Posted on 01/29/2020 6:21:13 PM PST by marshmallow
His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, stressed that Christianity and the ideology of non-resistance are not the same thing. It is essential to resist evil, but in a way so that evil does not seize us, he said.
“Christianity has nothing to do with the so-called ideology of pacifism. Christ talked about the virtues of forgiveness, love for enemies and of not repaying evil with evil as one’s personal achievement and one’s inner spiritual work,” noted the Patriarch on Monday, January 27 during the plenary meeting of the XXVIII Christmas Readings.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church continued, saying that meanwhile “pacifism … calls for renouncing resistance to evil at the social and state level, jeopardizing the system of social relations and principles of justice and civil accord”.
“And when people unwittingly and meekly accept evil, agree with it and bow their heads before it, it inevitably wins,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill added.
(Excerpt) Read more at pravmir.com ...
I bet if someone kicked him in the shin hard a couple times, he might be singing a different tune.
Reading is fundamental. In a nutshell, he said he doesn’t need to meekly accept it. He said he would kick you back, but he would make sure he didn’t hate you or become evil.
Sounds very buddhist.
I get that Freepers dont read the articles, but they’re supposed to read the excerpt.
Tolstoy cooked that up after he was unable to do anything anyway. He certainly was a brilliant writer, but should have left off on the theology.
Pope John Paul II said much the same thing. He said Christians are not pacifists.
In other words, do not test God by doing nothing when He gives you the means to avoid a fall or evil from taking you over.
Christianity is not the suicide of pacifism, not the opinion making of Christians by evil manipulators.
Christianity does not repress evil but lets it make its requests, negotiating and commanding spirits, and by the same token it will not let evil repress good either. However, it has a fail safe in that if evil were to repress good, then good would eventually re-express itself with even more enthusiasm. That was done once and for all at the cross and there is no need to repeat that or let it repeat, but to understand the inherent law of spiritualities that suffer no repression, good or evil, save by the implicit default of evil banishing itself in its sheer impetus to banish good.
Those who do not secure the feeding of the Holy Spirit and do nothing to secure lives hungering for justice and love stand with evil.
Touche’ I learnt to read at an early age.
Maybe he’s just too wordsy for me.. its in the nature of man.. or at least its DNA. Good thing we only have two sets of cheeks.
Hmmm. Jesus indeed agreed. “Sell your cloak and buy a sword. “.
Why would a disciple of Christ need a sword?
Oh, to defend against evildoers.
He also directed a believer to turn the other cheek when dealing with a brother, another believer.
Else, how could a guy like me find justification? I mean, warriors do violence on behalf of peaceble men.
Pacifism is for weak minded fools. Strength through superior morals is for real men.
I may be retired from my duty in uniform, but I am positive of my role and responsibilities as a husband, father grandfather and citizen.
Agreed.
When Jesus said, turn the other cheek, he didn’t mean stand there without resistance and get beat on. In Roman times, the left hand was considered dirty. It was the hand used to ‘smite’ or backhand an inferior. But if one turned their cheek, it was impossible for the Roman to use his left hand to backhand - he had to use his ‘clean’ right hand that he ate with - unheard of. In another teaching Jesus referred to roman soldiers who could grab someone to carry their pack but only for one mile - more than that was against Roman law and the soldier would be ratted out by those who didn’t have anyone carrying their pack and would be disciplined. So when Jesus said to carry the load twice the distance, that was also resistance. Both acts reinforced the dignity of the persecuted, while lowering the dignity of the persecutor.
Jesus said to give and loan. But he also said give to Ceasar what is Ceasars, and not one thin dinar more than was owed. To not be taken advantage of or robbed of possessions. And he never said a Christian couldn’t ask and receive the same way. Even his flock was a form of nonviolent protest against the corruption of the Jewish state. He could have brought them to the Synagogue, made points with the priests, but he didn’t. Jesus taught resistance to evil with a smile and with a unwaivering conviction that upheld man as an equal to others, whether Jew or Christian or pagan Roman, not willing to settle for a pacifism that accepted inferiority and by being inferior was deserving of persecution and a lifetime of victimhood.
““And when people unwittingly and meekly accept evil, agree with it and bow their heads before it, it inevitably wins,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill added.””
Fight evil, we are burdened with it.
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