Fear and violence have been handed down from generation to generation.
We see this in the Church.
Violence and intimidation inflicted on one generation is replicated in the next.
It is a vicious cycle.
The Old Testament rule of an eye for an eye merely guaranteed that this cycle continued.
But Jesus said not to retaliate but to return good for evil.
This breaks the cycle of fear and violence.
It is a truly revolutionary philosophy.
So don't return your elders' violence and intimidation in kind but love and forgive them.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love." 1 John 4:18 (NRSV)
[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]
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