Nice quote, but who defines love? God? The Bible? Is SoJo aware of West's support for hate speech legislation? It is of little concern to him that such legislation might be used to prosecute a pastor or a congregation following a sermon on the 7th Commandment. See the following response to West's violent editorial:
_____
CORNEL WEST and Sylvia Rhue's arguments about hate crimes legislation border on hatred itself, such as when they accuse people who oppose this legislation as being guilty of "falsehoods and bigotry" ("Fabricated fears about hate crimes legislation," Op-ed, Sept. 25).
Hate crimes legislation is unnecessary. A crime is a crime. Hate is a motive. Making a motive a crime is legislating thought. Matthew Shepard was murdered. That was the crime. Perhaps hatred of homosexuals was the motive. Every crime has a motive. Greed can cause theft. Jealousy can cause people to kill the lovers of their mates. Anger can lead to assault and battery. Anger, jealousy, and greed are not crimes. Assault and battery, murder, and theft are crimes. Hate also should not be a crime. We need to keep our senses, even if we don't like the reason that someone commits a crime.
BARRY M. COHEN
Newton Centre [a Boston suburb with numerous synogogues]
Posted by: Witness for Peace | September 11, 2008 9:03 AM
I love the quote. It is a paraphrase or distillation of much of Christ's teachings on loving your neighbor, and seeking much of the affirmations that seeking justice is all of mankind's task.
We say we love our brother, yet our actions often speak louder than our words, and render them contradictory in many cases.
That someone wishes to find the author disagreeable is besides the point. Do we hold that level of scrutiny to others?
As to the definition of love. It seems to be relative too often to the circumstances, times, places, culture, doesn't it?
Posted by: Marlene | September 11, 2008 1:32 PM
j-st-s is never what we observe, merely various orders where by virtue of the self-sacrificial love of Jesus and the careful use of the state's monopoly of legit violence, the natural state of misery has been ameliorated for the sake of the advancement of the kingship of God.
dlw
Posted by: dlw | September 11, 2008 9:49 PM
I'm a big fan of finding wisdom in the widest variety of places, so I do like Cornel West's quote. I often read his column back when "Christianity and Crisis" was around. Christians with a faith based on the Hebrew and Christian Bible often have much more in common with Hindus and Moslems than with the Hollyword crowd.
___
Another quotable would be
___
"Jesus is what love looks like in public."
Posted by: Witness for Peace | September 12, 2008 11:02 AM
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Comments
Nice quote, but who defines love? God? The Bible? Is SoJo aware of West's support for hate speech legislation? It is of little concern to him that such legislation might be used to prosecute a pastor or a congregation following a sermon on the 7th Commandment. See the following response to West's violent editorial:
_____
CORNEL WEST and Sylvia Rhue's arguments about hate crimes legislation border on hatred itself, such as when they accuse people who oppose this legislation as being guilty of "falsehoods and bigotry" ("Fabricated fears about hate crimes legislation," Op-ed, Sept. 25).
Hate crimes legislation is unnecessary. A crime is a crime. Hate is a motive. Making a motive a crime is legislating thought. Matthew Shepard was murdered. That was the crime. Perhaps hatred of homosexuals was the motive. Every crime has a motive. Greed can cause theft. Jealousy can cause people to kill the lovers of their mates. Anger can lead to assault and battery. Anger, jealousy, and greed are not crimes. Assault and battery, murder, and theft are crimes. Hate also should not be a crime. We need to keep our senses, even if we don't like the reason that someone commits a crime.
BARRY M. COHEN
Newton Centre [a Boston suburb with numerous synogogues]
Posted by: Witness for Peace | September 11, 2008 9:03 AM
I love the quote. It is a paraphrase or distillation of much of Christ's teachings on loving your neighbor, and seeking much of the affirmations that seeking justice is all of mankind's task.
We say we love our brother, yet our actions often speak louder than our words, and render them contradictory in many cases.
That someone wishes to find the author disagreeable is besides the point. Do we hold that level of scrutiny to others?
As to the definition of love. It seems to be relative too often to the circumstances, times, places, culture, doesn't it?
Posted by: Marlene | September 11, 2008 1:32 PM
j-st-s is never what we observe, merely various orders where by virtue of the self-sacrificial love of Jesus and the careful use of the state's monopoly of legit violence, the natural state of misery has been ameliorated for the sake of the advancement of the kingship of God.
dlw
Posted by: dlw | September 11, 2008 9:49 PM
I'm a big fan of finding wisdom in the widest variety of places, so I do like Cornel West's quote. I often read his column back when "Christianity and Crisis" was around. Christians with a faith based on the Hebrew and Christian Bible often have much more in common with Hindus and Moslems than with the Hollyword crowd.
___
Another quotable would be
___
"Jesus is what love looks like in public."
Posted by: Witness for Peace | September 12, 2008 11:02 AM
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