From the Christian Science Monitor:
The Amish of Lancaster County, often seen as living in an idyllic but archaic past, have given a powerful example for the future. Their actions since the school shootings that killed five Amish girls provide one of many ways to prevent such tragedies.
Previous school shootings, notably the 1999 murders at Columbine High School, have led to calls for any number of useful, preventive measures, such as tighter security, more federal gun control, antibullying training for young children, more parental vigilance in communities, and closer screening of wayward students. And perhaps, as a result, many shootings have been prevented.
Those Old Order Amish who live a secluded life near the school at Nickel Mines, Pa., have a different idea.
Their faith in the power of forgiveness led them to invite the widow of the nonAmish killer, Charles Carl Roberts IV, to the funeral for four of the slain girls. One Amish woman told a reporter, "It's our Christian love to show to her we have not any grudges against her."
Boy. I sure couldn't do that. And for sure, I know of at least two religions whose adherents would endorse doing exactly the opposite.
1 comment:
This is such a myth. I was at a fundraiser this week and one of the speakers mentioned that he saw something along the lines of your comments.
He said, since the media cannot blame these school shootings on Muslims they take it as an excuse to bash them instead. And he cited an example of a segment he had seen on FoxNews.
The Amish in this situation have the moral capital to lecture others about forgiveness but most of the people citing this example lack that same moral capital.
These are the same people who after 9/11 were so angry and unforgiving that they bombed Afghanistan and then continued their angry pursuits in Iraq. Where was the forgiveness there?
The Quran actually has some very beautiful verses to encourage the believers to do just what the Amish did and you can see this in practice in almost all Muslim societies from the secular to the conservative.
Post a Comment