For me, personal context (and timing) had a lot to bear on my interpretation of the blog post. I had recently spent time with some Christians who were paralyzed by fear – fear of our enemies, fear of losing freedom, fear of economic collapse, fear of losing political control. The idea of not being afraid resonated with me. I didn’t read Jethani’s comments as “the world is not dangerous”, but rather that we should not live within a primary worldview that is dominated by fear. Our response should be one of faith – not fear – when we encounter all of the danger and evil that it in this fallen world, and we should have the confidence that our Kingdom is indeed unshakeable (Hebrews 12).

And in my same personal context, I saw people whose fear was resulting in hate – hatred of Muslims, hatred of political parties, hatred of people who are “not like us”.

So the thought of “abandoning fear and answering, by faith, the dangerous and irrational call to love” struck a chord with me. It seemed to be very much in line with the thoughts of perfect love driving out fear and of loving our brother (I John).

I certainly don’t think (at least I hope) that Jethani or anyone else is endorsing renting out rooms for prostitutes as an act of love! Seems to me that (in context) the intent was more about not letting the evil (say, of prostitution) bear fruits of fear and hatred within our lives. And I definitely don’t think that it means that we ignore evil either.

As for the mosque debate, I agree that it is much more complex. This post just helped me to frame it within one specific context – that of fear and hatred and the damage that it can do to us as believers. If someone’s reason for opposing the mosque is solely out of fear and hatred, then I think it deserves some deeper soul searching.

I read Skye’s post, and I honestly think a lot of it is just his own ideas.

“As long as we primarily view the world is a dangerous place, we will never find the power to obey Jesus’ teachings.”
I actually think Jesus KNEW that the world was primarily dangerous. He prepped for it (reading scripture, fasting, praying, building a fellowship), and he confronted it (healing people, dying on the cross). I am not sure why viewing the world as dangerous is bad.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not saying the world is not dangerous (or evil), but that despite it being dangerous and evil, the Kingdom of God is almost directly opposite. It is descriptive of the Kingdom of God (especially a regenerated earth), not descriptive of the current kingdoms of the world, but prescriptive, saying this is how we should live.

Of course there are Christians who are fear-mongers and try to freak everyone out, but I think the mosque debate is a bit more complex than that, especially for thoughtful people (Christian and non-Christian). The mosque will be symbolic, and the debate is also about what it represents.

On another note, loving people is different than allowing their evil actions. Jesus loved the tax collectors. He did not give them bags to keep their money in. He loved prostitutes, but he did not rent them rooms to promote their business.