Posted on 11/14/2016 1:31:25 AM PST by marktwain
Very timely selection.
I had a professor in university that persuaded me to give up pacifism and move on from the Mennonite girlfriend. He did it in three sentences. He said:
“I would like to be a pacifist because I like the sense of moral superiority it gives me. But, my sense of justice sees too many people that absolutely deserve to have the shit beat out of them. Pacifism demands setting aside justice.”
http://faimao.blogspot.com/2006/04/why-i-am-not-pacifist-part-2-edited.html
Oh that's some gold there...lol
It's a bit of a trick question since the second and third option both involve the use of force, the difference being a prudential judgment of whether one could handle the situation oneself, or needed to summon help. And of course, the third option requires a willingness to put oneself on the line.
Pacifists do not like to answer this question.
Mic 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Sometimes "doing justice" means killing people through capital punishment or going to war. That's just the way it is.
Thank you. I’ve been looking for a book such as this.
The Catholic Bible has the Books 1 & 2 of Maccabees which concerns the Maccabean Revolt.
These books are not included in the King James version.
Maccabees 3 & 4 are considered apocryphal to both.
All are Old Testament books.
There are also a lot of wars in general in the Old Testament with the Church Fathers leading the way.
“Turning the other cheek” concerns your personal spiritual growth and is not intended to be a political policy statement for Kings to follow.
In fact, in the Book of Kings, God recommends against allowing men to rule other men but says they can have that if they want.
Life in the temporal world is not life in heaven and can be quite brutal. It’s up to God to judge and forgive.
Unlike the bill of rights, the commandments are not necessarily considered equal in strength. When asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus said it was the first - not having other gods.
That doesn’t mean “Thou Shalt Not Kill” is simply a misdemeanor, it’s just not as offensive as apostasy.
Life on earth was not valued as highly as it is today, which is why many didn’t mind burnings at the stake. The soul was the priority.
Paradise is lost on earth. How people respond to horrors on earth reveal their true nature and character for judgement. Whether it’s a violent storm or the behaviors of a tyrannical regime, these events, while important to us, are not necessarily important to God.
God does not exist to prevent suffering on earth. That’s up to us.
Free *.pdf download, here:
Ooops, that was a review, NOT the book. Sorry.
Surprising how many Christians are “Pro Abortion. It must be a slippery slope as now they justify Trump’s assassination.
The “Just War” issue is a very complex one.
I absolutely love the old “Sargent York” movie on this issue.
NO Christian is pro-abortion. The two beliefs are mutually exclusive. God tells us "Thou Shalt Not Murder". Abortion is the killing of an innocent (murder).
How can someone claim to be a follower of Christ (doing what He commands them to do ) while also being opening promoting doing what He tells them NOT to do? They cannot.
You cannot be Christian and pro-abortion. You cannot be Christian and democrat (for the same reason as well as others)
NO Christian is pro-abortion.
“NO Christian is pro-abortion. The two beliefs are mutually exclusive.”
I 100% agree with you. My statement was to highlight the hypocrisy of many proclaiming Christians. I am a Christian and very much value life at both ends of the life spectrum. I realize that to do otherwise is to not follow the Commandments.
I even have a difficult time with war, even when it is justified as in kill or be killed. I trust God and His Son Jesus in that if it is my time to die, so be it. Just last week I had a woman, a dear friend of mine die in my arms as I was caring for her. Having died myself, having crossed over into Heaven and met God many years ago while very ill, and being told that I needed to return back into this physical body, I view death much different than most. In fact, I miss God’s pure unconditional Love so much that I can’t wait to return. It’s hard to explain, but I wish to die daily.
Pacifist Christians should read it to find out why they're wrong, and the rest of us Christians should read it to put a crowbar in our our spines as a stiffener. Certainly covers the OT, but there is much more in the NT beyond the Luke passage to consider. Exegetically sound.
I am driving my Mazda CX-5, listening to Bob Dylan really loud, singing along, with my eyes closed and not paying attention. My speed creeps up from the Guam limit of 35 mph to 65 mph. I don't see a school zone (because my eyes are closed) and I run over seven little kids killing six of them and crippling the seventh for life. I then fail to stop and continue on home dragging the body of one of the dead brats under my car for three or four miles. Can I now avoid prosecution for speeding, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, manslaughter and possibly murder by claiming there was no intent to break the law? If so I can thank Mr Comey the FBI director because this the excuse he just gave Hillary Clinton and set it as a precedent in US law.
...
Either the rule of law has just been perverted though political corruption or there are two sets of laws, one for most people and another for high level politicians. Neither of these is a good thing.
Can you get all of the previous into a sound bite?
I’ll try.
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