A few nights ago, twelve friends and I attended the lighting of the Portland Christmas tree in Pioneer Square. My friends had all flown in for Thanksgiving, and we decided to join ten-thousand others who walked from all over downtown for the event. What we didn’t know is the spot where we squeezed into the crowd was 25 feet from a van filled with what a young man believed were six, fifty-gallon barrels of explosive material. Read on...
Christian extremism is willing to die for people, not demonize them to validate their belittlement and oppression.
-- Donald Miller
This Miller post caught my eye. I think Miller's discussion is helpful and worth considering, especially in light of the media-soup we swim in these days.
I find myself wondering, though, about the 'enemy' as he describes it. I wonder if extremism is still a front for something else, something closer to the real enemy. What do you think the enemy is?
I suspect it is something inside of us (inside me), rather than something out there. ...something like a worship of self, an indulgence of self, a protection of self, a determined defense of our comfort, of our egos, a carelessness about our relationships with others...often reflected in how we think (talk?) about 'others'. In other words, something is fuel for extremism. What do you think the enemy is?
