More recent and disturbing history will be reviewed this week by a court in Oslo. While Anders Behring Breivik will present his own warped view of reality, victims and bereaved families will confront again the terror of what actually happened. To resist simple vengeance, pursue justice and to relive the pain is a brave thing to do and shows in the words of the commentator Libby Purves that "the default setting of Western civilisation is not hatred or fear but hope".Perhaps, part of that default setting of hope stems from our Judaeo-Christian history. The last steel ingot from the Consett steelworks was made into a cross and is kept at a local Roman Catholic Church. It represents for me the pain of the past but also hope for the future.It is tempting to despair for the future of the world, in a time of financial insecurity and mindless terrorism. Yet history does remind me that human communities of justice and love still triumph.
这周奥斯陆法庭将会翻开最近一段纷扰的历史。尽管Anders Behring Breivik会继续歪曲事实，受害者和受害者家庭将为还原真实恐怖事件而战。不为复仇，只想讨回公道而自揭伤疤，这种行为是勇敢的，用评论员Libby Purves的话来说，“西方文明的本质不是仇恨或恐惧，而是希望。”可能，这种希望的本质部分来源于犹太-基督历史。Consett钢铁厂最后一块钢锭做成了一个十字架，现存于当地的一家罗马天主教堂里。对我来讲，这代表了过去的伤痛和对未来的希望。当遭遇财务危机或者无端恐怖事件时，人们很容易会对这世界的未来失望。但是，历史告诉我们，公道和爱终将胜利。