Saturday, May 19, 2001
Saturday, May 19, 2001
And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
When the professor finally stopped talking, the room filled with an embarrassed silence. Who
would answer the man? Would this whole discussion degenerate into a shouting match? How
could the Christian delegation maintain its witness for Christ in the face of this man's anger? Out
of the Christian delegation, a man named Kent Hill stood up. Kent is a professor in Russian
studies and president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington. Kent spoke
gently, telling the professor that he respected his right to his beliefs. Kent spoke of tolerance for
all ideas, religious and atheistic. He affirmed that freedom of religion also included the freedom
not to believe. And then, in fluent Russian, Kent explained to his audience why he was a Christian.
He told them he had been greatly influenced by the Russian novelist Dostoevsky, and his book
THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. The novel is about two brothers, Ivan, an agnostic, and
Alyosha, a believer. When Kent first began reading he had agreed with Ivan and his arguments
against God. But he could not help but be attracted by the character of Alyosha. Alyosha had a
love in his heart that could not be argued away. And in the end, that love overcame all of Ivan's
arguments in Kent's mind.
Kent Hill's loving response to the Russian professor ended the tension in the room and restored
positive communication. Don't you wish that all Christians could handle their emotions like Kent
Hill? Love is the distinguishing characteristic of Christians.
(1 Corinthians 13:13
NRSV)
In 1991, a delegation of Christian leaders from the U.S. traveled to Moscow to share ideas with
government, business, and media leaders in Russia. The fall of communism had left a leadership
vacuum, and the people were desperate for guidance and inspiration from the outside world.
They especially wanted to hear about God, morality, faith. Everywhere the delegation went, they
were greeted with respect and kindness. One of the delegation's meetings was with the Academy
of Social Sciences, an institution steeped in Marxist-Leninist ideology. Surely here they would
meet with some opposition, some clash of ideas. The discussion started off amicably, however.
The Russian professors were interested in how to create a moral and just society. They wanted to
talk about the failures of society and their hopes and fears for the future. After a few minutes of
this, however, a professor stood up and began to speak. Unlike his colleagues, he was angry. He
rejected the idea of God, and argued that God was not necessary for morality to exist. This man,
a devoted communist, was seeing all his beliefs being questioned. The foundation of his society
was crumbling, and he was making a desperate effort to convince people to return to the basics of
communism. He shouted at the delegates, trying to deny that their ideas would work in Russian
society.
Dear God, may the wonderful love you have given to me be seen by all. Amen.
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