In listening to some awesome pacifist music (Derek Webb) It has come to me that I have not decided by views on the use of force.
I thought I would support the use of "necessary force", till Derek webb asked a question that I couldn't answer.
"Tell me, Who would Jesus Kill?"
You see, logically it seems that as a Christian, we can support our country going to war, or executing a murderer, because as Romans 13 says, the government does not hold the sword for nothing. However, the question remains unanswered. If we are "little Christ's" how can we support the killing of any human being? These are tough questions, to which I do not (yet) have a satisfactory answer. Any helpful comments would be appreciated.
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3 comments:
Wow! You chose to tackle a doozie, didn't you? I love Derek Webb. I'm not sure I always agree with him, but he raised an excellent question!
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matt. 5.9). It seems to be the duty of every child of God to be a peacemaker (over and beyond a peace-keeper).
But was Jesus talking about how individuals deal with each other rather than how nations interact? What do we do about terrorists? Are we not to protect the people of our nation?
And what of the helpless? The Proverb says to do good for another when it is in our power to do so. Are we not to stick up for and defend the helpless when it is in our power to do so?
These are interesting thoughts. "Who would Jesus kill?" I wonder what His (Jesus) reaction would have been if someone ran after Mary, His mother, and tried to kill her? Would He defend her, even if it meant that He would have to kill the man? Would Jesus allow some man to kill His own mother for the sake of "peace"? I do not think so. How can peace reign alongside of terror?
Good post!
It seems to me that the "greater good" and Justice have to be taken into account.
Going to war (like the current war in Iraq) would fall under the greater good because you are fighting against people who want to come harm us. We are protecting our "innocent" citizens from harm by actively engaging the enemy on their turf and eliminating them. I would apply the same logic to torturing people that contained time-sensitive information.
Justice also relates to greater good in that it is in the interest of "greater good" to exact Justice. Speaking generally, if someone murdered another human then they themselves should be killed. Not only does this protect society from further acts of that person, but it actually does help deter others from committing the same or similar crimes.
And it's purely an argument from silence on account of the Bible because it doesn't say that Jesus advocating killing people (and certainly not needlessly, which I would be against)but there is no evidence he was a pacifist either. His not addressing wars and such could be taken as agreement with the practice, but it is faulty to make such a claim with no proof.
It seems to me that the "greater good" and Justice have to be taken into account.
Going to war (like the current war in Iraq) would fall under the greater good because you are fighting against people who want to come harm us. We are protecting our "innocent" citizens from harm by actively engaging the enemy on their turf and eliminating them. I would apply the same logic to torturing people that contained time-sensitive information.
Justice also relates to greater good in that it is in the interest of "greater good" to exact Justice. Speaking generally, if someone murdered another human then they themselves should be killed. Not only does this protect society from further acts of that person, but it actually does help deter others from committing the same or similar crimes.
And it's purely an argument from silence on account of the Bible because it doesn't say that Jesus advocating killing people (and certainly not needlessly, which I would be against)but there is no evidence he was a pacifist either. His not addressing wars and such could be taken as agreement with the practice, but it is faulty to make such a claim with no proof.
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