{"id":6130,"date":"2017-02-14T07:56:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T12:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=6130"},"modified":"2017-02-08T12:14:50","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T17:14:50","slug":"february-19-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/february-19-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"February 19, 2017–Love Your Enemies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA
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\u00a0Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who do you consider your enemies?<\/p>\n

Love Your Enemies
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A group of prominent conservative voices that loudly opposed President Donald Trump\u2019s candidacy are now fearful that he might take revenge over their lack of support now that he is president.<\/p>\n

It may seem a little paranoid to be worried about the President of the United States coming after you, but Trump has talked frequently about getting revenge on people he feels has wronged him and even written about it in some of his books. \u201cMy motto is: Always get even,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhen somebody screws you, screw them back in spades.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When asked about his favorite Bible verse last year, he said it was \u201can eye for an eye.\u201d \u201cThe question is not whether he\u2019s vengeful,\u201d conservative columnist Ben Shapiro told The Atlantic<\/a>. \u201cThe question is how willing he is to use the levers of government to exact that revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro was a columnist for right-wing Breitbart News, but he quit last March when he felt the site had become a place where Trump could not be criticized. Shapiro said he has installed a state-of-the-art security system in his home and purchased a shotgun in case anyone tries to harm him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can fight very ugly and very nasty,\u201d he said of Trump and former Breitbart boss Steve Bannon who is now a Trump advisor. \u201cAnd they do have power now, where if they feel like destroying you, they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck says he has received multiple death threats from Trump supporters and now travels with two bodyguards to protect himself. \u201cIt is not fun,\u201d Beck said. \u201cI don\u2019t cherish it, but I value the truth more than I\u2019m afraid of retribution.\u201d Beck has said that Trump is putting some \u201cdisturbing people\u201d in his inner circle and that his treatment of the press is alarming.<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n