I can't deny that it is deeply affecting to see how seriously the Amish strive to heed Jesus' admonition to return good for evil and turn the other cheek. For many Christians, the Amish determination to forgive their daughters' murder is awe-inspiring.
Hmmmm.... I sense a qualifying conjunction just over the horizon:
But...
Told you so.
....hatred is not always wrong, and forgiveness is not always deserved. I admire the Amish villagers' resolve to live up to their Christian ideals even amid heartbreak, but how many of us would really want to live in a society in which no one gets angry when children are slaughtered? In which even the most horrific acts of cruelty were always and instantly forgiven? There is a time to love *and* a time to hate, Ecclesiastes teaches.
When the suspiciously lefty-sounding New Testament doesn't provide the requisite bloodletting, the conflicted Christian can always flee to the eat-shrimp-and-burn-in-hell clarity of the Oldies.
Also: Billmon has heard it all before.
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