Re: the Nov. 5 article "Real Christianity means welcoming strangers."
I’m grateful to Rev. Gary Nelson for his Nov. 5 guest opinion. It is easy to claim Christianity but hard to practice it.
Jesus tells us to welcome the stranger, but our human brain (specifically, the amygdala) is “hard wired” to automatically elicit feelings of fear and/or aggression toward those who are different from ourselves.
All modern religions attempt to alleviate this condition - teaching variations on The Golden Rule. Though, as we see, results are mixed.
In the Bible, God says to us, “be not afraid” 365 times - once for every day of the year. But it’s a hard sell when one is inundated with violent political rhetoric aimed directly at the brain stem.
Thank you, Reverend Nelson, for having the courage to speak out in the midst of our current political milieu.
People are also reading…
Peace be with you.
Greg Lewis
Midtown
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
