“But we must never forget that there is something within human nature that can respond to goodness, that man is not totally depraved; to put it in theological terms, the image of God is never totally gone.” This is Dr. King offering us a way of thinking through the divine image in everyone. I try to hold to it. It’s a way of regarding people as your fellow human beings even when they’re attacking you. We demonize when we don’t know what to do with our despair, and insisting that abusive people are nevertheless infinitely valuable bearers of God’s image is one way of sidestepping a spiral of accusation which, on some days, seems to drive our media economy.
You may have seen my post today on Facebook mourning the loss of my ex friend Ken Paxton, Attorney Gen of TX, whose call to invalidate votes in four states befuddles me. I looked up to him and he was a great encouragement to me. I still hope for him.
This is a great encouragement to me. Beautifully written, David.
You may have seen my post today on Facebook mourning the loss of my ex friend Ken Paxton, Attorney Gen of TX, whose call to invalidate votes in four states befuddles me. I looked up to him and he was a great encouragement to me. I still hope for him.
What you are recommending is Nonviolence, the heart of the Gospel. Not many folk understand it, perhaps especially the Churches.