This is my last article in a series focused on Jesus and the use of violence. It has generated some great discussion and as promised, I want to take some time to respond to some awesome thoughts, questions and feedback to my first set of articles.
I have divided them up into some general topics and I try to engage with each one. Everything, of course, is my own opinion, and my deductions come from looking at Scripture and understanding the character of God through Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb.
While many of the ideas seem radical or alternative, they do indeed have a rich heritage dating back to when the Ana-Baptists challenged the Constantine version of militant Christianity. The idea of us being here to come under people and love in the midst of violence has been around for a long time.
Violence is okay if we are using it with good intentions such as protecting someone from getting hurt, or defending our country or humanitarian intervention.
I definitely believe that God sees our hearts and the intentions or motives behind doing something that we believe will bring about good. However, good intentions are not always enough. We don't want to live our lives continuing in the patterns of the world because of good intentions. We are to be completely transformed by the renewing of our minds which comes from dying to ourselves and manifesting the sacrificial ways of the Lamb.
When we violently try to protect our national self-interest, attempt to protect our lives or save others from their enemies, we are not manifesting the kingdom of God. What seems morally just is not necessarily the way of the kingdom. The best of intentions or even common sense will backfire if we try to live by the sword, and wage worldly warfare rather than spiritual warfare of the Kingdom.
When Peter struck the servant of the high priest who was about to arrest Jesus, there were His words: "Put your sword back in its place...for all who draw the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew 26 verse 52). Some have argued that violence is okay if it isn't to cause death, and yet even when the disciple merely cuts off an ear Jesus still tells him to put his weapons down.
Our defense of violent behaviour is often based on fear and an inability to fully trust in the power and purposes of God. The world is out of control and we want to save it. We feel that we should take matters into our own hands and resort to violence. But we aren't meant to be the saviours of the world, we are just meant to imitate Christ and live transformed lives.
Many nations owe their freedom to liberation through the violence of the Great Wars.
There is no such thing as "great" when it comes to wars. Take WWI as an example. This war between the major European powers was a disaster for all its participants, with more than 16 million people killed. Far from being the "war to end all wars" WWI helped lay the ground for WWII. Reparations imposed on Germany by the victor nations assisted the rise of Nazis, who presented themselves to the German people as agents of a national reawakening.
Violence does not end violence, and we have seen this repeated time and time again throughout history. Yes, Jesus died so that we may have freedom but he clearly tells us that if we truly wish to follow Him and receive eternal freedom, we need to let go of our earthly lives – crucify ourselves, as Paul writes. Choosing passivity rather than retaliation does not mean we are held captive. It is the opposite. When we choose to do the will of God, even if this results in death, freedom is our prize.
We shouldn't judge people who use violence, especially those who are using it for good.
After my last article, someone mentioned that we should not judge the actions of men who believe they are standing for what is good. I couldn't agree more. Indeed, pacifists can still be violent without a weapon in hand. They might not ever hit anybody, but we can verbally disparage other people in ways unbecoming to our claimed regard for human dignity. We shouldn't judge anyone; that is not our job. Our job is to subscribe immeasurable worth to every single human being; the actions of others are not our business. You cannot have the compassion of Christ for someone when you are judging them.
If someone chooses to believe that Jesus, who was sent in God's perfect image, condoned the use of violence for whatever reason, that is their right to believe it, and dare I say, act on it. Just as it is equally my right to share what I believe to be the truth and word of God. I am passionately opposed to using any kind of measure to weigh any kind of sin.
Thus, I cannot condemn someone who is violent, for whatever reason, more than I would someone who is greedy in storing up their wealth instead of giving to the needy. I also could not condemn anyone more than I would myself if I were to be judgmental of someone else's decisions and actions. At the end of the day, it is better to be in right relationship rather than being right. Unbeknown to some, it is possible to disagree and be kind too!
Did Jesus really mean we need to love our enemies, including terrorists?
When God created this earth, we weren't supposed to have human governments for God is our King. We don't need militaries, for God is our protector. It was through fear that Israel wanted to appoint a king. We look at the Old Testament and think, they lived under a king and served in militaries, so why can't we? The reality is, however, if they had put full trust in God, they wouldn't have looked to humans to help rule the world and kill their enemies. Christ turned that completely on its head with this one statement: "love your enemies."
It is obvious that we cannot love our enemies down the barrel of a gun or with the edge of a sword. But does Jesus really expect us to just stand by and love terrorists such as ISIS, while they torture and kill thousands of innocent people? Or the oppressive Government of Syria? How about the cruel Burmese military? When Jesus said to his Jewish followers "love your enemies" he wasn't talking about your mother-in-law. He was referring, at that time, directly to the Romans – their terroristic, oppressive, brutal enemies. The Romans terrorized and tortured people and the Jews lived in extreme fear.
When Jesus asks us to love our enemies, we can be sure that He is talking about the really nasty, evil people. The ones who terrorize and kill innocent people. Yet we are called to love them the most. It feels wrong, and even immoral unless we crucify ourselves first. It means we have to totally trust God and crucify that righteousness of retaliating against evil even if it seems the good and right thing to do.
I don't believe we are called to avoid violence, but to be peacemakers within violent situations. It will be costly, but that is what it means to be part of the kingdom, and not of the world. The world is not fixable, certainly not by human methods. We cannot put our trust in governments, leaders, armies, kings, or even the pope. We are just meant to live a radical, transformed life that lives out the gospel. We can love our enemies, we can feed the poor, clothe the naked, welcome in the foreigner. We don't have to avoid conflict, rather we can live as Christ lived amidst conflict, oppression and war. We can live gently and peacefully in a violent world. Gentleness is not weakness; it is not neutrality; it is not avoidance. Gentleness is living with the peace of Christ and trusting in God that He is sovereign, not us.
Is the pursuit for non-violence delusional?
Many a times, critics have commented on how delusional the pacifist goal can be; the pursuit of peace at all costs is just as dangerous as any other dream that cuts against the realities of human nature. This critique has a pretty big game-changing flaw - Jesus, himself, cut against the realities of human nature and we are called to live as Christ. It feels right, and even moral to use violence to defend ourselves, our loved ones or innocent victims of oppression... and immoral or cowardly not to.
But Jesus, who was God dwelling with us, taught and demonstrated radical non-violent love. We can think up the most extreme cases to argue backwards and work ourselves away from the teaching, but why don't we try the opposite? Why don't we practice loving our enemies every day and see what happens? Following Jesus is absurd, illogical, idealistic and maybe it is even delusional at times. But I choose Jesus, at all costs.
Bex Silver is originally from Auckland, New Zealand and is currently living on the Thai-Burma border working to help people displaced by war in Burma. Delicious Thai and Burmese food is a welcomed bonus! She has a Masters in International Development and is passionate about advocating for social justice through her writing.
Bex Silver's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/bex-silver.html