“Beyond the Pale” has both an interesting history and a contemporary meaning. Originating in the 14th century in Ireland, and in general use by the 1500s, the phrase referred to the extent of English control over just a small part of the Irish land. Poles were set to delineate the boundary between effective governmental control by the English and that part of Ireland considered too dangerous in which to travel.
The same word translated “pole” can also be rendered “pale”. Therefore, “beyond the pale” meant that a person has put him or herself beyond the protection they needed. Today, the term means that someone has placed him or herself “beyond” the boundaries of decent behavior, or is in danger of some physical or other peril.
Such an occurrence has gotten much airtime recently. On one of ABC’s most watched show, “The View”, a panel of women who are left-leaning in their politics, went “beyond the pale” when she observed that Vice-President Mike Pence was mentally ill.
What triggered this? In reference to Pence’s well-known Christian faith, Joy Behar claimed that when the Vice-President said he listened to what Jesus said to him, this was akin to mental illness. Other commentators have taken her to task for this outrageous statement, which Behar has not apologized for, but I want to offer my take on this “beyond the pale” statement.
Behar, not contradicted by the other liberal panelists, suggests that anyone who claims to hear the voice of Jesus is not mentally competent. Does she realize just how many people in the world she occupies have just been insulted and denigrated by these words?
This means that the world’s 2.2 billion Christians who pray and listen for the answers from the deity are part of her mentally deranged crowd. Jews also pray and wait for revelation from on high. I would posit that the 1.2 billion Muslims, who pray regularly, also want to “hear” what Allah has to say to them.
In my lifetime, I have been privileged to witness Christians praying in magnificent cathedrals. Inside these edifices the faithful pray with rapt attention amidst the light from stained glass windows, waiting for help in answering the questions they have placed in their God’s hands. But also I have seen religious Jews putting their prayers in the crevices of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, men who are also awaiting the voice of their God. In more humble places, we were welcomed to a small church on the side of a mountain in Colorado, where again prayers were said and answers sought.
In an ethnic church in Thailand, refugees from a neighboring nation worshipped, and even though the language I did not understand, I could see that they, too, wanted to hear the words of their God. Anywhere and everywhere adherents to religion seek the voice of God and Jesus to help them in their daily life.
And Behar also slammed some of the most beautiful literature in the world, for those who wrote religious texts were listening to a voice from heaven to guide their pens. From the Old Testament, we read beautiful Psalms, are given wise advice from Proverbs and listen to the soaring prophecies from the prophetic books, exemplified by the 53 chapter of Isaiah. And who can deny that the beautiful Song of Songs is inspired?
I have seen a mother, whose son has been shot and killed by his cousin, find a calmness and a measure of peace from the same words that Mike Pence reads and believes. Or well-remembered are the parents of a child diagnosed with the most dread disease who found strength by the words of Jesus, sought through prayer and meditation.
There are more examples than can be written here of the times when Jesus spoke to people to guide them in decisions that need to be made.
Ms. Behar did unleash a backlash on social media and in the columns of opinion writers with her “beyond the pale” words of her belief in the Vice-President’s mental illness, just because he listened to the words of his Jesus. Perhaps her thoughts and words were misguided or thoughtless, but they were not wise to speak to an audience of many millions, a lot of whom also hear the voice of Jesus through His words in the Gospels.
How harsh should we be in our condemnation of these hurtful words? From my standpoint, I, too, like Mike Pence, hear the words of Jesus. He tells me to “love my enemies, pray for them.” For one who went beyond the pale, I, along with my fellow Christians, must now pray for Joy Behar.