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In the ways and beliefs of Jesus Christ, Leo Tolstoy,Mahatma Gandhi and all other pacifists. Give no resistance to evil.
There are some who walk our world trying to elicit pity and compassion for others in an open provocation to breed hatred and war. They delight in stirring emotions that best cause an outpouring of love and compassion for those they seek to destroy or are destroying. The evil's greatest weapon is to try to use our love against us. The more we react and give them the reaction they desire--the more they will do these things against others.
The minute we react, we cost many others their lives in trying to defend the lives of the ones they have come against------"Fighting for peace is like having sex for chastity." Stephen King.
The hardest thing for us is to stand down while atrocities are being committed, but when we react even more atrocities are committed--by us. Evil delights in such as this.
I've been reading a lot lately and have to agree with the people listed at the top. Stand down and do not lift a hand to defend against evil, if we raise a hand against, we have then become a weapon in the hands of evil. It becomes a non-ending vicious cycle of evil and pain.
Does this mean that I can stand by and watch others be slaughtered, myself or my family? My heart is torn, because my first reaction has ALWAYS been to fight back. Why would such and evil exist to begin with? What we are each given on this planet is ourselves within our own space and no one has the right to invade it. We find it nearly impossible to stand back and watch evil done to others or have it done to us and yet evil plays upon this.
These are the things that I'm having an internal fight with. I know that when a child is doing wrong, if they're ignored then they stop what they're doing because no reaction was forthcoming. I've done this many times and it never fails. But, when it's on such a large scale and lives are at stake it becomes one of the most unbearable things to witness. I am becoming a pacifist, it's where my heart is and in these things some become martyrs--as Jesus, the apostles, Gandhi and many others have. To me only a true pacifist is a martyr although others have been labeled as such.
Do you lean to the right hand of God or to the left? Do you walk boldly towards the truth or run from it? The more wisdom gained--the more pain and despair felt. HOW do we end this vicious cycle?
Matthew 5:39 But I say to you, That you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
From Clarke's Commentary on The Bible:
Resist not evil - Or, the evil person. So, I am
fully persuaded, τω πονηρω ought to be translated. Our Lord's meaning is, "Do not repel one outrage by another." He that does so makes himself precisely what the other is, a wicked person. Turn to him the other also - That is, rather than avenge thyself, be ready to suffer patiently a repetition of the same injury. But these exhortations belong to those principally who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Let such leave the judgment of their cause to Him for whose sake they suffer. The Jews always thought that every outrage should be resented; and thus the spirit of hatred and strife was fostered.
From Barnes Notes on The Bible:
The general principle which he laid down was, that we are not to resist evil; that is, as it is in the Greek, nor to set ourselves against an evil person who is injuring us. But even this general direction is not to be pressed too strictly. Christ did not intend to teach that we are to see our families murdered, or be murdered ourselves; rather than to make resistance. The law of nature, and all laws, human and divine, justify self-defense when life is in danger. It cannot surely be the intention to teach that a father should sit by coolly and see his family butchered by savages, and not be allowed to defend them. Neither natural nor revealed religion ever did, or ever can, inculcate this doctrine. Our Saviour immediately explains what he means by it. Had he intended to refer it to a case where life is in danger, he would most surely have mentioned it. Such a case was far more worthy of statement than those which he did mention.
Psalm 18:34 He trains my hand for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Just warfare is from God.
1 Chronicles 5:22 For many fell slain, because the war was of God...
That does not apply only to Israel. There is just warfare as well as unjust warfare. But a just warfare is from God. Since there will be wars and rumors of war until Christ returns, national freedom is protected from external enemies by being militarily prepared. A believer in Jesus Christ who is in the military should do his duty as a soldier as unto the Lord and on the battlefield kill the enemy to the best of his ability.
Likewise, any believer who would just stand still and watch a criminal victimize his helpless victim if he could put a stop to it, is out of line and is a disgrace.
I would not hesitate to kill if the circumstances warranted it.
James 4:7 - Submit to God. Resist Satan and he will flee from you.
Much of what scripture speaks of in 'submitting' and 'not resisting' is our responsibility for 'submitting to Civil authority' --- NOT an admonition to ignore evil! Jesus was not crucified for being a pacifist, but, for standing up for righteousness and truth and calling evil what it was. In similar fashion, all of the disciples were ultimately martyred ... again, not because they ignored evil, but, because they lifted-up truth and called evil, 'evil'
In the Last Days, many will call good, 'evil' and call evil, 'good.' -- In many ways, that is what one does when they ignore evil as though they do not see it.
This (and scripture) does not endorse anarchy, but, neither does it embrace 'doormat theology.' Also, Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi followed a pacifist philosophy, but, made no pretense of following Christ (who really doesn't belong in the same group/category).
Still in Ephesians 6:12...says ``For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers , against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the high places``..............As Believers of Christ are called to not fight in the world with man , but to fight through Jesus the devil and his hoards , as to rip the devil out of the enemies and this will remove the influence of evil on the enemies who are against us ...Which is done with No fear , and confidence and faith and expectation into the redemption of Christ and forgiveness of God by the authority of believers ............. See no evil should come against believers who hold up a standard in prayer , as Jesus will provide protection where He can hide believer and protect them even in war or rebellion , but they need to pray and talk to the Lord believing , and sowing in a point of contact as Jesus will sow His charity of His grace , when we sow our charity to His identity ................ See even when the captors of Jesus came to capture him before the cross , Jesus told them that the only authority they have for doing this is the authority which Father God gave them ...........Still if people saved by Christ had to kill or be killed , by the grace of God they would still be saved , as they would only have to turn to God in repentance and it would not be remembered by God again.....
Still in Ephesians 6:12...says ``For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers , against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the high places``..............As Believers of Christ are called to not fight in the world with man , but to fight through Jesus the devil and his hoards , as to rip the devil out of the enemies and this will remove the influence of evil on the enemies who are against us ...Which is done with No fear , and confidence and faith and expectation into the redemption of Christ and forgiveness of God by the authority of believers ............. See no evil should come against believers who hold up a standard in prayer , as Jesus will provide protection where He can hide believer and protect them even in war or rebellion , but they need to pray and talk to the Lord believing , and sowing in a point of contact as Jesus will sow His charity of His grace , when we sow our charity to His identity ................ See even when the captors of Jesus came to capture him before the cross , Jesus told them that the only authority they have for doing this is the authority which Father God gave them ...........Still if people saved by Christ had to kill or be killed , by the grace of God they would still be saved , as they would only have to turn to God in repentance and it would not be remembered by God again.....
The best way to destroy an enemy is to love him--love thine enemies or else what reward have ye?--none
If they cannot abide the love given then shake the dust and move on whenever possible. The problems come when they lift a hand against even in the face of love. That is true evil.
In the ways and beliefs of Jesus Christ, Leo Tolstoy,Mahatma Gandhi and all other pacifists. Give no resistance to evil.
There are some who walk our world trying to elicit pity and compassion for others in an open provocation to breed hatred and war. They delight in stirring emotions that best cause an outpouring of love and compassion for those they seek to destroy or are destroying. The evil's greatest weapon is to try to use our love against us. The more we react and give them the reaction they desire--the more they will do these things against others.
The minute we react, we cost many others their lives in trying to defend the lives of the ones they have come against------"Fighting for peace is like having sex for chastity." Stephen King.
The hardest thing for us is to stand down while atrocities are being committed, but when we react even more atrocities are committed--by us. Evil delights in such as this.
I've been reading a lot lately and have to agree with the people listed at the top. Stand down and do not lift a hand to defend against evil, if we raise a hand against, we have then become a weapon in the hands of evil. It becomes a non-ending vicious cycle of evil and pain.
Does this mean that I can stand by and watch others be slaughtered, myself or my family? My heart is torn, because my first reaction has ALWAYS been to fight back. Why would such and evil exist to begin with? What we are each given on this planet is ourselves within our own space and no one has the right to invade it. We find it nearly impossible to stand back and watch evil done to others or have it done to us and yet evil plays upon this.
These are the things that I'm having an internal fight with. I know that when a child is doing wrong, if they're ignored then they stop what they're doing because no reaction was forthcoming. I've done this many times and it never fails. But, when it's on such a large scale and lives are at stake it becomes one of the most unbearable things to witness. I am becoming a pacifist, it's where my heart is and in these things some become martyrs--as Jesus, the apostles, Gandhi and many others have. To me only a true pacifist is a martyr although others have been labeled as such.
Do you lean to the right hand of God or to the left? Do you walk boldly towards the truth or run from it? The more wisdom gained--the more pain and despair felt. HOW do we end this vicious cycle?
Sheila, Martin Luther King once said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
Darkness is a lack of light, more darkness cannot make it less dark. Only light can do that. It's a fundamental law of nature--and of spiritual awareness as well.
One of my favorite illustrations of love overcoming hate, is of the Pennsylvania Amish community's reaction to the murder of their children by a non-Amish person, Charles Roberts.
Quote:
On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard warning some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, "We must not think evil of this man." Another Amish father noted, "He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he's standing before a just God." Jack Meyer, a member of the Brethren community living near the Amish in Lancaster County, explained: "I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts."
A Roberts family spokesman said an Amish neighbor comforted the Roberts family hours after the shooting and extended forgiveness to them. Amish community members visited and comforted Roberts' widow, parents, and parents-in-law. One Amish man held Roberts' sobbing father in his arms, reportedly for as long as an hour, to comfort him. The Amish have also set up a charitable fund for the family of the shooter. About 30 members of the Amish community attended Roberts' funeral, and Marie Roberts, the widow of the killer, was one of the few outsiders invited to the funeral of one of the victims.
Marie Roberts wrote an open letter to her Amish neighbors thanking them for their forgiveness, grace, and mercy. She wrote, "Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you've given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you." The Amish do not normally accept charity, but due to the extreme nature of the tragedy, donations were accepted. Richie Lauer, director of the Anabaptist Foundation, said the Amish community, whose religious beliefs prohibit them from having health insurance, will likely use the donations to help pay the medical costs of the hospitalized children.
Some commentators criticized the quick and complete forgiveness with which the Amish responded, arguing that forgiveness is inappropriate when no remorse has been expressed, and that such an attitude runs the risk of denying the existence of evil, while others were supportive. Donald Kraybill and two other scholars of Amish life noted that "letting go of grudges" is a deeply rooted value in Amish culture, which remembers forgiving martyrs including Dirk Willems and Jesus himself. They explained that the Amish willingness to forgo vengeance does not undo the tragedy or pardon the wrong, but rather constitutes a first step toward a future that is more hopeful.
I am not only a Marine Corps Viet Nam vet, I volunteered to go in-country. Those were my early "Christian" days. The closest I came to knowingly killing someone was a 12-13 year old boy who was running toward our patrol with one hand out asking for candy and the other hand behind his back. We had been told the VC would give grenades to children to toss at troops when they got close. I whipped my M-14 toward him and threw a round in the chamber (yes, we were forbidden from having a round in the chamber on perimeter patrols!), and pointed it at him when he was about 15 yards away. Fortunately he stopped and turned around and ran back over the hill. The hand behind his back held----nothing! He was inexplicably running with one hand held behind his back. There are many nights even now, over 45 years later that I am so grateful to God for not shooting.
And my time in that war and growth as a Christian has made me much more pacific than I used to be. It's hard to really follow in the steps of Christ and practice living as He did.
And that is why walking the path of the Christ is so very difficult---as evidenced by some of the responses on this very thread.
The best way to destroy an enemy is to love him--love thine enemies or else what reward have ye?--none
If they cannot abide the love given then shake the dust and move on whenever possible. The problems come when they lift a hand against even in the face of love. That is true evil.
I guess you've watched a few vids of beheadings?
If you have a husband........I suppose you would expect him to 'love' your attackers should one behead you?
Maybe he should a rapist while you are being raped?
John 18:10
Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
How much do you know about the men that walked with the Messiah?
One would not draw a sword on a man in the company of Roman soldiers and lived to tell about it.
Simon Peter drew his sword not to gently remove the ear from Machus' head but to remove his head.
The only explaination can be that the Messiah deflected the sword with would have had a glancing blow on Machus only hitting his hear.
The men of the bible were hard men......they would make the men of today look like a bunch of whinny girls.
Get a little perspective.
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Good post
