chosen people, pagans, etc.

I think that the elitist views of some (all?) organized religions
certainly play a part in the current climate of lunacy on our planet.
For example, in today's Denver Post, there's an interview with a Taliban
prisoner of war...here's a couple of quotes..."There were no innocent
people in those skyscrapers..." "There was no question of becoming a
farmer like my father. My decision was to fight pagans..." And, over the
years, I've often seen the word "infidels" used to describe non Muslims.
Whether or not this was the view of Muhammad himself, in regards to non
believers in Islam, I do not know at this time...hopefully, not.
Then, I was glancing at a book in Borders, by an American preacher
(I believe Baptist, but I'm not sure); he repeated something I've seen
said many times, as he referred to the Jews as God's "chosen people." Of
course, I do not believe that any one racial group is more chosen than
anyone else. And, I believe such a view is mortally dangerous, as it
seems to put one group over everybody else, which, of course, can lead
to elitism and racism of the worst sort; as I recall, Hitler and his
boys thought the Aryans were the best, and there are, of course, many
white supremacist groups today who believe the exact same thing. Which
ties in with the policy of "Manifest Destiny" of America's pioneer days,
which thought the Europeans had a God given right to take this "new
world" from the Indians (I also saw a quote from an American racist
recently; he referred to Arabs as "sand niggers;" yow; that was a new
one to me).
If we, as a planet, can ever figure out how to chill on such
dangerous beliefs, then I think there's a chance that we will, somehow,
make it through the coming years, and perhaps emerge into a world that
knows true peace, and knows how to let other folks alone to live their
life paths as they choose. But, if we think God somehow makes one group
superior to the rest, then we are definitely in for some deep
shit...cause once you think God ordains your superiority, who can argue
with that? Perhaps we need some true spiritual leaders to step up now,
men/women who will discount, once and for all, these divisive, racist
beliefs; it could go a long way to defusing the hate and rage which is
definitely growing around the world. When the Beatles sang "All you need
is love," naive as some folks think that is, it's quite true...and very
simple, at it's deepest..Hstick