story <\/a>from NPR several years ago that illustrates it. It tells of how a man responded to being mugged. The \u201cproper\u201d response to being mugged is to 1) be safe and 2) contribute to the mugger getting caught or hurt. Instead, this victim expressed love.<\/p>\nIt starts:<\/p>\n
\u201cJulio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.<\/p>\n
But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.<\/p>\n
He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, \u2018Here you go,'\u201d Diaz says.<\/p>\n
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, \u201cHey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you\u2019re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.\u201d<\/p>\n
The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, \u201clike what\u2019s going on here?\u201d Diaz says. \u201cHe asked me, \u2018Why are you doing this?'\u201d<\/p>\n
Diaz replied: \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me \u2026 hey, you\u2019re more than welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I just felt maybe he really needs help,\u201d Diaz says.<\/p>\n
Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A problem with moral standards, whether rooted in Christianity or otherwise, is how to express them in a cultural context. That is, are we doing something because we think it\u2019s right to do or because it\u2019s socially-normative behavior. (And I realize that the two need not be separate). As such, sometimes we understand the morality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brad-wright","tag-love"],"yoast_head":"\n
A Story of Turning the Other Cheek<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A problem with moral standards, whether rooted in Christianity or otherwise, is how to express them in a cultural context. That is, are we doing something\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2011\/12\/a-story-of-turning-the-other-cheek\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Story of Turning the Other Cheek\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A problem with moral standards, whether rooted in Christianity or otherwise, is how to express them in a cultural context. 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