What's it going to be? Love? Or anger?

Today on the Frank Pastore show, I heard a tape recording of Bill Ayers' unapologetic claim that his repeated bombings of government buildings in the 60's and 70's were not acts of terror. Ayers' rationale? He wasn't attacking people, just buildings. Surprisingly, this guy is a professor at the University of Chicago. Apparently logic is not his strong suit.

Understandably, Frank Pastore was stunned, and expressed his frustration with the fact that Ayers is living and teaching in the USA today, unpunished and making excuses for his terrorism.

Like Frank, my blood began to boil when I thought about the injustice of Ayer's anti-war efforts. But I really got heated when a lady (Rachelle) called into the radio show to criticize Pastore's anger and condemn his "judgement" of Bill Ayers. Rachelle admonished Frank, "Leave Ayer's actions in the past, get rid of your anger, and love him. That's what we're called to do."

He tried to respond, but she promptly hung up on him.

I think Rachelle's understanding of Christianity is pale and watered down. The faultiness of her reasoning lies in a false antithesis: Christians must either choose love or anger. She was convinced it's not possible to simultaneously feel or act on both, much less feel anger as a result of love.

I wonder, what does she do with the biblical picture of God's outrage when he sees injustice and perversion in the world he loves so much? Does she think God would feel such anger if he didn't love the world? Anger and love often go hand in hand.

Aren't Christians supposed to care about the things God cares about? Don't we have a responsibility to be salt and light, not just by the things we say, but by the things we do?! If we float along in passivity, it's going to be tough for us to answer our Christian call to social action. Our outrage at social injustice and our love for people should provoke us to social action.

Rachelle, love is not unmoved by social injustice. Love does the hard thing. It discerns injustice, is angered by injustice, and then stands up to it.