Ok, so it's been about two weeks since my last post - exams, followed by the massive sleep of first-week holidays, and compounded with laziness and a seeming loss of the ability to type have meant that I kinda dropped off the Radar. My bad. So anyway, I've had a post brewing in the last 36 hours, and I get the feeling it's gonna be a biggie. I'm just gonna start typing and go until I can't spell and/or feel my fingers. Sorry if it rambles.
Should Christians be pacifists? And to what degree? I was at church on sunday morning and was having a discussion with two of my friends about it. I can't remember how we got onto the discussion, but they were advocating pacifism and I was advocating limited and controlled violence if it were justified. I brought up the example of a woman being raped; should I, as a Christian woman, turn the other cheek if I were being raped? My knee-jerk reaction to this is to say "bugger that". Although neither of them spelt it out explicitly, the general sentiment from them was that turning the other cheek was the only acceptable thing to do in that circumstance.
I don't think that violence should ever be a first resort. If I thought I were about to be violated, I would run like I've never run before. If I couldn't run, I'd try to talk my way out of it. Only if there were no other option would I fight. To submit when I could fight my way out, however, seems to me to be willingly becoming a victim. And what about war? If we were being invaded by the Nazis again, and all attempts to bargain and talk and run had failed, I would be up there holding a rifle and trying to protect the less able from an unjust invading force.
Is that right, though? I used to feel, right into the deepest parts of my being, that it could not be any other way. Now I'm not sure.I simply can't reconcile what I know of the Father - his justice and his love - with the idea that I should allow an injustice to happen, but that also seems to conflicts with what I know of Jesus and his desire that we should turn the other cheek. And I know that I've lost the plot there, because there is no conflict between the Father and His Son; they're both God, and somewhere in this seeming mess is clarity and truth. I just don't seem to be finding it.
That's the worst part of this; that I can't get a clear hold on this one way or another. I can think of arguments for both sides from the Bible, and can't figure out which one is God and which one is Me. God gives me a conscience, but that doesn't mean that it's always right. Just because his law is written on my heart doesn't mean I always listen to it. That means that either P.O.V. could be right. I swing between the two every time I think about it, and never seem to come any closer. I guess I'm just gonna have to keep praying about it, and hope He opens my eyes.
Captain Highly Confused, who wishes that theological dilemmas wouldn't come at 3am, thus preventing me from sleeping.
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4 comments:
Emma, if you look at the passages in Luke and Matthew, they both sit within a broader statement that juxtaposes christ-like unconditional love against the highly structured jewish law. (See reference to Sabbath in Luke, reference to eye for eye in Matthew). These texts are are not about the appropriateness of one on one violence or international armed conflict. They are about looking beyond artificial, imperfect human rules (which do aim to bring justice and equity - eye for eye) toward interacting with our fellow humans in a selfless, giving, christ-like way. The texts talk about giving more than is asked of you - always putting others needs first.
Don't make the mistake of oversimplifying this into 'if someone hits me i can never hit them back'. I believe that what Christ is trying to tell us about an attitude to life and human interaction - not another set of imperfect absolute laws.
As for using physical strength or violence to protect oneself from harm, I don't really see the problem. It's not an act of love to allow a fellow human to commit a sinful act, is it?
Personally, if it came down to it, I would have no problems blowing them (those about to harm me) away with a machine gun, a bazooka, or a flame thrower if I had access to one or any of these things. The same would go for those who might threaten my neices or anyone else I care about.
I think "turn the other cheek" comes into play when it is a case of something other than your life at stake. And I know Jesus turned the other cheek and died, but I think that's a different kettle of fish.
Was this going to get a response? Of course it was. You can read it here - it is waaaay too long for a comment. Besides, Emma gets more pagerank this way.
This is a hard one Emma, and I'm not the person to offer religious guidance in any way, shape or manner as you well know! I think that the answer is different for every situation....there are so many factors when making those calls aren't there? I really hope you find the answers you are after...
Cheers, Kelly
p.s WTG on catching up on some sleep!
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