Danger of the Cliché, “to love”

Christians for many centuries, over and over, have stated, "God is love." Most famously, St. Augustine said, "Love God and do as you like." All this sounds so good, so pious, so wonderful,
but, tragically, like so many philosophical and moral assertions, the devil is in the details:-(--
not the God of Jesus.

The same St. Augustine of the famous "love" quote supported the persecution of other Christians, torture, killing, etc.
Augustine abandoned his common-law wife of 10 years, with plans to marry an aristocratic Roman lady instead.

From 300 A.D down through hundreds of years of cruelty, abuse, intolerance, injustice, and slaughter to the present, 2025, Christian denominations in the name of "love" have committed horrific actions.

Millions of humans have been slaughtered, burned, hanged, shot, bombed, and drowned--all in the name of Jesus and this religious ideal of Christian "love." A Roman Catholic leader. Bernard of Clairvaux, often called the apostle of love called forth the 2nd Crusade!

A more recent American case is that of devout Christian soldier Stonewall Jackson who ordered the death of many thousands during the American Civil War. And the chaplain of his army, the famous R. L. Dabney, not only strongly supported this ‘Christian’ war, but American slavery, even publishing a study after the Civil War defending enslavement!

They gave all thanks to Jesus Christ and God for their killing successes, and yet at the same time, emphasized the importance of love to God and others. Read the excellent and powerful biography, Stonewall Jackson: Portrait of a Soldier by John Bowers.

In a secular sense, General Jackson was a great war general! And what a devout believer and how personable and kind to those of his own kin and group.

But what a ruthless killer of others, and in his killing, he gave all the praise for his winning battles to the Christian God! He often prayed, worshiped, and read his Bible in the midst of lethal fighting!

Not that Christianity has a corner on these strange demonstrations of "love." When I lived in the Middle East, I visited a Palaestinian restaurant. On the wall was a sign which listed all the characteristics of love in Islam.

Yet, then (and in the past and now)multi-millions of Muslims quote the Qur'an and the Hadith to justify slaughtering enemy civilians.

“So it goes.”
(quoting the satirist, Kurtr Vonnegut).

And check out secular history. Humanists who reject religion for all its horrors, also, often define "love" as a worthy human goal, yet their actions are contrary to love, too.

Here’s a minor example of how “empty bucket” the word “love” is. Back during my university days (late 60's), Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlavsky came to the University of Nebraska to do a poetry reading. Allen kept emphasizing that "love" is the answer to the world's problems.

I, a naive, college student from a small village in southeast Nebraska was impressed,
but an older student and former beatnik told me, "Don't to be deceived."

Later I learned how deceptive these new age leaders' talk of "love" was. One of the young girls in our college group was, allegedly, left pregnant and alone by Orlavsky who moved on with Ginsberg to their next poetry readings.

Young men of other worldviews tried to persuade us that a man could have multiple relationships with women and it was "love."
Forget all the tragic results of these "love" affairs.

And since then, all manner of distortions continue to be put forth as "loving" up to 2025.
Thinkers have even claimed the intentional carpet bomb killing of hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians, including children, fire fighters, doctors, etc. is an action of love and justice!

And more and more, acts of euthanasia, abortion, lust, etc. are said to be expressions of love!
Indeed, the devil is in the details. Evil hogs them.

Why is it God always gets left holding the bag of evil?

Enough of the very bad news!

What is the nature of true caring--the kind that doesn't result in hell on earth?

The great Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh gives some very good clear examples if you wish a definition which isn't centered in the New Testament. However, since I am a Friend of Jesus, that is where I find my understanding of what love is.

Check out Luke 10:27. Jesus said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

Well, the problem is still in the details again though, because most of the leaders, warriors, slave-owners,abusers, immoral and unjust individuals etc. of the last 2,000 years have claimed to believe Jesus' words, indeed have done their evil with this verse on their lips, praying to Jesus and reading the Bible as they did their horrific deeds.

So, we need to go deeper.

A lawyer questions Jesus--sounds legalistic doesn't it--asking exactly, "WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?"

(Remember, in Jewish culture, men wouldn't even eat with Gentiles!)

Jesus reverses the thinking of humans such as that lawyer by giving the Parable of the Good Samaritan, pointing out we should be loving like a heretic and national enemy and show active compassion and practical deeds of help including personal involvement, the giving of our money and our time.

This is a continuation of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 38-48) where he even contradicts such Jewish heroes as David and says that we should love our enemies.

And so his followers wouldn't get the wrong idea (like so many later would despite his very words), Jesus emphasizes that "loving one’s enemies" means practical actions on our part.

For instance, if an enemy nation conquers you and its soldiers abuse and execute your people and these killers demand you behave as a servant by carrying their military bags for a mile, then you are to offer to carry these enemy killers' things for another extra mile!

When enemies "HATE YOU, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, PRAY FOR THOSE WHO MISTREAT YOU.."(Luke 6: 27-38).

Of course, for most of us (like Jesus' disciples who wanted to kill the Romans and call fire down to destroy the Samaritans, etc.), we need even more directions of what the word "love" actually means and so the N.T. provides many more definitions and examples. The best is 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient,
love is kind
and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly;
love does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness,
but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. (NASB)

How can we possibly love individuals of HAMAS or Iran or Russia!?
Muslim jihadists?
Criminals who rape, abuse, kidnap, murder?
A co-worker who lied about us so that we lost our job?

One way is to remember as Martin Luther King cautioned, we aren't called to "like" evil doers, but are rather called to show them benevolence in order that they might turn from their evil ways.

This is Jesus' walk, what it means to be Friends.

To love everyone into the realm of the LIGHT--the GOOD, the TRUE, the Just:-)

In the LIGHT,

Daniel Wilcox

Guest Blog from Professor Roger Olson: "What if humanity could be saved only by torturing children to death?"

from An Ethical Dilemma Posed in a Stephen King Novel
SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 BY ROGER E. OLSON

"What if…the world, humanity, could only be saved from total obliteration by torturing children to death?

"Spoiler alert! If you intend to read King’s latest novel The Institute you may not want to read this as it contains some details about the plot. I will not, however, give away the ending.

The Institute is not your typical King novel if there is such a thing. It’s not exactly a horror story although it is a horrifying story. It contains some sci-fi elements and some violence but it’s nothing like “It” or “The Shining” or “Pet Sematary.” I would compare it more with “Mister Mercedes” or even “The Stand” in terms of tone.

"Like most of King’s novels and short stories it carries within it an ethical dilemma. What’s the right thing to do in a grievous situation where there does not seem to be a right thing to do?

"Of course, there’s often the hero who intuitively knows the right thing and does it.

"But here is the intriguing question embedded in The Institute: If the world, humanity, the whole of nature on earth, could only be saved by kidnapping and torturing children with the inevitable result that they die, would doing that be ethically justified?"

READ THE REST OF PROFESSOR ROGER OLSON'S ETHICAL REFLECTION BASED UPON STEPHEN KING'S NOVEL, THE INSTITUTE at:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2019/09/an-ethical-dilemma-posed-in-a-stephen-king-novel/


In the Light of Moral Realism,

Dan Wilcox

At Ramadan, What All Humans Need--3 Ought Not Fight

At this contentious time of physical and verbal harm,
this reflection is surely needed:

3 Ought Not Fight

Disking the rock strewn
Objected earth near Jerusalem,
Underneath the Middle Eastern sky
Rows of mean earth riven by the blades,
We cut away our anger, hate, and pride,
Stopping to drink, not from the liquor

Of fanatic corruption but from
The precious water welling up,
Our oasis of Jacob'd sharing,
In this Ramadan season
Months before Christ's birth
And Hanukkah.

Allah

We three sons of Abraham,
Muslim, Jew, and Christian,
Ought to fight the true battle
Not each other,
Not with weapons of harm
But
To be found worthy
In compassion
Sharing,
And kindness--
The true
Submission
To God
Over
All.

Selah



--Daniel Wilcox

First pub. in
outwardlink.net

Please Write for the Release of Nonviolent Human Rights Worker Munther Amira

FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL:
"An Israeli military court sentenced Palestinian human rights defender Munther Amira on 12 March 2018 to six months in prison, five years of probation and a fine. He was convicted on charges relating to his peaceful participation in protests.

"Munther Amira is currently being held in Hadarim prison in central Israel.
He was arrested by Israeli soldiers on 27 December 2017 while peacefully participating in a protest.
Munther Amira was originally charged with 13 offences relating to his participation in five separate demonstrations. He was convicted on four counts of “disturbing public order” and participating in a “march without a licence” in relation to four demonstrations that took place in November and December 2017."

Munther Amira is "...the coordinator of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (PSCC). PSCC describes itself as a community-based resistance movement that believes in the power of popular struggle, through various forms, such as strikes, peaceful protests and legal campaigns. The group also provides legal aid, communication and advocacy support to activists and seeks to encourage the emergence of new committees and initiatives in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)."

A section of Israel’s separation barrier next to the Aida refugee camp, where Munther Amira lives and works. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

"Munther Amira is a Palestinian refugee from the village of Deir Aban, located south of Jerusalem. He is a resident of Aida Refugee Camp, near Bethlehem, where he works as a social worker and director of the Aida Youth Community Center...provides support to Palestinian farmers affected by Israeli settlements through his campaigning and advocacy efforts and promotes locally produced Palestinian products.

Amira is committed to a platform of non-violence in his popular struggle and regularly organizes peaceful protests against Israeli actions in the city of Bethlehem."

"1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

Immediately and unconditionally release Munther Amira as he is a prisoner of conscience and is imprisoned solely for exercising his human rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly;
Ensure his conviction is quashed;
Rescind Military Order 101 and fully respect the right of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Contact these two officials by 30 April, 2018:

Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan St, PO Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91950, Israel
Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

Ambassador Ron Dermer, Embassy of Israel
3514 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008
T: 202.364.5500
Email: info@washington.mfa.gov.il
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambdermer
Twitter: @AmbDermer
Salutation: Dear Ambassador

--

Stand up for Human Rights,

Daniel Wilcox