Love Language: Lessons from the Bible and Qur鈥檃n
Love Language: Lessons from the Bible and Qur鈥檃n
By Ida Glaser
The very first hate speech is air-brushed out of the Bible. 鈥淐ain said
to his brother,鈥� Genesis 4:8 tells us. But it does not tell us what he said鈥攐nly that.
Later when the two were in the field, Cain killed his brother. Ancient translations,
Jewish, Christian, and Qur鈥檃nic re-tellings of the story all give their versions of
what Cain said. The Qur鈥檃n gives voice to Cain鈥檚 murderous intent: 鈥淚 will surely
kill you!鈥� (Qur鈥檃n 5:27), but many translations of Genesis follow the ancient Septuagint,
simply stating, 鈥淟et us go out into the field.鈥�
If we consider the words alone, we might say that the Qur鈥檃n records
hate speech, while the Septuagint records a neutral proposition. From the Masoretic
text of Genesis, Cain could have said anything. He might even have said, 鈥淒ear brother,
I love you. Let us go out to the field to celebrate the acceptance of your sacrifice!鈥�
Hatred can be veiled behind words of apparent love, and a murderous intent behind
a neutral proposition.
Re-reading Genesis 4, I note that it is not the words from Cain鈥檚 mouth
that matter, but the state of Cain鈥檚 heart. Before we read of Cain鈥檚 hate speech 鈥�
whether couched in hateful, neutral, or deceitfully loving terms 鈥� we read of what
we might call God鈥檚 love speech.
Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. (Genesis 4:6-7, ESV).
This is not the sort of love speech which declares love and affirms everything
about the addressee: on the contrary, it attends to the body language which communicates
so much more than words, and identifies the root of the problem. Not only so, for
it offers hope of change. Even if Cain felt too weak to 鈥榬ule over鈥� his sin, surely
God would have helped him had he sought help!
Yet this love speech from the greatest of all lovers鈥擥od鈥攄id not change
the direction of Cain鈥檚 hatred. The first speech that we hear from Cain is after he
has killed his brother, and it is, perhaps, the famous question which underlies all
hatred and therefore all hate speech, 鈥淎m I my brother鈥檚 keeper?鈥� (Genesis 4:9). In
Cain鈥檚 mouth, it assumes the answer, 鈥淣o!鈥� But the implication from here and into
the whole of the rest of the Bible is that the correct answer is, 鈥淵es!鈥� For God will
call us to account for every human being, every 鈥渂rother,鈥� we do not 鈥渒eep.鈥�
There is, in Northern Nigeria, a Christian project called Love Language.
It was initiated following an outburst of violence between local Muslim and Christian
communities, which had been followed by several years of tension and further violence.
Its basic course starts by identifying the root of the problem. This is namely that
the enemy is not the religious other, but rather Satan who, like the 鈥榮in鈥� of Genesis
4:7, is trying to trip us up. Satan is the enemy, who uses and instigates physical
violence. Jesus is the friend, who defeats Satan with spiritual weapons, changes hearts,
and calls us to obey Him. While violence is the mother tongue of Satan鈥檚 children
(whether Muslim or Christian), love and truth are the mother tongue of God鈥檚 children,
and Muslims as well as Christians may 鈥榮peak鈥� it. The next stage is to teach love
language, and that language itself is primarily an expression of loving actions. After
that come studies of Christianity and of Islam, urging Christians to study and follow
their own faith deeply and to let God change them, and clearing misperceptions of
Islam. Only then are participants helped to process the trauma that they have experienced,
and to think through the requirements of justice.
I observe that 鈥楲ove Language鈥� echoes God鈥檚 love speech from Genesis
4 as it helps people who have been traumatized by violence and who are tempted to
commit murderous hatred. It calls them to first see that any murderous intention is
wrong, and that they themselves need to be changed. Second, it sets them on the road
of seeing themselves as their 鈥渂rothers鈥� keepers,鈥� whoever those brothers may be.
Only then does it go on to the educational process of interfaith understanding, to
the psychological process of dealing with trauma, and to the crucial question of what
they can actually do to bring justice for all. This is the essential basis for positive
peace.
The big question is, of course, how the hatred of the heart can be transformed
into love. And that is a question for all of us. We may like to think that we are
Abel, but we can all find vestiges of Cain within. Can it be done through education
or exhortation? Don鈥檛 get me wrong鈥擨 think that education is of huge importance here;
but, if exhortation and education from God Himself did not change Cain, we obviously
need something more.
Remarkably, the Qur鈥檃n points to the key in what I sometimes think of
as its summary of the Christian Gospel. In the context of a rebuke to Christians for
unnecessary religious practice, it tells us, 鈥淲e ordained/created in the hearts of
those who followed him (Jesus) compassion and mercy鈥� (Qur鈥檃n 57:27). All the religion
practiced around the world will not replace murderous intent with compassion and mercy.
Indeed, history and experience indicate that it might do the opposite. We need God
to change our hearts. And, in different ways, the Qur鈥檃n and the New Testament agree
that Jesus opens the way.
Biography
Professor Ida Glaser is responsible for the 'Reading the Bible in the Context of Islam' research project and oversees the International Partnership and the Langham Bible Commentaries from Muslim Contexts projects on behalf of the Solomon Academic Trust. Previously, she taught in the areas of Qur鈥檃n, Bible, and History of Muslim-Christian Dialogue at the University of Edinburgh. Her personal research focuses on reading the Bible in the context of Islam. She currently holds a position as an Associate Staff member at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Her diverse background includes teaching physics in Islamic contexts and engaging in church-based outreach in multi-racial, inner-city Britain. She has also worked extensively among people of other faiths for Crosslinks, the Anglican Mission Agency, and served as a past director of Faith to Faith, a Christian consultancy focusing on other faiths. Her doctoral research examined Genesis 1-11 in relation to parallel Qur鈥檃nic material and mission among Muslims. She has taught courses on Muslim-Christian relations at the post-graduate level in various countries including Jamaica, Nigeria, the Philippines, and the UK.