8/27/2021

My Friend JRB,

I am holding you in the Light. I’m afraid you unleashed your dark side during your press conference yesterday when you said, “we will not forgive.” While I understand your anger that ISIS-K suicide bombers would kill innocent people, I was distressed to hear you utter those words.

In that moment, did you forget the New Testament with its numerous messages about forgiving others so that God will forgive us? Couldn’t you have said something like, “we won’t let this happen again. We are going to figure out who did this and render them harmless?” That leaves it to the imagination what we might do & let’s people hold onto the idea that we can solve our problems without resorting to violence. That was Jesus’ idea when he suggested we turn the other cheek. Please keep that in mind.

As long as we are getting Biblical this morning, I feel led to ask, “do you believe in angels?” I’m not sure that I do, but your recitation of Isiah’s experience in the temple when he heard God ask, “Is there anyone I can send?” led me to read the rest of Isiah 6. I was surprised to see that “flaming creatures (aka seraphim) with six wings each were flying over him” at the time. Serpahim are 5th order angels in the Jewish ranking system.

Perhaps you can get clarification from Israeli PM Naftali Bennett today. He’s a religious guy. Please talk about your interpretations of Isiah 6:9,” you will listen & listen, but never understand, you will look & look, but never see.” I read it as we will never understand God. We just need to have faith. Is that what you think?

Please heed the advice of Ben Davis writing in today’s G. He recommends you stay the course because scandals have brief shelflives. Go ahead & jump on the offers of the 9 GOP governors who have offered to shelter Afghani refugees. Those offers won’t last long.

Speaking of refugees, I hope KMH asked the Vietnamese to shelter some Burmese migrants. Perhaps we can sneak some of them in with the Afghanis.

BYBS,