To the Editor:
Anger, hatred and violence are a downward spiral. What is the right response to an act of evil in the Christian worldview?
The Orthodox Church remembers St Stephen as the first martyr. His story is instructive. As he was being stoned by an angry mob, he said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” In this, he followed the example of his Lord Jesus Christ, who, while crucified, preceded by insults and beatings, said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
When we come face-to-face with evil, the easy path is to hate. When we see acts of evil, the easy path is to take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But the Christian message is “love your enemies, and do good to them”, and if “your enemy is hungry, feed him; and if he is thirsty, give him a drink.”
If anger, hatred and violence are the downward spiral, then love and forgiveness, even in the face of unspeakable evil, is the path upwards.
Brent Kaseman
Philomath