Two Kinds of Caring
The Christian martyr reveals a way of caring that’s incompatible with the kind of care urged by those preachers of political salvation I’ve talked about lately. At the heart of Christian martyrdom is a response of love not only to the revealed Christ, but also to the one who murders. The martyr says to her murderer, “I die for Christ who died for you.” She witnesses to the love of God in the sacred hope that her sacrifice will speak to her murderer’s heart and mind. She therefore cares more for her murderer’s spiritual salvation than for her own physical life. She cares more for the eternal fate of the guilty than for the temporal fate of her own innocent self. The preachers of political salvation, on the other hand, place their faith in the instruments of violence and their hope in human saviors. They love life, but it is the life of those they deem innocent that speaks to their hearts. For the salvation of the guilty, they have no care.
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And, therefore, Kyle, none for their own, either, because they, too–like all of us–are guilty.
excellent post Kyle. Thanks.
Are there any true innocents that we are obliged to protect by the use of violence?