In Christianity you cannot simply be born into the religion (and those who merely do that are the ones who give the religion a bad name). You are required at some point to decide to choose to follow the teachings of Jesus that define a way of life. Anyone who is truly a Christian knows how you feel, SF Ali, because anyone who makes that commitment to the teachings of radical love, peace, and sharing of the good news immediately runs up against ugliness. He warned his followers over and over again that they would be persecuted for their simple faith. When my little sister, at 6, made that commitment, within the hour she ran up against my 8-year-old ugliness. I knew she had done something, gone somewhere, without me. I was confused, frightened, angry — and mean to her. The sweeter she became, the meaner I was. When I was 11, I fought my own battle with God and capitulated, which started me on a journey like hers. I realized quickly that I was an alien in a familiar land — that even the Christian members of my own household would be in some ways pitted against my new-found faith. The first big issue was pacifism. It took me 20 years to become a genuine follower of Jesus on that frontier. My faith has been re-discovered in small and big ways in the 65 years since my childhood decision. I hope if I am killed that it will be for the same reason Jesus died, full of strong love and obedient to the Father’s will, but despite decades in service I am still blind and angry and mean when faced with something incomprehensible, although now it is not goodness but evil that confounds me, like the Internet Police who threatened you. And the insanity and commitment to evil that defines the present White House and that dominates the Republicans in Congress. If I remember evil taints all of us, I am stronger to oppose it.
And I pray for your safety.
