Just a Note of Thanks
February 4, 2014
I was honored in the last weeks to have had so many messages and words from you, dear readers. When I started writing, it was because I had suddenly come to a place of being able to put words to experiences that had been wordless for a long time. Slowly, silence had become groans, and groans had become sighs, and sighs had become words. So I wrote them and still write when I can.
I had no idea that others might read those words and be touched by them. So I have been surprised and honored at your words of encouragement to me. Thank you so much! Everyone has a story (or many stories) and to think that our story might in some way inspire you makes us very happy. To think there is a whole community of us who are wrestling with these same questions and thoughts and experiences is a hopeful thought. So thank you… I am overjoyed to have you along for the journey!
Learning to Love Enemies
February 4, 2014
Ugh. Did Jesus really say we needed to love our enemies?
When I was in seminary, I was heavily influenced by the writings of Yoder, Hauerwas and other theologians and ethicists, most of whom were pacifist. I learned the power of virtue pacifism and saw that it was nothing like the caricatures of pacifism that are often brought up. Instead, I learned the theological significance of a nonviolent resistance to evil and the way virtue pacifism calls us back to our identity as those who have received the grace of Jesus. There were other students who differed and often espoused a just war theory for the handling of evil in the world, and we learned together that just war theory can also be a faithful approach if there is a stringent and consistent submission to the boundaries and perimeters of that theory. And though the virtue pacifists and just war theorists among us disagreed, they too practiced that disagreement faithfully. I remember heated debates that when ended saw the debaters headed for a meal together or continuing in friendly conversation. It was a hopeful place to work out our thoughts on love and peace, war and enemies.
ordinary sacred 