I paced, having just risen from my secret hiding place, and I mourned bitterly for another true believer. You bet I have got on my black velvet frock coat (close-up: tapered at the waist, brass buttons) and my motorcycle boots, and a brand-new linen shirt loaded with lace at cuffs and throat (pity the poor slob who snickers at me on account of that!), and I have not cut my shoulder-length-blond mane tonight, which I sometimes do for variety, and I have chucked my violet glasses because who cares that my eyes attract attention, and my skin’s still dramatically tanned from the raw Sun of the Gobi Desert. An American Church is having its annual business meeting. Reports of the various church organizations read in monotonous tones suggest that the meeting is occurring more because someone believes it necessary rather than because of any vital interest. Sparks of life appear briefly. A momentary flurry arises over whether the women’s donation from the proceeds of their annual bazaar should be sent to foreign missions or put in the fund for a new carpet in the sanctuary. However, this sporadic flash hardly ruffles the surface as the meeting drones on drearily. Finally, the last report ends; the congregation stirs restlessly. The moderator now also appears anxious to be done. He asks routinely if there is other business as he gathers up his papers. He looks up, surprised, when a man at the back of the room stands up. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6

The room rustles with curiosity as the man steps to the aisle and makes his way forward. Something about him commands attention. It is not the way he is dressed. His clothes are average enough—clean and neat, but with a careless air, as though he did not give much thought to them. It is more the man himself. His determined stride speaks of strength. His face is somewhat flushed. The room is quiet by the time he reached the front and turn around. Then he begins to speak: “I am sick and tired of this church—and you people! You are miserable frauds and hypocrites! You talk fine word about loving one another, then you cut each other to pieces behind each other’s backs. You do not even have the courage to let people know to their faces how you really feel about them. It is disgusting! What miserable frauds you are! Oh, you have a beautiful building here. And you are fine-looking and well-dressed people, but your church is dead inside, and you are dead inside, full of rottenness and pretense! You ‘fine Christians’ are just about as low as you can get!” If such an event really happened, can you imagine the shock and surprise of the congregation? At the very least it would be safe to say that no one in the room would any longer be bored! Most of those present would probably be critical. Some might say, “Well, there may be some truth in what he is saying. However, why does he have to get so worked up about it? That is not going to accomplish anything!” #RandolphHarris 2 of 6

Above all else there would probably be a reaction of fear on the part of the audience. The intensity of the man’s anger would be frightening, for we are not used to hearing such feelings so clearly expressed, particularly in this setting. And there would be fear about what it would mean to the church, fear that the congregation would be split asunder by the angry blast and the reaction that would follow. And for those who would disagree with the man and feel their anger mount within themselves, there would be fear of their own feelings and how they might express them. For we have learned to be afraid of our anger. Yet it is an interesting, though usually ignored, fact that the founder of the Christian faith is portrayed in the New Testament as having become as angry with the religious leaders of his day as was this “fictional” character. And Jesus expressed his anger just as openly and as vehemently. The anger rings through unmistakably, especially when it is translated into the modern vernacular, as Phillips has done. Here are some of the phrases from the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Mathew that are attributed to Jesus: “Alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play actors. You blind leaders…you blind fools…you utter frauds…what miserable frauds you are…white-washed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of deadmen’s bones and all kinds of rottenness. You are a mass of pretense and wickedness…You serpents, you viper’s brood, how do you think you are going to avoid being condemned to the rubbish heap…On your hands is all the innocent blood spilled on this Earth.” (Philips) #RandolphHarris 3 of 6

It is not surprising that the church has tended to ignore the angry Jesus in its use of him as an example of a mature and creative person. For the Christian church, most other religious groups, and our culture in general have been mistrustful of feelings of anger and frightened of any spirit of freedom that would encourage its direct expression. The message comes to us in many ways and from many sources. We are encouraged to feel guilty of wrong doing, or immature, or temperamental and unstable when we are aware of feelings of anger, especially when we give in to these emotions and express them. Listen to some of the ways we persuade ourselves to avoid anger in various relationships. “Parents, never become angry with your children. Their personalities will be warped, and they will feel rejected. Above all, do not punish them while you are angry. If you have to punish them, do it on cold blood!” “Children, never get angry with your folks. You must respect them and to be angry is to be disrespectful. Furthermore, if you are angry at them, they will not love you.” “Husbands and wives, do not get mad at each other. A happy marriage comes only when you ignore the things that irritate you and choke down any anger you feel. Above all, never let the children hear you in any kind of disagreement.” “Bosses, do not tolerate anger from your employees. If you allow them to get away with any expression of anger, they will never respect you.” “Employees, never let the boss see you are angry at him or her. Swallow your anger. You may get ulcers, but you will keep your job longer.” #RandolphHarris 4 of 6

You see how we handle this business of anger? We say it is wrong to feel angry and dangerous to our relationships to express it. Thus we have made the suppression of anger in our society ideal. This attitude is expressed in a letter written to the editor of a magazine in which an article by the author of this book, “The Creative Use of Anger,” appeared. The correspondent wrote: “Perhaps I am psychologically abnormal, I do not know. But this I do know, that is, like the husband mentioned, I has scolded my wife so angrily as to hurt her and make her cry, I should feel that I had definitely sinned and ought to seek forgiveness both from her and from God; and the shame my behavior would have stayed with me a long time.” Self-expression is a popular word, but somewhat indefinite. One speaks of his better self, implying the existence of some other less good. Which one ought we to express? I, for one, feel that whenever an unworthy emotion (and I include here anger toward one’s nearest and dearest) is expressed in action, a person is really degrading himself. This is an excellent statement of the attitude that would be expected to develop from the explicit and implicit teachings of most representatives of the Christian church. “For verily, verily I say unto you, one that hath the spirit of contention is not for me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of people to contend with anger, one with another,” reports 3 Nephi 11.29. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6

And a similar attitude tends to be adopted by most of us whether we are religiously oriented or not. One man was describing how he avoided express any anger or irritation toward his wife. When he was asked if he were afraid of his anger, his reply was immediate, “Of course I am. Everybody should be. When I’m angry I say things I don’t mean. And that’s not good.” And often we frown at or laugh at (which may be much worse) those who become concerned enough over matters to express anger. Often, for example, in public hearings on community issues the person who becomes emotionally involved enough to speak heatedly about an issue are subject them to ridicule; and their ideas are frequently discounted because they are expressed angrily. The implication is made that the person got carried away with his or her emotions. Therefore, what the person said must not have made sense. Yet in fact we often speak most lucidly in the heat of emotion. Somehow we have a sort of pseudoscientific attitude by which we fulfill our need to suppress anger. We have concluded that when the ideas are presented logically, rationally, and without emotion they must be objective and therefore nearer the truth than ideas about which we become excited and emotional. Keep in mind at all times, God is the only power and the only presence there is, and God is right where I am. I live and move and have my being in God. God’s being moves through me and manifests itself in what I am doing. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6