WN: And the Game-Changing Wisdom humanity learned for the first time ever, according to Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt and Roman Catholic thinker Ivan Illich, is the spontaneous love of enemy–no questions asked, no conditions demanded, no holds barred . . . (See: Luke 10:25-37 NIV – The Parable of the Good Samaritan.)
And Jesus also instructs us:
“Go and do likewise.”
excerpts:
At this time of year we traditionally reflect upon our blessings and forgive those who have trespassed against us. But we’ve been trying that for millennia, and the results have been unsatisfactory. So let’s discard the accumulated wisdom of all humanity’s spiritual traditions and focus our mental energy instead on how much we dislike various awful people around us. Merry Christmas.
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10. My Secret Enemy
I would like to identify my secret enemy, but then they wouldn’t be secret. Also, everyone who wasn’t my secret enemy would feel they were off the hook and be tempted to misbehave.
Wayne Northey was Director of Man-to-Man/Woman-to-Woman – Restorative Christian Ministries (M2/W2) in British Columbia, Canada from 1998 to 2014, when he retired. He has been active in the criminal justice arena and a keen promoter of Restorative Justice since 1974. He has published widely on peacemaking and justice themes. You will find more about that on this website: a work in progress.
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