My first proper contact with the idea of pacifism came last year, when a friend of mine posed a hypothetical dilemma designed to force one to pick a side. The dilemma went something like this:If an intruder burst into your home and was about to shoot your mother, would you use lethal violence in order to stop him? Or to attach a religious element to proceedings, would it be right or wrong for a Christian to resist the use of violence in this situation? In short, what would Jesus do? Christians should be utterly concerned about doing the right thing, so what is the right thing in this situation? Or, indeed, is there such a thing?
Well my friend -- a committed Christian whom I greatly respect -- had a very definite answer to what Jesus would do, or at least to what he would do as a 21st century follower of Jesus - he would stop the intruder from shooting his mother using any means necessary. He would employ violence in defense of justice, with “justice” in this case being his mother’s right to life. If for his mother to live an enemy -- a criminal -- had to die, then that was a price he was willing to pay.
Placing the dilemma in front of me, he looked for an ally. I mulled it over, but I could only offer a Switzerland-esque stance of neutrality. At that moment there existed an irresolvable tension between valuing the life of my mother and valuing the words of Scripture, particularly those found on the lips of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount about loving your enemy and turning the other cheek and so forth. I couldn’t commit to simply watching my mother be murdered, but I also couldn’t commit to killing in the name of justice - or at least my take on justice.
The matter of pacifism has lain dormant since then, awakened only by a chapter in The Moral vision of the New Testament which the deals with the issue head on. The question tackled is the following:
Is it ever God’s will for Christians to employ violence in defense of justice?
This series will present Richard Hays’s answer to that question, which is set forth as an answer rooted in the New Testament’s witness concerning Christian ethics. It may prove controversial, it may upset your theological and ethical applecart, but it’s an answer worth listening to, and perhaps -- perhaps -- an answer worth obeying. Let the reader decide.
I'm not reading your blog Decie so you can direct me onto other readings. I knew it was only a matter of time before you sold out and used this blog as an advertising space for God corporations. Look at what Dublin has done to you. If you want to see what I think Dublin has done to Dec buy my book "Does Dec look Pale to You?"... available in all good book stores.
ReplyDelete"God corporations"? I'm not sure I understand. What's the difference between this post and 80% of the others, which have also dealt with "other readings"? In interacting with Hays's book I'll mainly be interacting with Scripture. I can understand you not finding that riveting, but I would have thought any problems might have cropped up long before now.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, read the next installment and if your issues persist then do air them again. I'm keen to understand where I've perhaps mis-stepped.