the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Why I love terrorists

(This post has been brewing inside my head ever since I read Funky Dung’s post about the 9/11 Mass last week.)

I’ve heard people ask others on occasion, “Why do you love terrorists?” Granted, it’s usually more of an accusation than an honest query, and even if it were a genuine question, it’s never been directed my way. Still, over the past few days I’ve realized that claiming to love such loathsome individuals shouldn’t really seem that crazy to many Americans. So I decided to answer it, because, well, I do love terrorists.

When I’m at my best, I love all sorts of evil people. I’m not ashamed to say so. I’m only ashamed of those times when I let my anger get in the way of what I believe. And why? Because of the words I’ve heard since I was a small child: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you.” (-Matthew 5:44)

I know it’s not a popular sentiment, and it’s not one that comes easily to me either. But in falling back on everything I’ve been taught since my earliest days in Sunday school, I realize it’s the right sentiment for anyone who follows Christian teachings. According to those words, I’m supposed to love everyone, terrorists included.

Those being the words of Jesus, and this nation being inhabited by so many Christians, a post about loving terrorists shouldn’t seem too outlandish, but I’m sure it represents a minority view. Unfortunately, I know too many Christians who unabashedly claim an exemption to the love-your-enemies rule, especially when it comes to certain offenders.

For many, the exemption applies to the terrorists of 9/11. For others it applies to any terrorist, and for some it applies to anyone who happens to be Muslim or even just those who are “against America” (which has grown into a term of frightening scope)—and of course, there are many other doers of evil in the world who could be singled out. But the principle stands, and when I hear people claiming they’re Christian, but that they just can’t follow that one rule, I’m distressed.

When people claim to follow the teachings of Jesus, but they can’t grasp, much less follow, one of the most vital principles of Christianity, what’s the point of their faith anyway? The very core of the Christian faith is the love of a Saviour for all of humanity, even those who wanted him dead. If you believe in that, how can you justify hating anyone, no matter what they’ve done?

I’m not claiming to be perfect in loving all the undesirable and infuriating people in the world. I want to hate them sometimes. I have felt intense anger on many occasions, especially since the attacks of 9/11. I even have difficulty mustering love for annoying co-workers on occasion. This post is not my claim of perfection. It’s my expression against all the hatred out there, especially that which has crept into the hearts and minds of those whose faith requires more of them. The sad thing is that I’ve met people who want nothing to do with Christianity, yet they demonstrate these ideas with a startling clarity that puts most Christians to shame. It makes me wonder.

Maybe what we need is for some high profile Christian to step forward and demonstrate the type of love Jesus commanded. I think it might set an excellent example if the President, who is by all accounts a Bible-believing Christian (he once even claimed Jesus Christ as his favorite philosopher), were to profess his love for the evil-doers. If he did it in a prime time press conference, it would probably get picked up by one or two regular news outlets. Maybe then some of the other stragglers would come along too.

NOTE: My focus for this post was on Christian philosophy, since obviously I don’t know as much about what other religions teach with regards to this idea. I’d be interested in knowing if there are similar teachings in other spiritual traditions.

Extras:

• For a more succinct expression of my view, I like this piece at Catholic News. It probably provides a more accurate reflection of the theology I’m espousing here.

Love Thy Terrorist

Howard has a thoughtful post titled Why I love terrorists. In part: When I’m at my best, I love all sorts of evil people. I’m not ashamed to say so. I’m only ashamed of those times when I let my

I read your post and just sat here nodding my head. This particular line resonated with me, “I’ve met people who want nothing to do with Christianity, yet they demonstrate these ideas with a startling clarity that puts most Christians to shame”.

I have nothing profound or insightful to say. (Do I ever?) Anyway, it’s a good reminder and an interesting topic. Thanks.

Thanks for commenting, Melissa. I find many posts around the blogosphere that make me think, and I seldom comment on them, usually because I don’t keep in mind how nice it is just to hear from someone who simply appreciates what you write.

That said, I have to admit that the line you quoted marks a depressing observation I’ve made. It’s not at all that I mind non-Christians showing love, but that I wish more Christians could be relied upon to show the quality on which Jesus himself placed such an emphasis.

I’ve been thinking about love and the Christian life lately…is Jesus talking about love as behavior or love as a feeling? And if it is a behavior, then isn’t it something you do in time and space on a one to one basis? When I’ve got just the right mix of sudafed and cafe au lait going, I find myself full of love. Tender sympathy and affection abound for anything with a heart beat and a few inannimate objects to boot. But how can I know how well I love a terrorist if I’ve never been face to face with one?

Of course the most important thing, as you point out, is that hatred is never justified in the heart of a Christ follower. Christ makes it clear that anger in the heart is just as offensive to God as anger in action. And if we sow hate in our heart, we are bound to reap it in our actions, so we ought to examine ourselves carefully.

While I hope that the president cultivates love, compassion, and mercy in his heart, I don’t agree that he ought to vocalize tender feelings toward terrorists. He is the commander in chief after all. However, folks like Pat Robertson, who are pastors with a national platform, ought to be held to a much higher standard.

I’m not a big fan of love as a feeling, but as a mindset toward others, maybe I buy into that. That said, the behavior part is vital, and in many cases springs from mindset. And yes, I was being a little facetious about the President declaring his love (only a little, though).

But still, I disagree that we can only show love one on one. We can send money to charity and we can volunteer to help people we’ll never see, right? Likewise, we can disavow sentiments that have become so popular, like the ones that endorse vengeance toward the terrorists, as these ideas clearly don’t show the love we’re supposed to harbor in our hearts as Christians. After all, hasn’t God told us quite clearly that vengeance is his?

Again, my theology isn’t perfect on this, I’m sure, but it can’t be too far off…

Well i like your ankel of seeing things , bravo but tell me do you know from where the word terrorist comes? well you guessed right its a greek word it means the one that holds the terror and acording to the ancient greeks the goverment is the highest institution repesenting trough army and police the power of violence or terror .today america is hated all over the world and seen as arogant ,intolerant and culturless by acting the way they do because someone defending his country is supposed to be a patriot and not a terrorist ,patriot comes from the greek word (patrida)home-(country)well i am sure that for most of the readers its just words but words have meaning because i see you are a religios men well god said a word(idea)can cut more then a thousand swords.
i only hope that the people of america will realize how they are abused in the name of the good that fights the evile ,one a one dollar bill its written in god we trust what god ???
god said do not care about money and you put his name on the one dollar bill??furthermore it is knowen that no killing can be tolerated if you truelly believe in god yet your president whenever he visiteds the troops says may god bless all of you!i dont understand these beahvier.you kill your owne suns for a lie for a cause of money for the pocket of a few does nobody ther value live,you carry guns in your everyday live but why protection ?of what your owne kind??
in hope of a better and filanthropic future,at last excuse me for my bad orthography.

CARL von Bothmann

In the church where I was raised we were taught that hate is an acceptable virtue and that even G*d does hate. In fact, in this same church, hate was preached more often than love. In the past several years since then, I see that I was wrong and the church leadership was wrong to focus so much on hate. This philosophy of hate seems to continue to guide the U.S. as a Nation. It worries me. What can we as a nation do with so much hate? It’s happened before…

absolutely, Davis. i think a lot of Christian churches fall into the trap of hating both the sin and sinner. and, as so many in the U.S. consider it a Christian nation, it would behoove us all to be guided by a better version of Christianity than the one so many are clinging to.