Tony Hendra, the author of Father Joe: the Man who Saved My Soul that I mentioned in my three book meme yesterday has a lovely pieced on Huffington Post this morning.
Subversive forgiveness may be, but, unfortunately, it’s the core message of the guy from Nazareth. What’s not to understand in the preachment: love your enemies? And even if the Aramaic (via the Greek and Renaissance English) is open to a slightly different translation, his choice not to defend himself against his enemies — or even allow himself to be defended — when they came to arrest him, is unambiguous. It’s what defines Christianity against the other two Abrahamic faiths. You don’t have to believe that the story’s historically true; the example of its protagonist in the defining narrative of Christianity is unmistakable. Violence even in your own defense, is not acceptable. You cannot be a follower of Christ and kill your enemy; you cannot be a Christian and not forgive him. The history of Christianity is largely the history of grappling with this highly inconvenient truth and its manifold implications.–Tony Hendra
Tony has really written a great piece and you should take a moment to read it fully at Huffington Post. Click here.