Yesterday I read two articles on how we should feel about the Boston Marathon bombers. One was Dear Dzhokhar, I Can't Hate You by a Christian Reverend, the other And Hate the Sinner Too by a Jewish Rabbi. Excerpts and what I believe is the essence of the Love article: I can't hate you because, even though you did unspeakable things ... somehow you are still my brother and your death can never be my gain.
I can't hate you, and not just because I am a Catholic, and a Christian, and because in a couple of months I will be a priest, I am a human and I simply can't hate you.
Dear Dzhokhar, I still have hope for you. I am glad you are in custody, but you are just a kid, and you are lost. I will love and pray for you, because somehow your sin was turned for good, and my community and the people I love will only be stronger in the end.
Dear Dzhokhar, godspeed.
Excerpts and what I believe is the essence of the Hate article:
Living in a Christian world that teaches us to 'love the sinner,' we find excuses for evil and refuse to dedicate ourselves fully to its destruction.
Forgetting how to hate can be just as damaging as forgetting how to love.
Hatred is a valid emotion, an appropriate response, when directed at the truly evil. Contrary to Christianity, which advocates turning the other cheek to belligerence and loving the wicked, Judaism obligates us to despise and resist evil at every turn.
Let us never forget the immortal words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people."
Dear Dzhokhar, I Hate You.
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