Jesus Christ was not a pacifist.
Anyone who has read the Bible is familiar with the story of the money-changers in the Temple, and how the Son of God dealt with those who had cheated His people in His house. Likewise, Jesus exhorted his followers to procure swords or knives, even at the cost of selling their own garments if necessary.
Jesus was, however, non-aggressive, and therein lies the crux (no pun intended) of the situation.
Unfortunately, this debate comes up far more often than it should, especially in terms of Christians bearing arms for defense of themselves and their families. Some men who are far more versed in the Bible, teachings of Jesus, and religions as a whole once wrote:
…to permit murder when one could have prevented it is morally wrong. To allow a rape when one could have hindered it is an evil. To watch an act of cruelty to children without trying to intervene is morally inexcusable. In brief, not resisting evil is an evil of omission, and an evil of omission can be just as evil as an evil of commission. Any man who refuses to protect his wife and children against a violent intruder fails them morally.
… and I firmly believe that, but that is not the quote which captured my attention today. Instead, I would like to turn your eyes to the words Michael J. Mollenhour:
If you are a committed absolute pacifist contemplating marriage, I think you owe it to your prospective bride to tell her in advance that you would not defend her, not protect her, not kill for her, and would permit your children to be kidnapped or killed before you would lift a hand against a criminal.
And that, dear readers, is what it means to be a “pacifist” or “nonviolent” – never offering so much as the slightest resistance to someone attacking you or yours.
So what does this have to do with the physical manifestation of the Holy Trinity? As Mike asks, “Would Jesus sit idly by and watch his wife and children tortured and murdered by a home invader?” Through His words and deeds, we know the answer to be a definitive “NO”, and through His teachings and the teachings of those who came before Him and followed after, we likewise know that His Father viewed our lives as a sacred, priceless gift, and one that would not be offered again, which leads one to the invariable conclusion that His answer would likewise be “NO”*.
People are, of course, free to do with their gifts as they so desire, and in the end, the final accounting will solely be between them and whatever God they believe in, but to attempt to misappropriate their faith as a means to disarm Christians is a blatant perversion of the teachings and example of Jesus Himself, and should be called out as such wherever it is found, much like the moneychangers were called out from the Temple.
(* – And before some halfwit wanders along with the argument that Jesus gave Himself up to the Cross without resistance, and chastised those who tried to protect Him, I have only two comments. First, Jesus knew that was going to be His fate from the very day of His birth – how could He not, with His being God – and knew that if He did not die on the Cross, humanity would be forever and eternally screwed. Second, the soldiers who arrested Him were operating under arguably lawful orders from their superiors, and if there is one thing He was big on, it was obeying the laws so far as was morally acceptable. In other words, read your Bible, sit down, and shut up.)
If you were truly committed to pacifism, you’d have to refrain from calling in the police, too.
Violence done by the government on your behalf is still violence.
@wfgodbold
It’s for that reason that very few people are actually true pacifists. I personally think it’s selfish to ask others to risk their lives for you when you’re not willing to do it yourself.
@ wfgodbold: Got it in one. And that is precisely why I have absolutely no respect for people like Ladd Everitt who simply claim to be non-violent – in point of fact, he is endlessly lobbying for the government to use force against law-abiding firearm owners in an attempt to spread his personal bigotry against us. That force/violence-by-proxy does not keep his hands clean, it just makes it easier for him to rationalize it to himself.
@ Pyrotek85: I think you just described every anti-rights cultist with that last sentence…
Someone once accused Mohandas Gandhi of being a pacifist. He decried them, stating he was an activist!
He, of course, also famously said the worst thing Britain did to India was to disarm the Indians.
It’s also worth noting his actual words to Peter
Not “violence is wrong even to protect me”, but “this is my destiny, and I’ve told you why it’s necessary”. He wasn’t chastising Peter for using violence, he was chastising him for resisting God’s will.
As far as Gandhi quotes go, the one about depriving an entire nation of arms being England’s blackest deed wrt India is good, but my favorite was used in the A-Team movie.
@ guffaw: In fairness, Ghandi’s situation was rather unique, as were his tactics – he was literally able to change the world by forcing the British to live up to their own standards. Sadly, that would not work in our case, given that the anti-rights cultists pretty much want us all dead.
That said, he definitely was not a pacifist… his was more of a specialized non-resistance technique, and thanks to public opinion, it worked remarkably well.
@ Jake: Yeah, that is the other side of what I incompletely mentioned…
I always wondered what would have happened if Jesus had simply said, “Screw it,” and left town the day he was to be arrested…
@ wfgodbold: “Impotence”. Well, I cannot think of a better word to describe Ladd Everitt at the moment…
“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” – 1 Timothy 5:8
Leaving your family to fend for itself (whether for food, clothes, or safety) is considered so bad it’s not considered being a “bad” Christian, or even “Un”Christian. It’s worse than that.
Ooh, now that is a wonderful quote.
God has been pretty clear on the value of human lives ever since He created us schmucks… Something tells me that He does not want us to throw them away just because we have deluded ourselves into thinking it is the Right Thing.