I think of the rules of Christianity (as of most religions) as being eminently practical. That's why I despair of posts that fret over whether we shall in heaven walk on golden streets - and why I despair of my Jewish friends who think the essence of Judaism lies in having separate dishes for dairy and meat products.

So I see nothing abstract or pointless in the injunctions against killing and war. Indeed, I think we are at a point when war makes no practical sense at all. Consider...