January 8, 2013
2013: The year without fear?
In this special New Year’s article for the “On Faith” section of The Washington Post, theologian Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite says,’We are not going to be able to address a gun culture that makes the United States the most heavily armed nation in the world, unless we also counter a fear culture that is deeply emotionally rooted in our society. What is powerful enough to counter fear? Biblically speaking, it is love that casts out fear.” Thistlethwaite shows how a fear culture and a gun culture reinforce each other. Some of the issues that she calls the “worst fear triggers” that we must address and counter through the power of love are racism, homophobia, Islamaphobia, and sexism. Take some time to read Thistlethwaite’s comments about each of them and her suggestions for how we might work for change.
