While flipping through your magazine in the dentist office, I came across an article in "Milestones" by Robert Baer about Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. As the Grand Ayatollah in Lebanon, many Americans may not be familiar with his record other than alleged connections to Hezbollah and violence in Beirut.
I appreciate Mr Baer's salute to the former leader, however, I take exception to the his assertion that Americans should "regret his passing" because he didn't follow the direction of Iran. As Ayatollah he preached Jihad against the West. That means he wants us dead.
No Mr Baer, I will not regret his passing based on his level of hatred for me. I will respect him as a fellow human, created in the image of God. I will pray for his family as they suffer loss. I will pray for peace between nations. But do not ask me to regret the passing of one who wanted me dead.
Tolerance has limits. I will love my neighbor, and my neighbor's neighbor, but I don't have to regret when hatred dies.
5 comments:
Sweetness, hatred did not die. A man did. Just a man.
Your words lead to me to believe that this intensity is really about something else?
I am with you on this.
People write some really dumb stuff at times.
Elizabeth~????????
Jenelle~you are right girl...tolerance DOES have it's limits! You go girl...this needed to be said and we all needed to be reminded. In this day and age we live in we need to remember that we can and will stand up to garbage like this...it is our right.
E - true he is just a man. No intensity about anything else, just didn't care for the writer's conclusions.
Well, I wouldn't really expect you to regret the passing of anyone you didn't know anyway. I read the article, and perhaps the word regret differently. I think that when we stop regretting anyone's death, how much value were we putting on their life?
There should be no tolerance for physical violence, but does that mean our feelings should have limits? Someone may declare themselves our enemy, but we do not need to accept them as such. As followers of Jesus, they are not our struggle.
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