Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Anne Rice’s Easter message

Rice’s column really resonated with me:

Look: I believe in Him. It’s that simple and that complex. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the God Man who came to earth, born as a tiny baby and then lived over thirty years in our midst. I believe in what we celebrate this week: the scandal of the cross and the miracle of the Resurrection. My belief is total. And I know that I cannot convince anyone of it by reason, anymore than an atheist can convince me, by reason, that there is no God. ...

The Sermon on the Mount is the portion of the New Testament to which I return again and again. I return to the simple command: “Love your enemies.” And each day brings me closer to understanding that in this message lies the blueprint for bringing the Kingdom of God to Earth. The Sermon on the Mount is the full blueprint. And it is not impossible to love our enemies and our neighbors, but it may be the hardest thing we have ever been asked to do.

Go read the whole thing. Here I want to comment on the command to “love thy enemies.” It is a core command, of that I have no doubt. Yet, loving one’s enemies does not mean being supine in the face of evil. The same Christ who commanded us to love our enemies cleared the Temple with a whip. Indeed, sometimes one can only love one’s enemies by confronting them, a point I think Pope Benedict’s willingness to stand fast to the tenets of the faith even when that gives offense nicely illustrates (more about that in a later post).