By John Kern

As I watched the Blue Ridge Marathon April 20, five days after the Boston Marathon — sadly, also the Boston massacre — I talked with a spectator, the father of a daughter and son-in-law in the race. He said, you probably don’t agree with me, but I hope that younger brother (Dzhokhar Tsarnaev) dies, because his medical care, trial and appeals would be a waste of money. I anwsered, you’re right, I don’t agree with you.

As a member of the Society of Friends, Quakers, I don’t believe in the death penalty, I don’t believe in war and, of course, I don’t support random killing of civilians. As a historian, I Googled Chechnya, the birthplace of the Tsarnaevs, and learned of that country’s millennium of devastation: invasion by the Mongols, by the Russian Cossacks, by the Ottoman Empire, by Czarist Russia, by Communist Russia, by the Russian Army during World War II, and by two Chechnyan wars during the 1990s after the fall of Soviet Russia.

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Kern lives in Roanoke.

Evolution and guns in today’s letters to the editor.

Empowering terrorists for the almighty dollar

In the wake of the Boston bombing, we need to have a national conversation about whether there’s such a thing as “good” terrorism. Consider Washington’s support for the proto-Taliban against the Soviets or the Chechen separatists against the current Russian state.

And while Boston was gripped with fear, Secretary of State John Kerry was overseas trying to drum up support for the destruction of Syria as a unified political entity by any means necessary. That nation is presently attracting violent Salafist mercenaries from across the Arab world, some of whom just recently took two Syrian bishops hostage.

What’s it all for? Qatar and Turkey wish to construct a pipeline across a post-Assad Syria, and Washington, I suppose, is pleased to see plans for a competing Iranian pipeline scuttled.

I would argue that allowing profit motives to dominate our foreign policy has nothing to do with making America safer and, in some cases, achieves quite the opposite.

SCOTT BARRIOS

ROANOKE

Associated Press

Paul Brandeis, the senior religion editor at the Huffington Post, has a thoughtful essay today about different forms of anger we can have in response to the Boston bombings.

We have our teeth bared and fists clenched. I can see it on the streets of New York, and online on the social networks — we are angry and want a response to Boston.

The question we face now as individuals and as a nation is what to do with our anger. I want to suggest that we first try to look at our anger itself to make sure our response in the days to come reflects who we truly are as a democratic country, and continues to be in concert with the principles of justice and peace that we value.

Brandeis suggests that there are two types of anger, holy anger and demonic anger. He describes demonic anger as a blood lust for immediate revenge, even if it is directed at the wrong individual or group. Holy anger, on the other hand, whether built upon personal meditation or prayer, seeks to obtain true justice and to honor the victims as well as first responders, law enforcement and bystanders who reacted with courage and compassion.

It’s worth the time to read his full essay.

by Keisha Graziadei

“[Should] Christians, if they are voters or members of parliament, try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in … laws? … My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognize that the majority of people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives.” — C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”

By function of democracy, many Christians (namely social conservatives) are left in an undesirable position regarding the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. Either we vote for the thing that requires other people to be unfairly held to a moral standard they don’t believe in, or we must vote for the thing that seems vehemently contrary to what we believe God teaches. How are we supposed to choose and still hold true to our faith?

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Graziadei lives in Roanoke, works in the city’s communications department and is a member of Genesis Community Church.

by Keith Johnson

We see another governmental assault on Christian faith. On March 27, U. S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski ruled it is unconstitutional for the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors to pray a Christian prayer before meetings.

This and other court rulings of this nature seem to overlook an important phrase in the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

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Johnson lives in Boones Mill.

By Tom Nelson

Easter is my favorite religious holiday. The idea of an afterlife appeals to me, and I believe in the Easter promise.

New York City is the place of my birth. I am in town this week visiting family, and though I’d like to tell you my mother is among that family, she is not. Long dead, Mom is now part of that Easter promise, one that is stirring inside me right this moment.

It all began this week as I stepped out of Pennsylvania Station.

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Nelson is an associate professor of communications at Elon University.

By John Long

My meandering mind: short observations and random thoughts that have crossed my mind lately, because instead of thinking of complex issues I’ve been watching basketball.

Speaking of basketball, this time of year I often recall something I once heard Larry King say: Sports are the most important unimportant thing in the world. I love the NCAA Division I tournament, but like a lot of longtime bracketeers I think some things have gone awry in recent Marches. Why 68 teams? This year, play-in games filled two 16 seeds, a 13, and an 11. Why such random seedings? How about 80 teams, with the less impressive programs playing in to the 15 and 16 seeds only? And why do teams travel to Philadelphia to play in the South Regional, to Dayton, Ohio, for the West, and to San Jose, Calif., for games in the East?

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Long is a Roanoke Times columnist and director of the Salem Museum.

By Mike Ellerbrock

The Zen master told his acolytes of a holy man on his knees searching the grass under the moonlight for something he lost. A bystander asked what he was looking for. The holy man answered, “a key.” Willing to help search, the bystander asked, “Where did you lose it?”

“Over there, in the dark woods,” replied the holy man.

“Then why are you looking here, in this open field?” asked the perplexed stranger.

“Because this is where the light shines,” explained the holy man.

We enter this world naked, possessing nothing, yet we bury people in their nicest outfit. Why? Because, otherwise, no one would come to our funeral. Between entrance and exit, do we truly own anything if we can’t take it with us?

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Ellerbrock is director of the Center for Economic Education at Virginia Tech and a deacon for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

by Devan Malore

Hardly a week goes by without a letter or rant in The Roanoke Times suggesting we’re doomed without devotion to God or obedience to his word. What’s changed today for some of us information junkies is that other scriptures and teachings from different traditions are available from credible sources. We can find as many interpretations of biblical passages as there are groups calling themselves Christian. Those of us who don’t consider the Bible the only divine text admit it’s a great work of literature, fueling fierce debate and motivating valuable social movements like civil rights.

Trendy Buddhists also offer contrasting views of what the Buddha said about living a good life and getting a clearer view of what’s going on. But it’s tempting to accept established dogma. Then, there’s a secular view that wants to promote spirituality divorced from religion.

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Malore is a former monk of an Eastern Religion. He lives on the edge of Lexington.

By Kathleen Parker

All things considered, I’d rather be in Rome. Wouldn’t everyone?

Tout le journalism monde has descended on Rome since Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise retirement last month. The ensuing Vatican intrigue has been appropriately sumptuous: Was it the gay cabal? Blackmail? Did the butler do it?

And now what?

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Parker is a columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group.