indeed the rest of humanity had to be cognizant of.  They answered only to Hitler, and in return for their loyalty they were given a blank check to be “Gods” within the boundaries of the Third Reich.”  Whatever Happened to the SS, SA and Gestapo?

Hitler was supremely adept at nurturing that tendency in these ordinary people.  While most of them (and most of us) in “normal times” absolutely would not do such evil deeds nor believe that they (we) could, the zeitgeist was ripe for the blossoming of this hideous monstrosity that was Nazi Germany, and Adolph Hitler was the man to make it grow.

My inability to deal with this whole concept plagued me.  I found relief when it dawned on me that the potential for that evil is in each and every one of us, and that is the only place that we can vanquish it.  I could not undo or fight what others were bound to do, but I could understand it and vanquish it in myself.  Once I realized that, I got a handle on what was bothering me.  The battleground for me is within me, and I could come to grips with it there.  The battle ground for you is in you.  Those that went along with the atrocities, some enthusiastically, lost the battle.

I was gratified some time later to read that Mother Teresa, that sainted person, had traveled her road to that same conclusion.  While the realization that my fight was within me and my responsibility alone had given me relief, her confirmation of my conclusion was extremely gratifying.

The point I would like to make is that Hitler was not a madman, at least not until the closing months of the Second World War.  And the people that made the Nazi regime were not evil.  They were ordinary people such as you and I and our neighbors and friends that succumbed to the siren song of Godly Power without restriction over others.  The same thing that happened in that cultured and advanced German society could happen here if we do not know what to look for.

Torture is about power.  Rape is not about sex – it’s about power.  I am convinced that when you torture or rape someone, you are bleeding off some of their Creator bestowed power, given them as a birthright to use throughout their life.  And that is a sin, and a temporary hit for you.

I am convinced that all of our power comes directly from our Creator.  To steal from other creatures is not acceptable.  We should strive to connect with our Creator for the power to live, just as Mother Teresa did during her time here with us. 

To steal from others through torture or rape or brutality is to admit spiritual handicap and a willful rejection of our creator, the fountain of our life energy and our power.  To steal that power from our fellow creatures rather than go to our Creator who gives freely is to reject and move away from our Creator, which is a Hell of a thing.

Christ shows us the way and cares for those poor souls that succumb to the evil, but it is our choice, each and every one of us.