I wonder... #8
I wonder...
Do I blunt Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:38-48 if I liberally prescribe violence as a viable course of action? Or if I support it as an option at all? Scripture, particularly 1 Peter, teaches Christians to trust in God's vindication through suffering. In the face of injustice, we are to look to God to establish justice at the "revelation of Jesus Christ." Does violence fail to leave room for God's vengeance? Is it a course of action that demonstrates a lack of faith in God's future vindication? Or is this instruction primarily concerned with being a "witness" (i.e. we should adopt this behavior if we are persecuted for being Christians)? Is violence ever a good witness? ...Perhaps violence is not a uniform, undifferentiated statement—In other words, violence does not always say the same thing in every context, but can make different points and serve as a different witness depending on the situation (i.e. What would Christianity's witness to the world be if Christians had refused/condemned getting involved in WWII?)...Either way, Scripture is at least telling us that we need to be absolutely concerned with loving others (especially our enemies!) and with being a witness to the world--both of which require us to follow the example of Christ.
Do I blunt Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:38-48 if I liberally prescribe violence as a viable course of action? Or if I support it as an option at all? Scripture, particularly 1 Peter, teaches Christians to trust in God's vindication through suffering. In the face of injustice, we are to look to God to establish justice at the "revelation of Jesus Christ." Does violence fail to leave room for God's vengeance? Is it a course of action that demonstrates a lack of faith in God's future vindication? Or is this instruction primarily concerned with being a "witness" (i.e. we should adopt this behavior if we are persecuted for being Christians)? Is violence ever a good witness? ...Perhaps violence is not a uniform, undifferentiated statement—In other words, violence does not always say the same thing in every context, but can make different points and serve as a different witness depending on the situation (i.e. What would Christianity's witness to the world be if Christians had refused/condemned getting involved in WWII?)...Either way, Scripture is at least telling us that we need to be absolutely concerned with loving others (especially our enemies!) and with being a witness to the world--both of which require us to follow the example of Christ.
1 Comments:
Keep up the "I wonder" series. #8 intrigues me in particular; I nearly wrote my paper against pacifism. I know Augustine, Lewis, and Bonhoeffer all have interesting things to say about violence. Thanks James.
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