UPFRONT July 12, 2010 Issue

ANGER ALTERNATIVE

JENNY NELLES, STAFF EDITOR

Is anger useful? Many of us have been taught, and believe deeply, that anger = bad and love = good. But could there be nuances to the answer?

John Q. Adams writes in our lead article (p. 14): "A momentary flash of anger may serve to act as a wake-up call to a greater mission. Even Jesus, the Son of God, who disdained violence, purged the house of God by turning over the tables of money-changers, driving them out of the temple (see Matt. 21:12)."

Here's the catch, though. Adams asks: "When we respond to something unjust, what is our intent? Unless one is mentally alert, an inappropriate reaction toward even those perpetrating moral crimes can be equally wrong." He goes on to explore the idea that anger, at its core, isn't very useful at all. In fact, it plays a pretty tiny role, if any, in spurring us on to productive action and spiritual progress.

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