Ariah's thoughts

I very much enjoy checking out the forum wall in CPO. It's great to see the freedom we have in this community to speak freely about all sorts of things, from politics, to relationships, to our Christian calling. Last week I saw a new sign on the forum wall; A couple hours later I saw that sign had been ripped down. The next day I saw it reposted, and again a few hours later I saw it torn down. Why would someone censor or limit free speech on this campus? Well this is roughly what the sign had said:

In case you do not know, Mohamed Atta was one of the men involved in crashing the planes into the towers on 9/11. If there is a person most citizens of the United States would consider an enemy, he would be it. In addition, Matthew 5:43-47 is Jesus' sermon on the mount when he says, "Love your enemies."
I do not presume that the majority of students on this campus would have torn down that sign, but I saw a handful walk past it shaking their heads. It seems to me that there is not love in our hearts, but rather indifference, disgust or worse, hate. Hatred is an ugly thing. I know because I've seen hatred in my own life, and when I really look at it and face it, I see nothing of Christ in it. Regardless of how deserving I think the victim of my hate is. On a Christian campus I am distrought by the lack of effort to carry out Christ commands to love our enemies.
I am not against ROTC, I know of many committed brothers and sisters in the faith who are among the ranks, and I have a deep respect for them. Yet, I wonder, how do you love your enemy at the end of your gun barrel? I'm not trying to simplify, or begin a war vs. pacifism argument, but I do think this calling of Christ to "love our enemies" needs to be wrestled with on campus. What are we doing in this community to remind ourselves, and especially the military recruits among us, that Jesus calls us to love our enemies?
Each chapel time we pray as a community. Primarily, we pray for needs and concerns of this immediate community, but often we also pray for a few pressing issues in our world. I do not think they are illigitimate prayers when we ask for guidance and wisdom for the our troops and our leaders, and I am grateful that we have as a pray request the well being of the Iraqi people. Rarely, if ever, do we lift up prayers for those rebel soldiers, the ones we consider the enemy, who are daily killing Iraqi civilians and US soldiers. Yet, Jesus demands it! He says pray for them! And you know in your own heart who you have decleared enemies.
Chapel and ROTC are not my concern though, I only speak about them to share where my struggle comes from. My concern, my fear, my distraught, is in what was meant by tearing down that sign on the forum wall. Does it make us uncomfortable that Jesus said to love and pray for Mohamed Atta? Are we know different then the rest of the world and this country who want nothing but death and destruction for Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Ladin and the rest of those our country is fighting against? You know in your own heart how you feel about those men, and about what happened on 9/11. Those are real feelings and I'm not asking you to ignore them, rather the scripture compels us to wrestle with them. Would you have torn down that sign? Does hatred or anger, sadness or frustration at the situation boil so deeply in you?
What sets us apart from the rest of the world? Is it not Christ love? On a normal week, even year, at Wheaton you are not likely to come in contact with someone you might be tempted to hate. But, when just the image of one we consider evil is put in our midst, it does not last the hour. Why the hatred? Where is the love? I'll leave you with the words of Christ:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"