Here's a guy whose YouTube channel I found a couple of weeks ago when I was looking at stuff about guns. As I was browsing through his videos, which are almost solely about guns and military training, I came across these two videos where he talked about religion. I was taken aback by how articulately he defended why he believes in God and is a Christian. It was totally unexpected given everything else that's on his channel. Maybe it's the beard.
Part 1
Part 2
3 comments:
Live by the sword, die by the sword. As Christians, we are called by Christ to turn the other cheek when struck. If there was ever a case for using lethal force to defend the innocent, it was when the mob came to arrest Jesus. But Jesus disarmed the one disciple who was willing to kill.
There was a time when I would've totally agreed with that sentiment, but I'm not so sure anymore. While I'm totally on board with Jesus' command to turn the other cheek and with Peter's suggestion that it's better to be wronged than to retaliate, the same law of love that is the basis for turning the other cheek also entails that we protect our families from harm. Sure, it's an act of love toward my enemy if I turn the other cheek rather than retaliate and hurt him back. But is it an act of love toward my family if I stand idly by while they are raped and murdered? Surely no. So the love I have for my family means that I protect them, and that entails not turning the other cheek.
There is such a thing as a moral dilemma. We have a prima facie obligation to love all people, which entails that we do them no harm. But we also have a prima facie obligation to take care of our own families and to protect them. Sometimes those two things come into conflict with each other, like when a bad person wants to hurt our families. That means we have to choose the greater good.
Even Jesus recognized moral dilemmas and how to solve them. He spoke to Jews who had a prima facie obligation not to work on the Sabbath, then he was challenged on whether or not it's okay to heal on the Sabbath since healing is work. Jesus answered by first pointing out that if your mule falls into a well on the Sabbath, you'd be justified in pulling it out. In the same way, it is okay to heal on the Sabbath. The reason is because the good of healing outweighs the good of not working on the Sabbath. Jesus chose the greater good.
In the same way, the good of protecting the innocent, especially those under your care, outweighs the good of loving your enemy.
Or at least these are considerations that make me a lot less sure that Jesus was teaching absolute pacifism.
Your argument makes sense. It definitely leaves me with some new thoughts to consider.
Thank you for responding.
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