Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, December 19, 2007


He that would make his own liberty secure must guard
even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this
duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.

- Thomas Paine, who published the first of his
“American Crisis” essays on this day, 1776


Jesus is recorded as saying, “Love your enemies”. Joseph Campbell, mythologist, said it was the most difficult, most challenging saying in the Gospel. Jesus had a reason for saying it, probably several. I believe that Jesus was making a point related to “Love your neighbor as yourself”, and to “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”. I believe it was a stern, wise, loving warning, one of the core things to pay attention to, to understand in all of its ramifications for human society.

Thomas Paine understood it, and obviously deeply respected it - and if you read Thomas Paine you will see that he was a stern critic of “church”. He once wrote, “All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” Oh, I’ve probably quoted him “out of context”. However, I think he valued the Gospel, but not what men and women had made of it. We need to pay attention to his warning, especially in our times.

Would you want to be waterboarded? Kept awake long hours in extreme cold or heat? Or any of the other things some people in our government and land seem to be trying to justify for our “enemies”? And oh yes, we do have enemies, those who wish us harm. This does not negate the point. Both Jesus and Thomas Paine make the point that what we are willing to do to fellow human beings - for whatever reasons we might think justified - “establishes a precedent that will reach to himself”.

The spiral of inflicting inhuman and inhumane pain on others only spirals downward - eventually probably to us. The rejection of Jesus’ command, even in time of war, only encourages humanity to a descent into barbarism ….. the result can only be terror. Paine wrote, “He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death.” We and others are bleeding from self-inflicted wounds.

My prayer this holy season is that every human being will begin to pray for, and begin to love, our “enemy”. It does not mean we condone unloving acts. But that we all might be led to make peace, not war.

Brian+