When we hold a worldview that people are inherently bad and need law and order to suppress that badness, we will tend to react to hostility with either judgmental retaliation or defense. But if we believe people are not inherently bad; that they are only lost when they go down an evil path, our reaction to hostility might be dramatically different.
When Christ calls humanity to “love your enemies,” it is not merely a command to do the right thing but a strategy to diffuse evil and transform “bad” people into good–in other words a method to help them find their way home and back to their true self.
This NPR story demonstrates the power of love (what a psychologist would call non-complementary behavior) over hostility, when a woman offers a glass of wine to a man threatening murder and mayhem. Moreover, it is an example of the new spirituality we need in a world full of theologies of depravity and threats of terrorism. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Wow! Makes me think of “I will set a table before your enemies” it’s a table of love to invite them in on the feast of love. Not eat in front of front of them like religion has taught. I love this!
Shelley, you are so right. Despite the clear ethic of loving adversaries that Jesus taught, our modern church systems, particularly those steeped in conservative/political theology and ideology, promote locking up or destroying or “eating in front of” our enemies. Thanks for weighing in.
This is actually useful, thanks.