Blog:FOREST LAKE TALKS

While the Buddhist Monks from Fort Worth, Texas were walking through South Carolina calling for peace this weekend, a 19-year-old man was busy breaking into the Beth Israel Congregation, in Jackson, Mississippi, to set fires and desecrate that historic Jewish place of worship. Two Torah scrolls were destroyed, and three more damaged.

According to two cable news channels, when the defendant appeared in court and was advised of his rights, the accused arsonist responded, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Beth Israel was also burned in September of 1967 by members of the Ku Klux Klan, who also wrapped their calls for hate in Christian language. What can we do?

1. Speak up when you see or hear someone using hate language. Challenge antisemitic talk, and also Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, racism, and misogyny, all of which have a history of wrapping their calls to hate in the language of faith. Remember even the devil quotes Scripture (Luke 4). Don’t post or repost hate. Don’t return evil for evil (Romans 12:17). Speak up and out against hate speech. Step in to defend those who are being targeted. God is love (1 John 4:16).
2. Get to know someone who is not like you. Consider getting to know someone you suspect you may disagree with. Don’t talk to them to convince them to change their minds, but to listen to what they believe and feel. IF they ask you, then you can say how you feel. Instead listen before speaking or judging (James 1:19-20).
3. Plan to attend the Interfaith Event that the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission (CHEC) is holding at our church on Sunday, February 1 from 11:30 AM to 1 PM. The members of the Abraham’s Table Podcast (of which I am one!) will hold a panel discussion on the topic of Seeking Hope . . . Being an Upstander!. Dr. Doyle Stevick, Director of the Anne Frank House at USC, will be the moderator. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED – see the flyer for a QR code or call 803-973-0023. Lunch provided for those who pre-register.

Lutheran pastor, Marin Niemoller, who originally supported Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and was a self-identified antisemite, later became a part of the German Confessing Church to oppose Hitler’s policies. His legacy is mixed, but he was imprisoned for his opposition in both Sachenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. After the war, Niemoller wrote about his deep regret. He is perhaps most famous for his statement, First they came . . .

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

To speak, share, or honor hate speech against another child of God is a sin of commission. To tolerate or to refrain from standing against someone else’s hate speech is a sin of omission. Both separate us from God, each other, and our God-given nature as children of a loving God.